Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations

Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations

Statement by Deputy Permanent Representative Anna Evstigneeva at UNSC briefing on the situation in Somalia

Distinguished colleagues,

We thank Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General Mr. James Swan and Special Representative of the African Union and Head of AMISOM Mr. Francisco Madeira for their meaningful briefings. We also closely followed the remarks by Head of the EU delegation to the UN Ambassador Olof Skoog. We welcome Permanent Representative of Somalia Ambassador Abukar Osman to this meeting.

We studied carefully the recent report of the Secretary-General.

Somalia is advancing on the path of the electoral process. Elections to the upper chamber of the Parliament took place in October 2021, and elections to the lower chamber are underway. We expect that soon Somalia will be able to conclude the electoral process according to the agreements of 17 September 2020 and 27 May 2021. We call on all Somali authorities to resolve the emerging disputes only through dialogue. We welcome the contribution of the AU Peacekeeping Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and the Office of SRSG Swan to mitigating tensions within the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) in late December – early January. We call on the AMISOM to pay greater attention to preventing such situations, i.a. through cooperation with regional administrations. We hope that all participants of Somalia’s political process will keep working together to build a reliable federative model for the country. Territorial integrity and unity of Somalia need to be preserved.

Security situation in Somalia remains tense. We are concerned over the intensifying activity of “Al-Shabaab” which controls vast areas in southern and central Somalia. The fighters carry on with hard-hitting operations that cause numerous casualties, including terrorist attacks in cities, attacks on the strongholds and bases of AMISOM and the Somali National Armed Forces. We note efforts of the Somali government and other countries of the region aimed at combating terrorism that poses cross-border threats.

We commend progress in articulating a shared position of the African Union and the FGS regarding Somalia’s future security architecture. We look forward to receiving the report on the achievements of the international quartet that works on the new configuration of the AMISOM, revisits the Mission’s concept of operations and elaborates a renewed roadmap for logistical support.

We call to a balanced approach when it comes to reforming the AMISOM. It is critical that the opinion and priorities of the host country be duly accounted for. Responsibility for maintaining security in the country should be transferred to the Somali Armed Forces in a step-by-step manner, depending on the real situation on the ground. We are convinced that in the current conditions, when terrorist threat persists, it is premature to talk about withdrawal of the AU Peacekeeping Mission. We agree with the regionals that ensuring sufficient, predictable, and sustainable funding of the Mission should be a priority. We stand ready to consider at the Security Council various models that the international community could use to provide extra support for the efforts of Somalis and AMISOM.

We call on the United Nations, the international and regional partners to keep assisting Somalia while respecting sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of this country without interfering in its internal affairs.

Thank you.