Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations

Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations

Statement by Mr. Peter Iliichev, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations, at the Security Council meeting on the situation in Somalia

April 19, 2016


We welcome the participation in today’s meeting of the President of Somalia, His Excellency Mr. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, and in general we share the views that he has expressed. We would like to thank Mr. Michael Keating, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Somalia, for his comprehensive briefing on the work of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia. We are grateful to the Permanent Observer of the African Union to the United Nations, Mr. Téte António, for his explanation of that pan-African organization’s approaches to the settlement in Somalia.

We were pleased to see that the Somali National Forum held on 12 April confirmed the planned parameters for the general elections scheduled for August and September and the unacceptability of failing to keep to the established timetable.

The security situation, however, continues to be worrisome. We are seeing an increase in the activity of the Al-Shabaab terrorist group and trends that suggest changes in its tactics. According to international experts, the extremists have become more mobile and are focusing on carrying out their terrorist attacks where they can have the greatest international impact, coordinating their activities with various international accomplices. We have been obliged to recognize the fact that Al-Shabaab members have recently been attacking military bases as well as the so-called soft civilian targets.

In that regard, we believe that it is essential to maintain military pressure on Somali extremists, and we urge the international community to continue its efforts to increase the capacity of the Somali army and the African Union Mission in Somalia. The militarypolitical situation in the country demands that the African Union peacekeepers and Somali security forces step up their combat efforts against Al-Shabaab and that the United Nations expand its logistical and technical support in accordance with resolution 2245 (2015), which extended the mandate of the United Nations Support Office in Somalia.

In our view, one of the Somali authorities’ priorities at this stage is the process of building the State and federalization, and completing the formation of the Federal states is particularly high on that agenda. We cannot allow the remaining disagreements to have a negative impact on the country’s electoral process.

On the social and humanitarian front, the continuing drought in Puntland and Somaliland, which has brought hundreds of thousands to the verge of starvation, is very worrying. We urge the international community to provide humanitarian assistance to the affected regions in order to supply the population with drinking water, food and medicines. Russia has been regularly providing humanitarian assistance to the Federal Government of Somalia and Somali refugees in neighbouring countries through targeted contributions to the appropriate United Nations funds, with our total assistance exceeding $15 million for the period from 2011 to 2015. We share the belief that currently there is a need to not only step up international donations to resolve specific economic and social issues, but also to ensure comprehensive support to the Federal Government to provide financial and humanitarian assistance to people.

At the same time, we call for the strict implementation of the provisions of resolution 2275 (2016) on the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia, including, inter alia, the necessary holding this year of parliamentary elections on the basis of the agreed electoral model and the Government’s implementation of the road map for 2020, as well as accelerating work on the drafting of a new Constitution for the country. The most important tasks for the Government now are to strengthen the security sector, bolster the foundations of federalism and advance sustainable national and inter-ethnic reconciliation in Somalia.