The Security Council entity overseeing sanctions on Somalia received a final report, as well as two…
The Security Council entity overseeing sanctions on Somalia received a final report, as well as two thematic reports from its Panel of Experts, its Chair said today, as he briefed the 15-member organ on its work between 22 June and 19 October.
Fergal Tomas Mythen (Ireland), Chair of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 751 (1992) concerning Somalia, noted that it met twice in informal consultations over the reporting period.
He reported that on 7 October 2022, the Committee met to receive a presentation from the Panel of Experts on Somalia on its final report, and to discuss the recommendations contained therein. The report was subsequently transmitted to the Council and issued as document S/2022/754.
The Panel’s Coordinator also provided an update on recent developments in Somalia since the submission of the final report and covered matters relating to weapons and ammunition management — including those captured from Al-Shabaab — and the charcoal which was exported by the vessel MV Fox and seized and offloaded by Omani authorities. In its final report, the Panel made 18 recommendations, he noted, six of which are addressed to the Council and 12 to the Committee. The Committee is currently considering the recommendations addressed to it, he added.
On 14 October 2022, he continued, the Committee received a briefing from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs on the report of the Emergency Relief Coordinator (document S/2022/766) which focused on the delivery of humanitarian assistance and its related impediments. The Deputy Director of the Operations and Advocacy Division described the exacerbated humanitarian and protection crises in Somalia while underlining the importance of the humanitarian carve-out and its reaffirmation by the Council.
On the same date, the Committee received a briefing from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) within the framework of resolution 2607 (2021) which covered maritime security and the countering of terrorism financing in Somalia. In presenting their findings on illegal fishing, the violation of the charcoal ban and the disruption of Al-Shabaab’s revenue streams, UNODC representatives also provided recommendations. The Panel, he noted, participated in both briefings as an observer.
During the reporting period, the Committee received two thematic reports from the Panel of Experts: one report covered the violation of the charcoal ban by the vessel MV Fox, and a second dealt with humanitarian assistance in Al-Shabaab controlled areas. He went on to detail the subsidiary organ’s communications with Member States on various matters in connection with the Panel’s recommendations and summarized statistics relating to arms-embargo exemption requests and notifications. The Committee also received the Somali Government’s second biannual report.
