UN Security Council renews mandate of assistance mission in Somalia

Representatives vote on a draft resolution during a UN Security Council meeting at the UN headquarters in New York, on Oct. 31, 2023. The UN Security Council on Tuesday adopted a resolution to renew the mandate of the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) for a year, till Oct. 31, 2024. (Loey Felipe/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua)

UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Tuesday adopted a resolution to renew the mandate of the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) for a year, till Oct. 31, 2024.

Resolution 2705, which was adopted unanimously by the 15-member council, requests UNSOM to continue to maintain and strengthen its presence across Somalia, in consultation with the federal government of Somalia and Somalia's federal member states, and to continue to strengthen its cooperation with Somalia and the African Union.

It encourages UNSOM to continue to coordinate UN efforts, and maximize joint approaches and joint programming in relevant areas to support state-building and peacebuilding in Somalia.

It recalls the recommendations of the strategic review of UNSOM and calls for their timely implementation, including planning to develop a roadmap for the eventual transition from UNSOM to the UN Country Team, finalizing the UNSOM staffing and configuration review, and toward a common understanding of an end state.

UNSOM was created in June 2013 by the Security Council to support state building and peace building in Somalia.