After a late start, debate quickly became heated. The delegations of Somalia and Kenya engaged in a war of words, the former accusing the latter of supporting terrorists, while Kenya questioned the Federal Government of Somalia’s (FGS) ability to effectively combat terrorism, with negative consequences not just in Somalia, but also in the wider region. Somalia was supported mainly by Türkiye and Russia, while Kenya failed to gain wider support.
The focus of the session was the working paper introduced at the beginning, sponsored by the delegations of Russia and Türkiye, and supported by the delegate of Somalia. Key issues were access to Somali ports, reuniting preserving the territorial integrity and federal structure of Somalia, and the effective distribution of humanitarian aid. The United States urged the Russian Federation to limit its ambitions to expand its influence in the region, while China spoke out in support, suggesting sanctions on countries that do not enforce the eventual resolution.
The delegates spent most of their time speaking on the GSL, with motions for unmoderated and moderated caucuses repeatedly failing, but the working paper of Russia was eventually successfully introduced as a draft resolution, narrowly meeting the required vote threshold. With time running out, the debate was swiftly closed with no amendments introduced.
During voting procedure the United States successfully divided the question, and operative clause 2 (which aimed to stop all support (military, diplomatic, etc.) to the Jubaland state government) were to be voted on separately. Voting proceeded via roll call after the motion of the delegation of Türkiye. Clause 2 was vetoed by the United States, but the rest of the resolution passed with 6 votes in favour, 2 abstentions, and 1 vote against.
Click here to read the final resolution.