UN Security Council extends 'mission in Somalia' mandate by three months

NAIROBI, Kenya

The United Nations Security Council on Tuesday voted to extend the mandate of the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) by three months to allow Mogadishu to negotiate an agreeable future of the continental force.

The decision reached under Resolution 2614/2021 was adopted on Tuesday night, granting the peacekeeping force the needed certainty as Somalia and the African Union haggle on whether to completely withdraw or rebrand to an AU-UN hybrid mission.

The UN Security Council has authorised “the Member States of the African Union to maintain the deployment of the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) until 31 March 2022,” states the resolution.

Further, it “authorises Amisom to take all necessary measures in full compliance with participating States’ obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law, and in full respect of the sovereignty, territorial integrity, political independence and unity of Somalia, to carry out its mandate, as set out.”

The resolution to add three months to Amisom, whose mandate was to expire on December 31, is meant to avoid a vacuum.

It means that Amisom will continue with its operations against the Al-Shabaab militant group as it awaits a formal deal between Mogadishu and the African Union on whether the Mission should exit, restructure or be reorganised as a hybrid AU-UN force with civilian components.

Amisom’s 14-year existence in Somalia has had its lows and highs.

Dr Hawa Noor Zitzmann, a Kenyan COFUND PhD Fellow in Global Governance and Regional Integration at the Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences told The EastAfrican the three months could provide for a way forward and clarity on the future of Amisom.