Unanimously Adopting Resolution 2372 (2017), Security Council Extends Mandate of African Union Mission in Somalia, Authorizes Troop Reduction
Government Gradually Taking Over AMISOM’s Tasks, Says Permanent Representative
The Security Council today extended its authorization of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) until 31 May 2018, approving a reduction of its uniformed personnel to a maximum 21,626 by 31 December 2017 amid a transition of responsibilities to Somali security forces.
Unanimously adopting resolution 2372 (2017) under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, the Council decided that the downsizing — the first ever — would include a minimum of 1,040 AMISOM police personnel and five Formed Police Units. A further reduction to 20,626 uniformed personnel by 30 October 2018 would follow, unless the Council decided to accelerate that pace, taking into account the capabilities of Somali security forces.
[The current maximum deployment was 22,126 uniformed personnel, as set out in resolution 2355 (2017).]
By the text, the Council emphasized that the long-term objective for Somalia, with international support, was for the Somali Security Forces to assume full responsibility for security, with AMISOM remaining critical during the transition. As such, it welcomed the recommendation by the African Union-United Nations Review for a “gradual and phased” reduction and reorganization of the Mission.
Further by the text, AMISOM’s strategic objectives would be to enable the gradual handover of its security responsibility to Somali security forces, to reduce the threat posed by Al-Shabaab and other armed opposition groups, and to assist Somali security forces in providing security for Somalia’s political process and peacebuilding efforts.
The Council decided that AMISOM’s priority tasks would be, among other efforts, to conduct targeted offensive operations against Al-Shabaab and other armed opposition groups, including jointly with the Somali security forces, and to mentor the latter in cooperation with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) and in line with the National Security Architecture. It would reconfigure, as security conditions allowed, in favour of police personnel, and receive defectors on a transitory basis.
Abukar Dahir Osman (Somalia), drawing attention to AMISOM’s “enormous contribution” over the last decade, cited its assistance in creating space for political progress, humanitarian relief and for Somalia’s political and State institutions to grow. “We are now entering a new phase of transition,” he said, and the Government was gradually taking over tasks and posts from the Mission.
He said President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed Farmajo had set out a clear vision for security based on mutual accountability, hand-in-hand with partners at the London-Somalia Conference in May. Emphasizing that partnership would be essential for a successful transition, he said donor support would continue to be required. The transition must be conducted in a cautious manner with sustained, predictable funding, he said, as too early a withdrawal — based on artificial or unrealistic deadlines — could jeopardize security gains and “send the wrong signal” to the enemy forces of Al-Shabaab.
Matthew Rycroft (United Kingdom), whose country had submitted the text, welcomed its unanimous adoption, describing it as a significant turning point. It marked the first time that the Council had reduced the number of AMISOM personnel, he said, paving the way for a transition of security responsibilities to Somali forces. Now was the time for a new approach to security in Somalia, focused on the Al-Shabaab threat while turning over security duties. Somalia wanted to step up to the challenge and it would be supported, he said.
Tekeda Alemu (Ethiopia) said the proposed AMISOM configuration reflected the gains made over the past 10 years. Nevertheless, Somalia had a long way to go in terms of post-conflict recovery and peacebuilding. The Mission’s civilian component was not reflected in the text and he expressed hope that that would be rectified. He emphasized the need to secure predictable, sustainable funding for AMISOM, including possibly through United Nations assessed contributions. Decisions regarding a transition in Somalia should be made following a closer look at the situation.
Sebastiano Cardi (Italy), noting that the Al-Shabaab threat remained serious, emphasized the need to build the Somali security forces. The resolution set out a timeline by which the Council would accelerate a shift of security responsibilities from AMISOM to Somali forces, he said, looking forward to a joint session of the Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council in Addis Ababa next week.
The meeting began at 10:07 a.m. and 10:25 a.m.
Resolution
The full text of resolution 2372 (2017) reads as follows:
“The Security Council,
“Recalling all its previous resolutions and statements of its President on the situation in Somalia,
“Underlining its respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity, political independence, and unity of Somalia,
“Condemning Al-Shabaab attacks in Somalia and beyond, expressing serious concern at the ongoing threat posed by Al-Shabaab, and underlining its concern that Al-Shabaab continues to hold territory and extort revenue in Somalia,
“Expressing outrage at the loss of civilian life in Al-Shabaab attacks, and paying tribute to the bravery and sacrifices made by the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and Somali Security Forces personnel in the fight against Al-Shabaab, and recognizing the need to preserve the gains made through their commitment,
“Reiterating its determination to support efforts to reduce the threat posed by Al-Shabaab in Somalia, and underlining its commitment to support an inclusive Somali-led political peace and reconciliation process,
“Condemning the continued violations and abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law in Somalia in particular the deliberate targeting of civilians,
“Welcoming the positive contributions that the UN Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS) has made to supporting the gains made by AMISOM and the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM), and underscoring the importance of an effective partnership between the United Nations, the African Union (AU) and Member States in Somalia,
“Recognizing that the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) has the primary responsibility to protect its citizens and build its own national security forces, noting that these forces should be inclusive and representative of Somalia and act in full compliance with their obligations under international humanitarian law and international human rights law,
“Commending the decision by the FGS to make security sector reform a priority for the next four years, welcoming the FGS and Federal Member State leaders’ endorsement of a new National Security Architecture, calling on the FGS and the Federal Member States to meet the benchmarks set out in the National Security Architecture in view of the remaining threat posed by Al-Shabaab, and underlining the importance of implementing key decisions that further define the composition and roles of Somalia’s national and federal state level security forces in line with the agreed Architecture, in order to accelerate security sector reform,
“Reaffirming the strong commitment of international partners to support the FGS and Federal Member States in establishing under the National Security Council and Regional Security Councils, a capable, accountable, acceptable and affordable Somali-led security sector as set out in the Security Pact adopted by Somalia and international partners on 11 May 2017 at the London Somalia Conference,
“Recognizing that a more stable Somalia is of vital importance to ensuring regional security,
AMISOM
“Commending the contribution of AMISOM to lasting peace and stability in Somalia, noting its critical role in improving the security situation and in providing the security to enable peacebuilding and statebuilding progress in Somalia, including two national political processes, expressing its appreciation for the continued commitment of troops, police and equipment to AMISOM by the Governments of Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, and recognizing the significant sacrifices made by AMISOM forces,
“Recalling the Conclusions on Children and Armed Conflict (S/AC.51/2017/2),
“Taking note of the Joint AU-UN Review of AMISOM, as requested in paragraph 24 of resolution 2297 (2016), the Report on the Ten Year Lessons Learned from AMISOM 2007-2017, and the African Union Peace and Security Council’s communiqué of 12 July 2017 on the situation in Somalia and AMISOM, and the outcome of the meeting of Troop and Police Contributing Countries on 3 July 2017,
“Expressing its support for a transfer of security tasks from AMISOM to the Somali security forces in a gradual and conditions-based manner, to ensure that the hard won security gains are preserved,
“Welcoming the AU’s investigation of allegations of sexual violence against some AMISOM troops, underlining the importance of the AU implementing the recommendations of the report, taking action to prevent further abuses, and in line with resolution 2272 (2016),
“Expressing concern over reports of pro-Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as Da’esh) elements in Somalia and the security implications of the situation in Yemen for Somalia,
“Expressing grave concern at the ongoing humanitarian consequences of the severe drought in Somalia, and commending AMISOM’s facilitation of the delivery of humanitarian assistance in support of the Somali authorities,
“Determining that the situation in Somalia continues to constitute a threat to international peace and security,
“Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations,
AMISOM
“1. Emphasizes that the long-term objective for Somalia, with the support of its international partners, is that Somali Security Forces assume full responsibility for Somalia’s security, and in this regard recognizes that AMISOM remains critical to security during this transition to allow for the Somali Security Forces to build their capacities;
“2. Agrees with the Secretary-General that conditions in Somalia are not appropriate for the deployment of a United Nations peacekeeping mission, and requests the Secretary-General to keep the benchmarks for deployment under continuous review;
“3. Underlines that the increases in the force strength decided in resolutions 2036 (2012) and 2124 (2013) were to provide short term enhancement to AMISOM’s military capacity, and as part of an overall exit strategy for AMISOM, after which a decrease in AMISOM’s force strength will be considered in light of progress on the ground;
“4. Welcomes in this regard the recommendation of the AU-UN Review for a gradual and phased reduction and reorganization of AMISOM’s uniformed personnel in order to provide a greater support role to the Somali Security Forces as they progressively take the lead for security in Somalia, welcomes the FGS’s commitment to conduct joint operations in order to become the primary security provider in Somalia, and underscores the need for transition of security responsibility to take into consideration security situation in each location;
Priorities and tasks
“5. Decides to authorize the Member States of the AU to maintain the deployment of AMISOM until 31 May 2018, and to reduce the level of uniformed AMISOM personnel to a maximum level of 21,626 by 31 December 2017, to include a minimum of 1,040 AMISOM police personnel including five Formed Police Units, with a further reduction of uniformed personnel to 20,626 by 30 October 2018, unless the Security Council decides to accelerate the pace of the reduction, taking into account the capabilities of the Somali security forces thus far;
“6. Further decides that AMISOM shall be authorized to take all necessary measures, in full compliance with participating States’ obligations under international humanitarian law and international human rights law, and in full respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity, political independence and unity of Somalia, to carry out its mandate;
“7. Decides to authorize AMISOM to pursue the following strategic objectives:
(a) Enable the gradual handing over of security responsibilities from AMISOM to the Somali security forces contingent on abilities of the Somali security forces and political and security progress in Somalia;
(b) Reduce the threat posed by Al-Shabaab and other armed opposition groups;
(c) Assist the Somali security forces to provide security for the political process at all levels as well as stabilization, reconciliation and peacebuilding in Somalia;
“8. Decides to authorize AMISOM to carry out the following priority tasks to achieve these objectives:
(a) Maintain a presence in the sectors set out in the AMISOM Concept of Operations, prioritizing the main population centres;
(b) To assist, as appropriate, the Somali security forces to protect the Somali authorities to help them carry out their functions of government, their efforts towards reconciliation and peacebuilding, and security for key infrastructure;
(c) To protect, as appropriate, its personnel, facilities, installations, equipment and mission, and to ensure the security and freedom of movement of its personnel, as well as of United Nations personnel carrying out functions mandated by the Security Council;
(d) To secure key supply routes including to areas recovered from Al-Shabaab, in particular those essential to improving the humanitarian situation, and those critical for logistical support to AMISOM, underscoring that the delivery of logistics remains a joint responsibility between the United Nations and AU;
(e) To conduct targeted offensive operations against Al-Shabaab and other armed opposition groups, including jointly with the Somali Security Forces;
(f) To mentor and assist Somali security forces, both military and police, in close collaboration with UNSOM and in line with the National Security Architecture;
(g) To reconfigure AMISOM, as security conditions allow, in favour of police personnel within the authorized AMISOM personnel ceiling, and provide updates on the reconfiguration through the Secretary-General;
(h) To receive on a transitory basis, defectors, as appropriate, and in coordination with the United Nations and the Federal Government of Somalia;
“9. Requests the AU to keep the Security Council regularly informed, through the Secretary-General on the implementation of AMISOM’s mandate, and report to the Council, through the provision of oral updates and no fewer than three written reports, every 120 days with the first written report not later than 15 December 2017;
“10. Requests that the AU continues to ensure that AMISOM is configured to conduct the full range of mandated tasks effectively, including strengthening command and control structures, under the authority of the Force Commander, capable of operating jointly with Somali security forces;
“11. Welcomes in this regard the intention of the AU to develop a new Concept of Operations for AMISOM, and requests the AU to develop this concept in close collaboration with the United Nations and Federal Government of Somalia;
“12. Recalls its request that the AU generate the specialized units set out in the annex of resolution 2297 (2016), in particular the Mission Enabling Units, and reiterating the importance that all force enablers and multipliers operate under the command of the Force Commander, further requests that these are generated without delay, and requests that the AU provide regular updates on this force generation in its regular reports through the Secretary-General;
“13. Stresses the critical need to source fully functioning and mission appropriate contingent-owned equipment including force enablers and multipliers as provided for in paragraph 6 of resolution 2036 (2012) either from existing AMISOM troop-contributing countries or other Member States, and welcomes the deployment of three helicopters by the Government of Kenya, and urges the AU to urgently generate of the remainder of the force enablers;
“14. Stresses that AMISOM’s civilian component should be fully operational to support AMISOM’s military and police tasks and improve coordination between the United Nations and the AU in Somalia, with particular emphasis on enhancing the staffing of its human rights component, with a view to increasing capacity to monitor and strengthen respect for international humanitarian law and human rights law and address cases of violations and abuses, in particular allegations of violations and abuses against children;
“15. Further stresses that AMISOM’s civilian component should focus its efforts on supporting the revised tasks of the AMISOM military and police components in order to facilitate the transition and eventual drawdown;
“16. Underlines the importance of AMISOM forces carrying out their mandate in full compliance with participating States’ obligations under international humanitarian law and international human rights law, including on the basis of specific recommendations made during the Joint Review, and cooperating with UNSOM and UNSOS in implementing the Human Rights Due Diligence Policy on United Nations support to Non-United Nations Security Forces (HRDDP), and calls upon the AU to investigate and report allegations of violations and abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law, as well as continuing to ensure the highest standards of transparency, and conduct and discipline;
“17. Welcomes the progress made by AMISOM in complying with human rights and international humanitarian law, and urges troop and police contributing countries to accelerate efforts to enhance the effectiveness of measures and mechanisms to prevent and address non-compliance, including on the basis of specific recommendations of the Joint Review, including selection and screening of AMISOM personnel;
“18. Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that any support provided to non-United Nations security forces is provided in strict compliance with the HRDDP and to include progress made in implementing the policy in the Secretary-General’s reports to the Security Council, including through the mitigating measures and mechanisms as set out by the Joint Review;
“19. Welcomes the work of the Civilian Casualty Tracking Analysis and Response Cell (CCTARC) as requested in resolutions 2093 (2013) and 2124 (2013), and the progress on the “Ceebla” hotline, underlines the importance of making the CCTARC fully operational and effective without further delay, and in this regard urges the full support of troop and police contributors for the CCTARC, in collaboration with humanitarian, human rights and protection actors, and underlines the importance of ensuring information is shared with relevant actors including the United Nations and integrated into AMISOM reporting;
“20. Calls on the AU and troop-contributing countries to take appropriate steps to investigate allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse, hold perpetrators accountable and repatriate units when there is credible evidence of widespread or systemic sexual exploitation or abuse by those units;
“21. Welcomes and strongly encourages the deployment of female uniformed personnel in AMISOM by the Troop and Police Contributing Countries;
“22. Requests the FGS to expedite an Operational Readiness Assessment of the Somali security forces, to be completed by 1 December 2017, to be led by the Federal Government of Somalia with the active participation of the Federal Member States, and together with AMISOM and the United Nations and other international partners to determine numbers, capacities, locations and compliance with human rights obligations and international standards including screening for child soldiers, existence of accountability mechanisms, and level of vetting and training, and including the Somali police as well as other Somali security capacities, in order to hand over specific security tasks, identify capacities for joint operations, determine infrastructure, logistical capacity, equipment and training gaps, and provide a baseline for further security sector reform efforts, and to inform a revised Concept of Operations for AMISOM;
“23. Requests the Secretary-General to conduct a comprehensive assessment of AMISOM by 15 April 2018, working closely with the African Union and the Federal Government of Somalia, to take stock of the transition thus far including the development of Somali security institutions, and to make recommendations on the progressive transition from AMISOM to Somali security responsibility including over the electoral period, taking into account the capacities of the Somali security forces;
“24. Expresses its intention to consider further uniformed personnel reductions as security conditions and Somali capabilities allow, including taking account the recommendations for further reductions made by the assessment requested in paragraph 23;
Support and Partnership
“25. Requests the Secretary-General to work closely with the AU in supporting the implementation of this resolution, encourages continued close collaboration between UNSOM, UNSOS and AMISOM at all levels, including through the Senior Leadership Coordination Forum, in order to enhance coordination efforts on the ground, further requests the Secretary-General to continue to provide technical and expert advice to the AU on the planning, deployment and strategic management of AMISOM in line with the mandate of the United Nations office to the AU, and reiterates its request to the Secretary-General, in view of the need to increase AMISOM’s efficiency, to enhance the provision of technical advice to the AU through existing United Nations mechanisms;
“26. Stresses the importance of early and sustained coordination of all joint operations, as well as of follow up activity in newly recovered areas, and encourages the strengthening of joint planning and operational management mechanisms in order to prioritize available resources;
“27. Further stresses the importance of effective joint planning and implementation of the transition of primary security responsibility to the Somali security forces between the Federal Government of Somalia, Federal Member States, the United Nations, African Union and donors, and requests the Secretary-General to report on progress towards transition in his reports on the situation in Somalia to the Security Council;
“28. Agrees with the Secretary-General that oversight and accountability, in particular compliance with HRDDP in the context of United Nations support to the transition of responsibilities between AMISOM and Somali Security Forces will be the cornerstone of the partnership between the United Nations, the AU, the Federal Government of Somalia and the Federal Member States;
“29. Urges the full implementation of the Force Commander’s directive, in particular on the protection of children’s rights during and after operations and to comply with the standard operating procedures for the reception and handover of children separated from armed groups in Somalia signed by the Federal Government of Somalia;
“30. Welcomes the support of the international community for peace and stability in Somalia, in particular the European Union for its substantial contribution in supporting AMISOM, as well as support from other bilateral partners for both AMISOM and the Somali National Army (SNA), emphasizes the importance of new contributions, including from new and existing donors from the international community, the African Union Peace Fund, the private sector, civil society and other donations, in order to share the financial burden of supporting AMISOM;
“31. Reiterates its call for new and existing donors to support AMISOM through the provision of additional funding for troop stipends, equipment, and technical assistance for AMISOM, and contributions to the United Nations Trust Fund for AMISOM including contributions destined for the SNA, calls upon the AU to consider how to provide sustainable funding for AMISOM, and underlines the AU’s call for its Member States to provide financial support to AMISOM;
“32. Stresses the need to enhance the predictability, sustainability and flexibility of financing for African Union-led peace support operations authorized by the Security Council and under the Security Council’s authority consistent with Chapter VIII of the Charter, urges the Secretary-General, African Union and partners to explore in earnest funding arrangements for AMISOM, bearing in mind the full range of options available to the United Nations, African Union, the European Union, and to other partners, and considering the limitations of voluntary funding, in order to establish secure future funding arrangements for AMISOM, and looks forward to the Secretary-General’s report on the future funding of AMISOM by November 2017;
Somali Security Forces
“33. Recognizes that the primary responsibility for security lies with the Somali people and institutions, and in this regard, welcomes the historical political agreement on the National Security Architecture by the Federal Government of Somalia and the Federal Member States on 17 April 2017, commends their renewed commitment to security sector reform, and underscores the need to implement these commitments urgently, and to accelerate reform;
“34. Underlines the importance of swift implementation of the National Security Architecture, delineating roles and responsibilities of Somalia’s security institutions, agreeing on governance and oversight structures and identifying capability gaps in order to guide AMISOM and donors’ security sector assistance priorities and signalling areas of cooperation with the international community in order to develop Somali-led security institutions and forces, both military and civilian, that are capable, affordable, acceptable, and accountable, and emphasizes the vital importance of the rule of law and of security forces complying with obligations under international humanitarian law and human rights law as applicable in particular with respect to ending and preventing recruitment and use of children in armed conflict;
“35. Stresses the importance of the FGS and Federal Member States accelerating the strengthening and improved coordination of the Somali security institutions, and enhancing efforts to move towards the eventual handover of security responsibilities to the Somali security services and withdrawal of AMISOM;
“36. Welcomes the commitment of international partners to provide additional and more effective support through the implementation mechanisms agreed at the London Somalia Conference, including more coordinated delivery of mentoring, training, equipment, capacity building, and remuneration of police and military forces consistent with the Security Pact agreed at the London Somalia Conference, and in this regard emphasizes the important role of UNSOM to assist the FGS in coordinating international donor support for security sector assistance;
“37. Welcomes the support already provided by the international community and bilateral donors to the Somali security sector, encourages partners to further enhance their support to national and state-level institutions for the development of the Somali security sector, including logistical support, and calls upon new partners to come forward to support this development, and reiterates the importance of coordination amongst all partners as agreed in the Security Pact;
“38. Underscores the need for international partners to closely align their efforts in a fully coordinated manner to enable Somalia to achieve a comprehensive approach to advance sustainable security, and the need to implement commitments through the implementation mechanism set out in the Security Pact on 11 May 2017;
“39. Underlines that it is essential that military operations are followed immediately by Somali efforts to establish or improve governance structures in recovered areas and by the delivery of basic services, including security, through the National Security Council and Regional Security Councils;
“40. Recognizes that the threat of Al-Shabaab will not be defeated by military means alone, and in this regard encourages the Federal Government of Somalia, with the support of UNSOM, to continue to take a comprehensive approach to security, in line with the Security Pact and the New Partnership Agreement for Somalia, and to implement Somalia’s National Strategy and Action Plan for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism in order to strengthen Somalia’s capacity to prevent and counter terrorism;
“41. Welcomes the commitment of the FGS and Federal Member states to establish basic policing services across Somalia, as envisaged in the new federal policing model, requests UNSOM to support implementation of the federal policing model, especially at the Federal Member State level, encourages donors to support relevant national and state-level institutions in its implementation, welcomes capacity-building for the maritime police force in line with resolution 2246 (2015) by the FGS with the support of UNSOM, and looks forward to progress towards its implementation;
“42. Commends the Federal Government of Somalia and the Federal Member States for their commitment to increase the transparency and accountability of security sector financial management, and the payment of salaries and support requirements as set out in the Security Pact, and in line with the national constitution and resource sharing mechanisms and looks forward to progress on this commitment;
“43. Calls on the Federal Government of Somalia, the Federal Member States, AMISOM and UNSOM to work to ensure that women and girls are protected from sexual violence, including sexual exploitation and abuse, which can significantly exacerbate and prolong situations of armed conflict and may impede the restoration of international peace and security, and that victims are supported and perpetrators held accountable, urges the Federal Government of Somalia, with the support of the United Nations, to accelerate the implementation of the Joint Communiqué and the National Action Plan to combat sexual violence in conflict;
Logistical Support
“44. Requests the Secretary-General to continue to provide a logistical support package for AMISOM and 70 AMISOM civilians, the 10,900 SNA on joint operations with AMISOM, and UNSOM as set out in paragraph 2 of resolution 2245 (2015), and requests the Secretary-General to expedite the necessary procedures to implement resolution 2245 (2015);
“45. Stresses the need for responsive and effective field support and in this regard welcomes UNSOS’s efforts, in collaboration with AMISOM, to implement measures aimed at strengthening accountability and efficiency in the management of resources and finances in order to better align the delivery of logistical support to AMISOM’s priorities and activities and requests the Secretary-General to report on progress in his regular reporting;
“46. Welcomes the signing of a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) by the Governments of Ethiopia and Uganda, with the United Nations, and the African Union, and urges all troop and police contributing countries to conclude negotiations on the trilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) without delay;
Somalia
“47. Welcomes the FGS’ active engagement with the Universal Periodic Review Process and encourages implementation of all accepted recommendations;
“48. Expresses concern at continued violations and abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law in Somalia and underscores the need to end impunity, uphold human rights and to hold accountable those responsible for such violations and abuses, welcomes the passage of legislation to establish Somalia’s National Human Rights Commission, encourages the FGS to finalize its status and further encourages the FGS to pass legislation aimed at protecting human rights and ensuring investigations and prosecutions of perpetrators of crimes involving violations of international humanitarian law and human rights violations and abuses;
“49. Expresses concern at forced evictions of internally displaced persons (IDPs) from public and private infrastructure in major towns in Somalia, stresses that any eviction should be consistent with relevant national and international frameworks, calls upon the FGS and all relevant actors to strive to provide concrete durable solutions for internal displacement, and encourages the FGS, with the support of partners, to create an environment conducive to the voluntary repatriation of refugees, and the voluntary, safe and dignified return, local integration or resettlement of IDPs;
“50. Expresses grave concern at the ongoing humanitarian crisis and risk of famine in Somalia and its impact on the people of Somalia, commends the efforts of the United Nations humanitarian agencies and other humanitarian actors to deliver life-saving assistance to vulnerable populations, condemns the increase in attacks against humanitarian workers and calls on all parties to respect and protect humanitarian personnel, facilities and assets; further condemns any misuse or obstruction of humanitarian assistance, and reiterates its demand that all parties allow and facilitate rapid, safe and unhindered access for the timely delivery of aid to persons in need across Somalia; underlines the importance of proper accounting in international humanitarian support, and encourages national disaster management agencies in Somalia to scale up capacity with support from the United Nations to take a stronger leadership role in coordination of humanitarian response;
“51. Underlines the importance of respect for international humanitarian law and the protection of civilians, especially women and children, as well as relevant Security Council resolutions, by all actors in Somalia;
“52. Reaffirms the important role of women and youth in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and in peacebuilding, stresses the importance of their meaningful participation in all efforts for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security;
“53. Strongly condemns all violations and abuses committed against children in armed conflict in Somalia, calling on the Federal Government of Somalia to implement fully the Convention of the Rights of the Child 1989, and the Action Plans signed in 2012, and underscores the need to strengthen the legal and operational framework for the protection of children, including by ratification of or accession to its Operational Protocols and strengthen existing vetting mechanisms;
Reporting
“54. Requests the Secretary-General to keep the Security Council regularly informed on the implementation of this resolution in his regular reports, including through oral updates and no fewer than three written reports, with the first written report by 12 January 2018, and every 120 days thereafter;
“55. Requests the Secretary-General to update the Security Council on the status of the Somali security forces and their readiness to perform security tasks taking into consideration the outcome of the Operational Readiness Assessment, and on the impact of operations on the level of threat from Al-Shabaab, and further requests the African Union to report through the Secretary-General on progress on the reconfiguration of AMISOM including the deployment of police personnel, and progress towards achieving AMISOM’s objectives, in its regular reports to the Security Council in order to maintain the momentum of transition to Somali security forces;
“56. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.”