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
February 18, 2016
We would like to thank you, Mr. President, for the briefing on the activities of the Committee pursuant to resolutions 751 (1992) and 1907 (2009) concerning Somalia and Eritrea, which you, Sir, chair.
We are worried about the recent intensification in the various terrorist tactics of Al-Shabaab throughout large parts of Somalia, including Mogadishu, and the trend of strengthening the group’s ties with Boko Haram and the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Despite the fact that the forces of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) now control 80 per cent of the Somali territory, large-scale terrorist attacks committed by Al-Shabaab since the beginning of the year clearly demonstrate that extremists are still in a position to seriously destabilize the situation.
Those factors, together with the potentially negative consequences of the conflict in Yemen, demonstrate the need to continue the military pressure on the Islamists, based on the efforts of Somali authorities, to stabilize the liberated areas and establish viable local governance there. It seems that there is a need for further international support for African peacekeepers and the Somali National Army, including along the lines of the United Nations Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS), as well as in line with the coordination and advisory role played by the United Nations Support Office for AMISOM. We look forward to the successful implementation of the obligations set out in resolution 2245 (2015), which expanded the mandate of UNSOS.
We support the idea of strengthening the police contingent of AMISOM and adapting the activities of UNSOS to the task of increasing of the effectiveness of its operations. In the future, we must increase the provision of equipment and technical support in line with Security Council decisions. In that context, we welcome the adoption of a law on combating money laundering and terrorist financing by the country’s Parliament on 26 December 2015.
We call for a strengthening of the sanctions regime with respect to Somalia, including strict adherence to the arms and charcoal embargo, as well as monitoring of the coastal waters of Somalia and assistance from AMISOM in that area, in line with resolution 2244 (2015). We think that the embargo on arms and charcoal from Somalia are key instruments for preventing the fuelling of extremist forces in the country. We have seen the effectiveness of a partial lifting of the embargo in the provision of arms to the Somali armed forces.
The restrictions with respect to Eritrea reveal a totally different picture. We are pleased to note that the Monitoring Group has found no evidence that the Eritrean Government is supporting the Al-Shabaab armed group. No convincing data have yet been provided to indicate that country is conducting subversive activities. In that regard, we think attempts to increase pressure on Asmara are counterproductive. Once again, we call upon the Monitoring Group to use only verified information in its reports.
