NEW YORK – The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Thursday to authorize the African Union to maintain its peacekeeping operation in Somalia until the end of the year, while also calling for plans for a successor mission, a key step toward the country’s takeover of its own security.
The British-sponsored resolution authorizes the AU to continue to deploy up to 12,626 uniformed personnel, including 1,040 police, for the transitional peacekeeping mission known as ATMIS until Dec. 31. It requests the U.N. political mission in Somalia to continue providing logistical support to the African peacekeepers.
Deputy British ambassador James Kariuki told the council after the vote that “the resolution comes at a critical moment in Somalia’s security transition.”
ATMIS will draw down by the end of the year, and the African Union Peace and Security Council has endorsed the formation of a successor mission, he said.
The Security Council welcomed an Aug. 1 communique from the AU council with its proposal for an AU-led peace support operation to replace ATMIS.
The resolution asks U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the head of the AU Commission, in consultation with Somalia and key international parties, to report to the Security Council on the design for the successor mission by Nov. 15.
Financing the new mission is a key issue and the resolution requests an update on the estimated costs and resources needed by Oct. 11.
To maintain momentum on the security transition, the resolution encourages Somalia to continue developing and implementing its Security Sector Development Plan so the country “can eventually assume full responsibility for, and ownership of, its security.”
Somalia plunged into civil war after feuding clan-based warlords toppled dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. The Horn of Africa nation established a functioning transitional government in 2012 and has been working to rebuild stability in the face of extremist attacks and growing piracy.
Source: AP
