Adopting Resolution 2767 (2024), Security Council Endorses New African Union Support Mission in Somalia
The Security Council today endorsed the African Union Peace and Security Council’s decision to replace the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) with the African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), marking a further step in transitioning national security responsibilities to Somalia’s own forces.
Adopting resolution 2767 (2024) (to be issued as document S/RES/2767(2024)) by a vote of 14 in favour to none against, with 1 abstention (United States), the Council authorized African Union members to take all necessary measures for 12 months, starting 1 January 2025, including supporting the Federal Government of Somalia in degrading Al-Shabaab and affiliates linked to Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), also known as Da’esh.
The Council also welcomed the progress made so far by Somalia in assuming progressively greater responsibility for its national security, including the Somali security forces taking over responsibilities from 7,000 drawn-down ATMIS forces since 2022. African Union member States were authorized to continue to deploy up to 12,626 uniformed personnel, including 1,040 police personnel, to AUSSOM until 30 June 2025 and to complete by this date the realignment of all African Union troops from ATMIS to AUSSOM.
The text contains a section dedicated to financing AUSSOM, including references to Council resolution 2719 (2023) — which establishes a framework for financing African Union peace support operations through UN assessed contributions to ensure predictable and sustainable financing for those missions.
By the text, the Council requested the Secretary-General to implement, within existing resources made available through the rightsizing of the UN Support Office in Somalia, the “hybrid” implementation of the 2719 framework to AUSSOM from 1 July 2025, combining UN assessed contributions with funds mobilized by the African Union and other partners. This application is contingent on the Council’s confirmation by 15 May 2025 of sufficient progress on operationalizing the modalities of resolution 2719 (2023).
Delegates debated the “hybrid” financing option, which proposed applying the 2719 framework to the AUSSOM budget, with 75 per cent funded through UN assessed contributions and the remaining 25 per cent covered by the African Union and the UN as extra-budgetary resources.
Somalia’s delegate welcomed the adoption of the resolution as “a significant step” towards peace and stability in his country. He also commended the Council’s call to implement the “hybrid model” in July 2025, adding that this approach recognizes the unique operational context and reinforces the logistical support provided by the United Nations, which has been instrumental in the success of peace support operations. Additionally, he underscored that access to the UN-assessed contributions of up to 75 per cent can provide adequate, predictable and sustainable funding to AUSSOM and significantly enhance the capacity to confront the security challenges posed by Al-Shabaab.
The representative of Algeria, also speaking for Guyana, Mozambique and Sierra Leone, highlighted their support for the “hybrid option” for implementing resolution 2719 (2023) as “the only viable and applicable option” for AUSSOM. The agreement by the bloc’s member States to consider a token financial contribution to the new Mission in Somalia, despite their financial challenges, reflects the regional organization’s ability to craft African solutions to African problems.
The Council’s European members — France, Malta, Switzerland and Slovenia — also expressed support for the “hybrid” financing option, with the former highlighting the European Union’s financial contributions to African Union-led missions and the latter stressing that all necessary steps described in the resolution must be implemented in due time so that the Mission can begin receiving adequate funding by 1 July 2025. “Any delay beyond this date would endanger the effectiveness of the Mission and have serious repercussions for the security and stability of Somalia and the region,” he cautioned.
The United Kingdom’s delegate emphasized that the resolution prepares the ground for the Council to approve a transformative change to the Mission’s financing in May 2025, with the first anticipated use of the framework established by resolution 2719 (2023).
However, the representative of the United States said “the conditions have not been met” for applying the 2719 framework to Somalia. The proposed hybrid model in today's text implies that the UN would continue to fully fund United Nations Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS) through UN assessed contributions and that resolution 2719 (2023) would apply solely to troop reimbursements. This arrangement would result in UN assessed contributions effectively funding more than 90 per cent of the aggregate mission cost. “This is clearly not what Resolution 2719 envisioned,” she said.
China’s delegate highlighted the critical need to avoid a security vacuum, describing the adopted resolution as an important step in the Council’s support for African Union-led peacekeeping operations. The speakers for the Republic of Korea and Ecuador said AUSSOM’s adequate, predictable and sustainable funding is critical to preventing security gaps that could enable opportunistic terrorist expansion. Japan’s representative welcomed the recently signed Declaration between Somalia and Ethiopia, noting that continued regional cooperation is critical, particularly in the fight against Al Shabaab.
Ethiopia’s delegate said the transition from ATMIS to AUSSOM will be successful only if Somali security forces are enabled to assume their full responsibility. Concurring with the Council’s cautious approach that any further transition should be informed by progressive improvement in their capability, he added that his country, along with other frontline States, has been at the forefront of supporting Somalia in rebuilding its state institutions.
However, the Russian Federation’s delegate said “statements about support to Africans and their aspirations look hypocritical”, given the contrast between $238.5 billion in Western funding for Ukraine since February 2022 and the $11 billion which the European Union allocated to the African Peace Facility. Reaffirming support for the draft, he said the Council has made an important step, demonstrating its trust in African leadership.
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