UN political mission in Somalia closes after three decades as UNTMIS ends its work

The United Nations Transitional Assistance Mission in Somalia, known as UNTMIS, ended its work on 31 October, closing a chapter of roughly three decades of UN political missions in the Horn of Africa country, according to UN News.

Raisedon Zenenga, the UN Secretary-General’s Deputy Special Representative for Somalia, who spoke as the mission’s officer-in-charge at its closing ceremony, said that “significant challenges remain” but that Somalia has made considerable progress since the early years of international efforts to support its recovery. He said the country now has national and federal institutions that did not exist when the UN’s political engagement began.

What changes, and what does not

With UNTMIS gone, Somali institutions take on full responsibility for the country’s recovery, supported by UN agencies already working there. UN News says some 25 UN entities continue humanitarian and development work across Somalia. “Today is not an end to the partnership between the United Nations and Somalia,” Zenenga said, calling it “the conclusion of one chapter and the beginning of another”.

Examples cited by the UN include a market rebuilt by the International Organization for Migration in Balcad, new national guidelines on newborn care launched by Somalia’s health ministry with UNICEF, a school meals programme backed by the Food and Agriculture Organization in Puntland, and landmine awareness training by UN mine action experts in Baidoa.

Humanitarian needs remain high

The UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, describes Somalia as one of the world’s most complex crises, where conflict and climate shocks feed each other and families uprooted by drought or fighting are often displaced again by floods or new violence. This year 4.8 million Somalis, out of a population of just under 20 million, need humanitarian help. Aid agencies are asking for $852 million to reach 2.4 million people, half of those in need, and by mid-October only about 35 per cent of that had been received.

According to OCHA, Somalia imports more than 90 per cent of its essential goods, and its economy leans heavily on subsistence farming, livestock, remittances and pastoralism. The Secretary-General has also called for continued support to counter the terror group Al-Shabaab and to help Somalia move towards a gradual, sustainable security transition, UN News reports.

Zenenga said continued engagement by the international community “will remain important to sustaining progress and addressing outstanding priorities”.