Source · Select Committees · Foreign Affairs Committee

Recommendation 37

37 Accepted in Part

Outline continued work with regional actors and funding for UN/AU mandates in Somalia

Recommendation
A stable Somalia is crucial to global and maritime security. The Government should, in its response, outline how it is continuing to work with regional actors in Somalia and detail which funds it will use to support the implementation of United Nations and regional African Union-led mandates in Somalia. The Government should set out what form this new financing partnership will take, such as a joint UK-led Security Council Stabilisation Fund in cooperation with like-minded countries. (Recommendation, Paragraph 120)
Government Response Summary
The government partially agrees, explaining that a new joint fund mechanism faces challenges due to lack of consensus and donor fatigue. However, it is proactively working with international partners on voluntary funding and committed £16.5 million to AUSSOM, lobbying others for pledges to build a sustainable funding solution.
Government Response Accepted in Part
HM Government Accepted in Part
Partially agree. 50. In May 2025, the UN Security Council could not reach consensus in applying an adapted version of resolution 2719 (2023), a funding model intended, on a case-by-case basis, to allow AU Peace Support Operations to access up to 75% of UN funding, to AUSSOM due to disagreements on the readiness and suitability of implementation in the Mission’s context. In the context of a challenging financial environment, the establishment of a new ‘joint fund’ mechanism would likely encounter similar challenges, including donor fatigue and tight budgets. 51. HMG is proactively working with international partners to address the question of voluntary funding for relevant UN and AU-led efforts in Somalia. During UN General Assembly High-Level Week in September 2025, the UK co-hosted a side event alongside the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) and the AU, which focused on funding the AU Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM). At this event, the UK announced our own commitment of £16.5 million to AUSSOM. We hope that through this action, alongside our efforts to lobby international partners to also make their own financial pledges, we can build towards a sustainable and predictable longer-term funding solution.