Friday March 24, 2017
Unanimously adopting resolution 2346 (2017) today, the Security Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) until 16 June.
By other terms of the resolution, the 15-member Council noted that a review of the United Nations presence in the East African country had been deferred until the end of the electoral process. Further by the text, the Council recalled all its previous resolutions and statements of its President concerning the situation in Somalia, in particular resolution 2275 (2016), by which it had requested the Secretary-General to conduct the review.
Briefing members after the adoption, Michael Keating, Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM), said a drought-induced humanitarian crisis was engulfing Somalia with an imminent risk of famine. More than 6 million Somalis were in need of humanitarian assistance.
The Famine Prevention Operational Plan sought $825 million to reach 5.5 million people by June, he said, and further resources were needed to help affected people before it was too late. "Had the recent parliamentary and presidential elections not delivered a result accepted as legitimate, drought response efforts would be much more difficult."
Against that backdrop, the recent elections had created a sense of hope, he said, noting that the new Parliament was more diverse, younger and female than ever. "Somalis have made history and set a great example to countries emerging from conflict," he said. It was time to use that goodwill to build a functional and inclusive federal State to tackle the socioeconomic, structural and political issues that made millions of Somalis vulnerable to drought and insecurity.
Unless Somalia attracted serious investment and generated domestic revenues, State-building would remain an aspiration, he cautioned. He urged greater efforts to build institutional capacity, improve financial management, transparency and accountability, and eliminate terrorism.