Amisom Troops Contributing Countries have urged the UNSC to increase its funding in the war against Al Shabaab in Somalia.
In the inaugural political consultative meeting of Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Amisom TCCs in Nairobi on Friday, the ministers raised concerns over the troops drawback and called upon the international partners to instead continue supporting Amisom and the Federal Government of Somalia.
Current TCCs are Kenya, Burundi, Ethiopia, Uganda and Djibouti.
In her opening remarks, Kenya’s Foreign Affairs CS Monica Juma emphasized the importance of the political dialogue with regional and international partners with a view to evaluate the status of Amisom in relations to its mandate taking into account the realities on the ground.
“The prevailing insecurity poses a grave threat not only to Somalia but also to peace and security in the region and Africa at large,” the CS said.
She added that the Horn of Africa continues to face the challenge of growing networks amongst terrorist groups.
In an effort to restore peace and political stability in Somalia, the African Union Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) in January 2007 created Amisom as a regional peace keeping mission, which was later authorised by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in February 2007.
In execution of its mandate, Kenya’s MFA noted, Amisom has registered significant progress that led to positive development in Somalia including the election of a new government in February 2017.
Unfortunately, CS Juma noted, “Amisom continues to face numerous challenges including security threats, gross underfunding, inadequate logistical support and deficiency in force multipliers and enablers. These challenges persist against a backdrop of a numerous internal and external factors that have a bearing on the execution of AMISOMs mandate.”
The troops contributing countries stressed the importance of a well-thought-out plan on troop drawdown as this would have a great ramification on peace and security.
The UNSC resolution 2472 of 2019 directed AU member states to maintain deployment of Amisom until May 31, 2020.
The TCCs also encouraged all levels of government of Somalia to invest in building mutual trust and confidence and have dialogue to enable them resolve any outstanding issues amicably with a view to consolidate stability.
Countries represented at the meeting included Kenya, Burundi, Ethiopia, Uganda and Djibouti. Partners present were United States of America, European Union, United Kingdom, United Nations, France and China.
