UN Security Council to discuss Somalia mission and sanctions

The United Nations Security Council is scheduled to hold a special session this November to address the situation in Somalia. Key topics for discussion include the future of the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), financial challenges facing the mission, and the potential extension of the sanctions regime against the Al-Shabab group.

Briefings during the closed-door session are expected from UN Assistant Secretary-General for Africa Martin Kimani and El Hadji Ibrahima Diene, the head of the AUSSOM mission. This meeting follows the official closure of the United Nations Transitional Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNTMIS) on October 31, 2026. The conclusion of UNTMIS marks the end of over thirty years of continuous UN political and state-building missions in the country.

The transition toward Somali sovereignty and self-reliance involves transferring government support to Somali institutions and UN development agencies. However, the handover occurs amid significant domestic challenges, including an ongoing Al-Shabaab insurgency and political divisions between the federal government and regional administrations in Puntland and Jubaland.