UN ends Somalia political mission after three decades

The United Nations political mission in Somalia ended on Saturday after a two-year transition, closing more than three decades of UN peacebuilding operations in the country.

UNSOM was established by the UN Security Council in 2013 to support Somali authorities on democracy and the rule of law after years of conflict. The operation began as the UN Political Office for Somalia in 1995 and was later renamed the UN Transitional Assistance Mission in Somalia during the transition.

Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud asked in May 2024 for the mission to end before its mandate expired later that year, then revised the request to allow a two-year transition. The mission's mandates have now been transferred either to Somali institutions or to the UN country team.

Raisedon Zenenga, officer-in-charge of UNTMIS and the UN secretary-general's deputy special representative for Somalia, said the closure marked “the conclusion of one chapter and the beginning of another” rather than the end of the UN-Somalia partnership.

The transition comes while Al-Shabaab, which is linked to Al-Qaeda and has fought Somalia's government for two decades, continues to control large areas of central Somalia. Somalia is also due to hold parliamentary and presidential elections next May, with insecurity and opposition disputes threatening the process.