This afternoon (15 August), the Security Council is expected to vote on a draft resolution on the AU Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), which was authored by the UK, the penholder on Somalia.
The draft resolution in blue extends the authorization for African Union (AU) member states to deploy uniformed personnel in the country to carry out ATMIS-mandated tasks until 31 December.
Today’s vote follows the adoption on 12 August of resolution 2747, a technical rollover that extended the mission’s authorization by three days. For detailed background, see our 9 August What’s in Blue story.
The UK circulated the initial draft of the resolution to all Council members on 8 August and convened one round of negotiations the following day (9 August). After Council members submitted comments, the penholder circulated a first revised draft on Monday (12 August) and placed it under silence procedure until 10 am on Tuesday (13 August).
The US broke the silence, after which several other members submitted comments. The UK subsequently engaged in bilateral consultations with some members, before putting a second revised text under silence procedure until 11 am yesterday (14 August).
However, the silence was broken by France, Malta, and Slovenia, after which the penholder placed a revised third text under a short silence procedure until 2 pm yesterday. The draft text passed silence and was put in blue yesterday afternoon.
This is likely to be the last Security Council resolution reauthorizing the mandate of ATMIS ahead of its expected transition to a follow-on mission, starting in January 2025. The draft resolution in blue authorizes AU member states to continue to deploy up to 12,626 uniformed personnel, inclusive of 1,040 police personnel, to ATMIS until 31 December.
The draft text in blue requests the Secretary-General to continue to provide a logistical support package through the UN Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS) and decides to continue support for 20,900 personnel from the Somali National Army or Somali National Police Force, on joint or coordinated operations with ATMIS, until 31 December.
It appears that, during the initial round of negotiations, Council members expressed diverging opinions over wording requesting the Secretary-General to report on the overall design of the follow-on mission. While the US apparently opposed language describing elements that the report should contain, viewing it as overly prescriptive, and suggested deleting the paragraph, the majority of Council members supported the penholder’s approach to providing such details. Subsequently, the US and other members suggested substantial revisions to the paragraph, some of which are reflected in the draft resolution in blue.
The draft text in blue requests the Secretary-General, jointly with the AU Commission Chairperson and in consultations with Somalia and international stakeholders, to report on the overall mission design for the proposed successor mission, guided by a clear national political strategy to support the federal government of Somalia (FGS) in its transition from conflict to peace, “in full compliance with the UN Human Rights Due-diligence Policy [HRDDP] and the AU Compliance and Accountability Framework”.
The language on the HRDDP was supported by several members, including France and Switzerland. The draft resolution in blue also reflects the text proposed by China, suggesting that the mission’s design should aim to enhance the AU’s autonomy and ownership of the proposed successor mission.
The draft resolution in blue requests the Secretary-General to submit the report by 15 November. It asks that the report include, among other things:
- a proposed mission structure, including options for UN support;
- a transition plan for UNSOS and ATMIS to the successor mission;
- a clear coordination mechanism between the successor mission and its donors;
- benchmarks with clear indicators and milestones to measure progress made on the ground, with an indication of the respective roles of international stakeholders, including the AU and the UN, in supporting Somalia; and,
- a comprehensive exit strategy for the successor mission.
The draft resolution in blue requests the Secretary-General to provide a comprehensive update on the reports requested in the resolution by 11 October. It also expresses the Council’s intention to convene a private meeting in October to discuss this update with the AU and Somalia, with the participation of the UN Secretariat. The draft text in blue further requests the Secretary-General to keep the Council informed on the implementation of this resolution in his regular updates to the Council on Somalia.
During the negotiations, China and Russia apparently proposed involving the ATMIS troop and police contributing countries (T/PCCs) in the consultation process on the design of the follow-on mission. This language was not incorporated in the draft resolution in blue, however. Tensions between Somalia and Ethiopia (one of the ATMIS TCCs) have continued against the backdrop of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed on 1 January between Ethiopia and Somaliland, a self-proclaimed republic in the northern region of Somalia.
On 31 May, Somali National Security Advisor Hussein Sheikh-Ali reportedly said that Somalia expects Ethiopian troops to leave the country by the end of December when ATMIS is set to complete its drawdown and exit. At the same time, Egypt and Djibouti have expressed their intention to “contribute to the elements” of the follow-on mission. (For background, see the Somalia brief in our August 2024 Monthly Forecast as well as our 28 January and 22 June What’s in Blue stories.)
It appears that, in the second revised draft, the penholder incorporated Chinese-proposed language in the operative section encouraging traditional donors to continue supporting ATMIS “and thereafter its proposed successor mission”. This led France, Malta, and Slovenia to break silence on the text. The draft resolution in blue contains compromise language encouraging traditional and new donors to support ATMIS, the UNSOS-administered Trust Fund in support of the Somali security forces, and the proposed successor mission, in order to provide the necessary funding.
Differences in Council members’ views on how to finance the follow-on mission to ATMIS were apparent during the negotiations. Based on resolution 2741 of 28 June, which reauthorized ATMIS’ mandate until 12 August, the initial draft text requested the Secretary-General’s report on the follow-on mission to articulate a range of options for financing the follow-on mission, including, but not limited to, the framework established by resolution 2719 of 21 December 2023 on the financing of AU-led peace support operations (AUPSOs).
During the negotiations, the US apparently introduced language indicating that resolution 2719 could be implemented after a “two-year bridging strategy”. (The US seems to hold the view that there is a lack of clarity on the modalities of implementing resolution 2719, including burden-sharing.
At the same time, the US preference is apparently to apply the resolution to an entirely new AUPSO with a narrow set of tasks and a defined timeline.) It seems that some members argued that such a mechanism could imply additional obligations for financial contributors to ATMIS.
These members also apparently argued that the request to the Secretary-General to outline possible options for financing should allow his report to present all possibilities for the Council’s consideration and not pre-empt any conclusions by emphasizing one option.
In the first revised draft, the penholder apparently updated the language by including the term “any mechanisms needed” to implement the options. The US subsequently broke silence on the first revised text, proposing new language that would have asked that the options include “a continuation of existing support by international donors, the framework established by resolution 2719, or some combination of these options”. (For background on Council dynamics regarding financing for the follow-on mission and resolution 2719, see the Somalia brief in our August 2024 Monthly Forecast and the “In Hindsight” in our February 2024 Monthly Forecast.)
The draft resolution in blue includes compromise language requesting that the Secretary-General’s report include a range of financing options, including “support by international partners, the framework established by resolution 2719, other suitable alternatives, or some combination of these options, outlining any requirements or mechanisms that may be necessary to implement these options”.
During the negotiations, it appears that Slovenia proposed language stressing the importance of the full, equal, meaningful, and safe participation and involvement of women in efforts at all levels for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security, and the need for a gender-responsive transition process in ATMIS’ drawdown in line with resolution 2594 of 9 September 2021, which requested the Secretary-General to include a comprehensive gender analysis throughout transition processes. While several members—including France, Malta, the Republic of Korea (ROK), and Switzerland—supported the language, it was opposed by China and Russia. The language was not incorporated in the draft resolution in blue.
