Pressure mounts on AU Commission to fund Somalia peace mission

KAMPALA, Uganda - Countries contributing troops towards peace efforts in Somalia have urged the African Union Commission, in coordination with partners, to mobilise resources to support the mission.

The Summit of Heads of State and Government of Troop Contributing Countries (TCCS) to the African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) stressed the importance of addressing operational shortfalls through the provision of adequate, sustainable, and predictable funding.
 
In a meeting held on April 25 at the State House in Entebbe, Uganda, the forum requested the African Union Commission to develop a Resource Mobilisation Strategy and Financing for AUSSOM.

The meeting further urged “rapid force generation to fill identified capability gaps, ensuring mission effectiveness and boosting morale among deployed personnel.”

The meeting underscored the importance of increasing the troops by at least an additional 8,000 to the AUSSOM Troops' surge to address the prevailing security situation in Somalia, so as not to roll back the hard-earned gains made so far.

It further called for enhancing the Somali National Armed Forces training command to support the training of the Somali Security Forces to enhance a coordinated force generation process to ensure an integrated doctrinal approach.

The member countries reaffirmed the need to establish mechanisms for countering extremist narratives to counter Al Shabaab propaganda.

The meeting was held at the invitation of President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni of Uganda.

The Summit was attended by Dr. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud (President of the Federal Republic of Somalia), Prof. Kithure Kindiki (Deputy President of the Republic of Kenya) Abdoulkader Kamil Mohamed (Prime Minister of the Republic of Djibouti), Dr. Mostafa Madbouly (Prime Minister of the Arab Republic of Egypt), and Ayisha Mehamed Musa (Minister of Defence of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia).

It was also attended by the Mahmoud Ali Youssouf (chairperson of the African Union Commission); Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu (Executive Secretary of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development); James Swan (acting Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General and head of the United Nations Transition Mission in Somalia); and Aisa Kacyira Kirabo (Assistant Secretary General and Head of the United Nations Support Office in Somalia).

Also in attendance were the representatives of the European Union Delegation, the United Kingdom and Great Britain, and the United States of America.

The purpose of the summit was to receive a report of the Ministerial meeting (Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defence) on the review and proposed way forward on the security situation and performance of AUSSOM, update on the Somali Security Forces (SSFS) state of preparedness and progress in Force Generation, Integration and Mentorship, status of handed over Forward Operating Bases, the AUSSOM Exit plan, funding of AUSSOM and TCCS Plus Somalia Peer Review Mechanism for Oversight, Accountability, Coordination, Monitoring and Evaluation for AUSSOM and SSDP.