Security Council Resolution 2444 (2018) [on Lifting of Arms Embargoes, Travel Bans, Asset Freezes and Targeted Sanctions on Eritrea, Termination of the Mandate of the Somalia and Eritrea Monitoring Group (Semg) with Effect From 16 Dec. 2018, and Establishment of the Panel of Experts on Somalia]

S/RES/2444 (2018)View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the Security Council, under agenda item 151 The situation in Somalia, published in 2018.

What subjects does this mandate have?

11 subjects

Arms Embargo Arms Transfers Charcoal Djibouti Eritrea Groups of Experts Humanitarian Assistance Sanctions Sanctions Compliance Somalia Somalia Situation

What’s in this document?

58 operative paragraphs

Lifting of arms embargoes, travel bans, asset freezes and targeted sanctions on Eritrea

Recalls paragraphs 16 and 17 of resolution 1907 (2009) and recognises that during the course of its current and four previous mandates the SEMG has not found conclusive evidence that Eritrea supports Al-Shabaab;

Welcomes the meeting on 25 September 2018 between the representative of the Government of Eritrea and the Chair of the Committee, and further welcomes the meeting on 5 October 2018 between the representative of the Government of Eritrea and the Coordinator of the SEMG, with the participation of the Chair of the Committee;

Welcomes the meeting between the President of Djibouti and the President of Eritrea in Jeddah on 17 September 2018, underlines the importance of continuing efforts towards the normalisation of relations between Eritrea and Djibouti for regional peace, stability and reconciliation, and encourages Member States, international, regional and subregional organisations and other parties to continue to support these efforts including through their good offices;

Decides to lift from the date of adoption of this resolution the arms embargoes, travel bans, asset freezes and targeted sanctions imposed on Eritrea by the Security Council in its resolutions 1907 (2009) 2023 (2011), 2060 (2012) and 2111 (2013);

Expresses its satisfaction that funds derived from the mining sector of Eritrea are not contributing to violations of resolutions 1844 (2008), 1862 (2009), 1907 (2009) or 2023 (2011), and decides that from the date of adoption of this resolution, States are no longer required to undertake the measures set out in paragraph 13 of resolution 2023 (2011);

Urges Eritrea and Djibouti to engage on the issue of the Djiboutian combatants missing in action including through the mediation of any relevant party of their own choosing, and further urges Eritrea to make available any further detailed information;

Urges the two parties to continue efforts to settle their border dispute peacefully in a manner consistent with international law by conciliation, arbitration or judicial settlement, or by any other means of pacific dispute settlement identified in Article 33 of the Charter upon which they agree;

Affirms that it will continue to follow developments towards the normalisation of relations between Eritrea and Djibouti and will support the two countries in the resolution of these matters in good faith;

Committee

Decides that the mandate of the Committee pursuant to resolutions 751 (1992) and 1907 (2009) concerning Somalia and Eritrea, hereafter to be known as the Committee pursuant to resolution 751 (1992) concerning Somalia (“the Committee”), shall include the tasks as set out in paragraph 11 of resolution 751 (1992), paragraph 11 of resolution 1844 (2008), and paragraph 23 of resolution 2036 (2012), and requests that the Committee amends its guidelines, its implementation assistance notices and its website accordingly;

Somalia and Eritrea Monitoring Group

Decides to terminate the mandate of the Somalia and Eritrea Monitoring Group (SEMG), with effect from 16 December 2018;

Panel of Experts on Somalia

Decides to establish, with effect from the date of adoption of this resolution, until 15 December 2019, the Panel of Experts on Somalia, further decides that the mandate of the Panel of Experts shall include the tasks as set out in paragraph 13 of resolution 2060 (2012) and updated in paragraph 41 of resolution 2093 (2013), paragraph 15 of resolution 2182 (2014), paragraph 23 of resolution 2036 (2012) and paragraph 29 of this resolution as they relate to Somalia, and expresses its intention to review the mandate and take appropriate action regarding any extensions of the mandate of the Panel of Experts no later than 15 November 2019;

Requests the Secretary-General to take the necessary administrative measures as expeditiously as possible to establish the Panel of Experts, consisting of six members and to be based in Nairobi, in consultation with the Committee, until 15 December 2019, drawing, as appropriate, on the expertise of the members of the SEMG established pursuant to previous resolutions, and further requests the Panel of Experts to include the necessary gender expertise, in line with paragraph 6 of resolution 2242 (2015);

Somalia Arms embargo

Reaffirms the arms embargo on Somalia, imposed by paragraph 5 of resolution 733 (1992) and further elaborated upon in paragraphs 1 and 2 of resolution 1425 (2002) and modified by paragraphs 33 to 38 of resolution 2093 (2013) and paragraphs 4 to 17 of resolution 2111 (2013), paragraph 14 of resolution 2125 (2013), paragraph 2 of resolution 2142 (2014), paragraph 2 of resolution 2244 (2015), paragraph 2 of resolution 2317 (2016) and paragraph 2 of resolution 2385 (2017) (hereafter referred to as “the arms embargo on Somalia”);

Decides to renew the provisions set out in paragraph 2 of resolution 2142 (2014) until 15 November 2019, and in that context reiterates that the arms embargo on Somalia shall not apply to deliveries of weapons, ammunition or military equipment or the provision of advice, assistance or training, intended solely for the development of the Somali National Security Forces, to provide security for the Somali people, except in relation to deliveries of the items set out in the annex of resolution 2111 (2013);

Reaffirms its decision that the entry into Somali ports for temporary visits of vessels carrying arms and related materiel for defensive purposes does not amount to a delivery of such items in violation of the arms embargo on Somalia, provided that such items remain at all times aboard such vessels;

Reiterates its decision that weapons or military equipment sold or supplied solely for the development of the Somali National Security Forces may not be resold to, transferred to, or made available for use by, any individual or entity not in the service of the Somali National Security Forces, and underlines the responsibility of the FGS and the FMSs to ensure the safe and effective management, storage and security of their stockpiles;

Welcomes in this regard the improvements made by the FGS in weapons registration, recording and marking procedures and encourages further improvements, expresses concern at reports of continued weapons diversion from within the FGS and FMSs, notes that further improved weapons and ammunition management is vital in order to prevent the diversion of weapons and ammunition, and reiterates that the Security Council is committed to monitoring and assessing improvements in order to review the arms embargo when all conditions as set out in Security Council resolutions are met;

Calls upon the FGS to facilitate access for the Panel of Experts, on the basis of written requests to the FGS by the Panel of Experts submitted at least ten days in advance, to all FGS armouries in Mogadishu, all FGS imported weapons and ammunition prior to distribution, all FGS military storage facilities in Somalia National Army (SNA) sectors and all captured weaponry in FGS custody, and to allow photographs of weapons and ammunition in FGS custody and access to all FGS logbooks and distribution records, in order to enable the Security Council to monitor and assess progress in this area;

Welcomes the ongoing efforts of the FGS to develop detailed Standard Operating Procedures for weapons and ammunition management including an issue and receipt system to track all weapons post distribution, further welcomes the development of a mechanism to distribute weapons and ammunition to regional forces, consistent with the requirements of this resolution including paragraph 16, encourages that such a mechanism be expanded to include other military equipment and supplies, consistent with the requirements of this resolution including paragraph 16, and urges the FGS to finalise and implement these procedures as soon as possible;

Welcomes the establishment of the Joint Verification Team (JVT) and urges Member States to support improved weapons and ammunition management to improve the capacity of the FGS to manage weapons and ammunition;

Takes notes of FGS reporting to the Security Council pursuant to paragraph 9 of resolution 2182 (2014) and as requested in paragraph 7 of resolution 2244 (2015), calls on the FGS and FMSs to accelerate the implementation of the National Security Architecture agreement, the Security Pact, and the transition plan in order to provide Somali-led security and protection to the people of Somalia, and requests the FGS to report to the Security Council in accordance with paragraph 9 of resolution 2182 (2014) and as requested in paragraph 7 of resolution 2244 (2015), by 15 March 2019 and then by 15 September 2019, on the structure, composition, strength and disposition of its Security Forces, including the status of regional and militia forces, and to include as annexes the reports of the JVT requested in paragraph 7 of resolution 2182 (2014);

Recalls that the FGS has the primary responsibility to notify the Committee of any deliveries of weapons, ammunition or military equipment or the provision of advice, assistance or training to its Security Forces, pursuant to paragraphs 3 to 8 of resolution 2142 (2014), and calls upon the FGS to improve its notifications to the Committee;

Calls upon the FGS to continue to improve the timeliness and content of notifications regarding the completion of deliveries, as set out in paragraph 6 of resolution 2142 (2014);

Requests the FGS to incorporate the notifications regarding the destination unit in the Somali National Security Forces upon distribution of imported arms and ammunition, detailed in paragraph 7 of resolution 2142 (2014), into the regular FGS reporting to the Security Council requested in paragraph 20;

Stresses Member States’ obligations pursuant to the notification procedures set out in paragraph 11 (a) of resolution 2111 (2013), urges Member States to strictly follow the notification procedures for providing assistance to develop Somali security sector institutions, and encourages Member States to consider Implementation Assistance Notice No.2 of the Committee as a guide;

Recalls paragraph 2 of resolution 2142 (2014) and notes that support for the development of the Somali National Security Forces may include, inter alia, building infrastructure and provision of salaries and stipends solely provided to the Somali National Security Forces;

Urges increased cooperation by the FGS, FMSs and AMISOM, as set out in paragraph 6 of resolution 2182 (2014), to document and register all military equipment captured as part of offensive operations or in the course of carrying out their mandates;

Calls upon the FGS and FMSs to enhance civilian oversight of their security forces, to continue to adopt and implement appropriate vetting procedures of all defence and security personnel, including human rights vetting, and to investigate and as appropriate prosecute individuals responsible for violations of international law, including international humanitarian law and human rights law, and in this context recalls the importance of the Secretary-General’s Human Rights and Due Diligence Policy in relation to the support provided by the United Nations to Somali security forces;

Decides that the Panel of Experts will continue the investigations started by the SEMG related to the export to Somalia of chemicals that may be used as oxidisers in the manufacture of improvised explosive devices, such as the precursors ammonium nitrate, potassium chlorate, potassium nitrate and sodium chlorate with a view to considering further action, and calls on Members States and the FGS to cooperate with the Panel of Experts in this regard;

Underlines the importance of timely and predictable payment of salaries to the Somali security forces and calls on the FGS to continue to implement systems to improve the timeliness and accountability of payments and supply of provisions to the Somali security forces, and welcomes the progress made to date on biometric registration;

Recalls the need to build the capacities of the Somali National Security Forces, in particular the provision of equipment, training and mentoring, in order to develop credible, professional and representative security forces to enable the gradual handing over of security responsibilities from AMISOM to the Somali security forces in line with the transition plan, and encourages further donor support and coordination as set out in the Security Pact;

Requests the Secretary-General to conduct a technical assessment regarding the arms embargo, with options and recommendations for improving implementation, by 15 May 2019;

Threats to peace and security in Somalia

Condemns Al-Shabaab’s increased revenue from natural resources including the taxing of the illicit sugar trade, agricultural production and livestock, further expresses concern at the group’s involvement in the illicit charcoal trade, and welcomes the Panel of Experts’ reporting on these issues;

Requests the FGS to cooperate with the Panel of Experts to facilitate interviews of suspected members of Al-Shabaab and ISIL (also known as D’aesh) held in FGS custody, in order to assist the Panel of Experts with its investigations;

Welcomes the efforts that the FGS has made to improve its financial management procedures including the successful completion of two International Monetary Fund (IMF) Staff-Monitoring programmes and the commitments to further reform made under the third Staff-Monitored programme, encourages the FGS and FMSs to maintain the pace of reform to increase transparency, accountability, comprehensiveness and predictability in revenue collection and budget allocations, and expresses concern at the generation and distribution of counterfeit Somali currency;

Expresses concern at the continued reports of corruption and diversion of public resources, including reports of alleged financial impropriety involving members of the FGS, FMSs, Federal Parliament and Somali opposition groups which pose a risk to state-building efforts, and in this context strongly welcomes the steps taken by the FGS to address cases of corruption and to develop anti-corruption legislation;

Underlines that individuals engaged in acts that threaten the peace and reconciliation process in Somalia may be listed for targeted measures;

Recognises that addressing outstanding constitutional issues around power and resource sharing between the FGS and FMSs is crucial for Somalia’s stability, calls upon the FGS and the FMSs to work constructively together to address these issues in an inclusive manner, and encourages the FGS and FMSs to implement the outstanding elements of the National Security Architecture agreement, including decisions around the make-up, distribution and command and control of the security forces and resource-sharing;

Reaffirms Somalia’s sovereignty over its natural resources;

Reiterates its serious concern that the petroleum sector in Somalia could be a driver for increased conflict, welcomes the political agreement on petroleum and mineral resource-sharing reached by the FGS and the FMSs in June 2018, and underlines the vital importance of the FGS and FMSs putting in place, without undue delay, resource-sharing arrangements and credible legal frameworks to ensure that the petroleum sector in Somalia does not become a source of increased tension;

Somalia Charcoal ban

Reaffirms its decision regarding the ban on the import and export of Somali charcoal, as set out in paragraph 22 of resolution 2036 (2012) (“the charcoal ban”), welcomes efforts of Member States to prevent the import of charcoal of Somali origin, reiterates that the FGS and FMSs shall take the necessary measures to prevent the export of charcoal from Somalia, urges Member States to continue their efforts to ensure full implementation of the ban, and further reiterates that individuals and entities engaged in acts which violate the charcoal ban may be listed for targeted measures;

Reiterates its requests in paragraph 18 of resolution 2111 (2013) and paragraph 16 of resolution 2431 (2018) that AMISOM support and assist the FGS and FMSs in implementing the total ban on the export of charcoal from Somalia, and calls upon AMISOM to facilitate regular access for the Panel of Experts to charcoal exporting ports;

Welcomes the efforts of the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) to disrupt the export and import of charcoal to and from Somalia, and further welcomes the cooperation between the Panel of Experts and CMF in keeping the Committee informed on the charcoal trade;

Expresses concern that the charcoal trade provides significant funding for Al-Shabaab, and in that context reiterates paragraphs 11 to 21 of resolution 2182 (2014), and further decides to renew the provisions set out in paragraph 15 of resolution 2182 (2014) until 15 November 2019;

Condemns the ongoing export of charcoal from Somalia, in violation of the total ban on the export of charcoal, calls on Member States to share information with the Panel of Experts, requests the Panel of Experts to continue to focus on this in their next report and propose further measures, taking account of human rights concerns, and expresses its intention to consider further measures if violations continue;

Encourages the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to continue its work with the FGS, within its current mandate, under the Indian Ocean Forum on Maritime Crime to bring together relevant Member States and international organisations to develop strategies to disrupt the trade in Somali charcoal;

Humanitarian access in Somalia

Expresses grave concern at the ongoing humanitarian situation in Somalia and its impact on the people of Somalia, commends the efforts of the United Nations humanitarian agencies and other humanitarian actors to deliver life-saving assistance to vulnerable populations, condemns in the strongest terms attacks against humanitarian actors and any misuse of donor assistance and the obstruction of the delivery of humanitarian aid, reiterates its demand that all parties allow and facilitate full, safe and unhindered access for the timely delivery of aid to persons in need across Somalia, and encourages the FGS to improve the regulatory environment for aid donors;

Decides that until 15 November 2019 and without prejudice to humanitarian assistance programmes conducted elsewhere, the measures imposed by paragraph 3 of resolution 1844 (2008) shall not apply to the payment of funds, other financial assets or economic resources necessary to ensure the timely delivery of urgently needed humanitarian assistance in Somalia, by the United Nations, its specialised agencies or programmes, humanitarian organisations having observer status with the United Nations General Assembly that provide humanitarian assistance, and their implementing partners including bilaterally or multilaterally funded non-governmental organisations participating in the United Nations Humanitarian Response Plan for Somalia;

Requests the Emergency Relief Coordinator to report to the Security Council by 15 October 2019 on the delivery of humanitarian assistance in Somalia and on any impediments to the delivery of humanitarian assistance in Somalia, and requests relevant United Nations agencies and humanitarian organisations having observer status with the United Nations General Assembly and their implementing partners that provide humanitarian assistance in Somalia to increase their cooperation and willingness to share information with the United Nations;

Targeted sanctions in Somalia

Recalls its decisions in resolution 1844 (2008) which imposed targeted sanctions and resolutions 2002 (2011) and 2093 (2013) which expanded the listing criteria, notes one of the listing criteria under resolution 1844 (2008) is engaging in or providing support for acts that threaten the peace, security or stability of Somalia, and decides that such acts may also include but are not limited to planning, directing or committing acts involving sexual and gender-based violence;

Reiterates its willingness to adopt targeted measures against individuals and entities on the basis of the above-mentioned criteria;

Recalls paragraph 2 (c) of resolution 2060 (2012) and emphasises that certain misappropriation of financial resources is a criterion for designation and applies to misappropriation at all levels;

Reiterates its request for Member States to assist the Panel of Experts in its investigations, and further requests the FGS, FMSs and AMISOM to share information with the Panel of Experts regarding Al-Shabaab activities;

Reporting

Requests the Panel of Experts to provide monthly updates to the Committee pursuant to resolution 751 (1992), and a comprehensive midterm update, as well as to submit, for the Security Council’s consideration, through the Committee, a final report by 15 October 2019;

Requests the Committee, in accordance with its mandate and in consultation with the Panel of Experts and other relevant United Nations entities, to consider the recommendations contained in the reports of the Panel of Experts and recommend to the Security Council ways to improve the implementation of and compliance with the Somalia arms embargo, the measures regarding the import and export of charcoal from Somalia, as well as implementation of the measures imposed by paragraphs 1, 3 and 7 of resolutions 1844 (2008) in response to continuing violations;

Requests the Committee to consider, where and when appropriate, visits to selected countries by the Chair and/or Committee members to enhance the full and effective implementation of the measures above, with a view to encouraging States to comply fully with this resolution;

Requests the Secretary General to keep the Security Council informed of developments towards the normalisation of relations between Eritrea and Djibouti and to report to the Security Council no later than 15 February 2019 and every six months thereafter, and expresses its intention to keep this request under review in light of developments;

Decides to remain seized of the matter.