The African Peace and Security Council adopted a proposal to deploy a joint AU-UN force to replace AMISOM by the end of this year.
Following a meeting last week, the Council said that it was adopting the AU-UN Multidimensional Stabilization Mission in Somalia, deployed under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, “which would ensure predictable and sustainable multi-year financing for the future mission, through UN assessed contributions.”
An Independent Experts report in August proposed that the multidimensional force should take over from AMISOM, which the UN Security Council does not fund.
The African Union and Troops Contributing Countries (TCCs) have variously demanded the UN Security Council finances AMISOM as it is responsible for maintaining world peace.
The Council said that the security in the country was “worsening” and worried about a potential militant comeback.
“(The Council) expresses grave concern at the worsening security situation in Somalia, which has seen a worrying resurgence in the activities of Al Shabaab and other terrorist groups in large parts of the country and has detracted attention from the critical processes of state-building and stabilization.”
The Somali government has since rejected the proposal for the hybrid force but has not given its position. In the AU Peace and Security Council communique Sunday, the Council urged the AU, Un and Somalia to “finalize as a matter of urgency the joint report on the strategic objectives, mandate, size and composition of the AU-UN Multidimensional Stabilization Mission in Somalia.”
The AUPSC also raised concerns about the political deadlock between the nation’s top leaders.
“The ongoing political standoff between the Office of the President and the Office of the Prime Minister is contributing to the worsening security situation, as the political authorities find their attention distracted from governance matters,” the statement said.
The continental security body also called on the UN Security Council to allow for the rollout of the new mandate as discussions are still ongoing to prevent any security lapses during the transition.
AMISOM has been operating in Somalia for 14 years now, and its mandate is expected to conclude on December 31. Since then, the militant insurgent group Al-Shabaab has been pushed from Somalia’sSomalia’s capital but still exerts influence over large swaths of land in the south and central Somalia.