Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations

Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations

Explanation of vote by Permanent Representative Vassily Nebenzia after the UNSC vote on a draft resolution on reformatting UNSOM

Madam President,

The Russian Federation has voted in favor of the UNSC draft resolution submitted by the United Kingdom on reformatting the activities of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM).

We are delighted that the document we have adopted reflects to a large extent the priorities of Mogadishu, as set out in the letter from the UN Secretary-General addressed to the President of the Security Council, dated of August 30. At the same time, however, a number of constructive proposals made by certain members of the Council have not been taken into account. Among them, we note the high added value of the Chinese delegation's initiative to increase procurement on the Somali market for the United Nations presence.

We attach particular importance to the intention of the Security Council, as set out in the resolution, to end the Mission's mandate by October 31, 2026. In that regard, we support Mogadishu's intention to integrate the Mission's functions into the national system at pace. We take as a given that close coordination on this issue between UNSOM, the UN country team and Somalia’s agencies concerned will be ensured at the requisite level.

We stand convinced that completing the UNSOM mandate and transferring its functions is an important step on the path to State-building in Somalia, and the ultimate objective here is to enable Mogadishu to independently ensure peace and security throughout its sovereign territory.

I thank you for your attention.