Somalia Sanctions Committee Has Listed Al-Shabaab Spokesperson, Chair Says in Briefing to Security Council

The spokesperson of the al-Shabaab armed group has been listed by the Security Council’s Sanctions Committee on Somalia, and the related Panel of Experts has elaborated the areas on which it will focus under its mandate, renewed on 15 November 2021, the Chair of that body told members today.

Briefing the Council on the subsidiary organ’s work between 21 October 2021 and 24 February 2022, Jim Kelly (Ireland), Chair of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 751 (1992) concerning Somalia, reported that the Committee listed Ali Mohamed Rage — spokesperson of al-Shabaab — on 18 February.

Pointing out that today’s briefing is the first since the Council adopted resolution 2607 (2021), he said that on 10 December 2021, the Committee heard a briefing by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Pramila Patten, who elaborated on patterns and trends of sexual violence in Somalia and presented recommendations to the Committee.

On 11 February, he continued, the Committee met with the Panel of Experts on Somalia — renewed by resolution 2607 (2021) — and heard a presentation on developments in Somalia relevant to the Panel’s mandate and its ongoing investigations.

Further, the Panel presented its areas of focus under the renewed mandate, which include al-Shabaab’s structure; the smuggling and trafficking of weapons and military equipment into Somalia; weapons and ammunition management within that country; investigations into al-Shabaab’s finances; implementation of the ban on the charcoal trade; and child recruitment and gender-based violence by the group.

Following that presentation, he said, Committee members welcomed the continued improvement in the Panel’s relationship with the Federal Government of Somalia, particularly the latter’s cooperation in connection with implementing the charcoal ban.

Turning to requests for and notifications of exemptions from the arms embargo, he provided a brief overview of the number of such communications received by the Committee pursuant to the relevant paragraphs of resolution 2607 (2021).

The meeting began at 3:03 p.m. and ended at 3:11 p.m.