UN Resolution 1814 on Somalia (May 15, 2008). The text

Resolution adopted by the United Nations Security Council (New York, 15 May 2008)

The Security Council,

Recalling its previous resolutions on the situation in Somalia, in particular its resolutions 733 (1992), 1356 (2001), 1425 (2002), 1725 (2006), 1744 (2007), 1772 (2007), 1801 (2008) and 1811 (2008), as well as the statements of its President of July 13, 2006 (S/PRST/2006/31), December 22, 2006 (S/PRST/2006/59), April 30, 2007 (S/PRST/2007/ 13), June 14, 2007 (S/PRST/2007/19) and December 19, 2007 (S/PRST/2007/49),

Reaffirming its commitment to the sovereignty, territorial integrity, political independence and unity of Somalia,

Reaffirming its commitment to a comprehensive and lasting settlement of the situation in Somalia in accordance with the Transitional Federal Charter, underscoring the importance of broadly representative institutions resulting from an inclusive, long-term political process as provided for in the Transitional Federal Charter , and reiterating its support for the Transitional Federal Institutions in Somalia,

Further reaffirming the need to agree on a comprehensive and lasting cessation of hostilities agreement and on how to move the transition process forward, including in preparation for the free and democratic elections foreseen for 2009 by the Charter,

Welcoming the continued efforts of the Prime Minister, Nur "Adde" Hassan Hussein, and his cabinet, under the leadership of President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed and with the support of the Transitional Federal Parliament, to advance the political process and make effective the transition period as provided for in the Charter, particularly with regard to the agreement on the development of the timetable for the constitutional process leading to the 2009 referendum, the presentation of the Reconciliation Strategy of the Transitional Federal Government, the collaboration with clan chiefs and local leaders throughout the country and efforts to implement the National Security and Stabilization Plan and to improve public financial management, including budgetary and fiscal mechanisms, and supporting activities aimed at to move forward in all these areas,

Welcoming the commitment of all Somali parties who have agreed to engage in dialogue with each other with a view to establishing peace and security in Somalia, urging all Somali parties to uphold these commitments and resort exclusively to peaceful means to resolve their differences, further welcoming the supporting role of the United Nations, in particular the practical support provided by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and the United Nations Political Office to Somalia in order to contribute to the progress of this dialogue, and declaring itself in this regard in favor of the start of discussions between the parties in Djibouti on 12 May 2008,

Welcoming the report of the Secretary-General on Somalia of 14 March 2008 (S/2008/178), in particular the conclusion that the current political situation provides the international community with a new opportunity to provide concrete support to Somali initiatives , in particular through a greater presence of United Nations personnel and, subject to broad-based arrangements being made in terms of security policies and conditions and circumstances on the ground permitting, by the deployment of an operation United Nations peacekeeping successor to the African Mission in Somalia (AMISOM),

Welcoming the support of the Secretary-General for an overall United Nations strategic approach to peace and stability in Somalia, harmonizing and integrating political, security and programmatic efforts so that they are concurring with each other, and approving what the Organization is currently doing to support the political process in Somalia and to study the various solutions which would allow the reassignment of United Nations personnel to Somalia,

Welcoming the work carried out by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, and the United Nations Political Office for Somalia, reaffirming its strong support for this work, in particular for the leadership role played by the Special Representative in the coordination of international action, and requesting that all parties, including international organizations, the United Nations country team and Member States, support him and always intervene in close coordination with him,

Reaffirming its condemnation of all acts of violence and incitement to violence in Somalia, expressing concern at all acts aimed at preventing or blocking a peaceful political process, and further expressing concern at the persistence of such acts and of these incentives,

Emphasizing the importance of ensuring and maintaining stability and security throughout Somalia, and emphasizing the importance of the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration in Somalia of militias and ex-combatants,

Emphasizing the contribution of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) to lasting peace and stability in the country, welcoming in particular the continued commitment of the Governments of Uganda and Burundi, deploring the recent death of a Burundian soldier, condemning any act of hostility against the Mission and calling on all parties in Somalia and in the region to support and cooperate with it,

Emphasizing that a full deployment of AMISOM will help facilitate the complete withdrawal of other foreign forces from Somalia and help create the necessary conditions for lasting peace and stability there,

Taking note of the letter dated 20 February 2008 addressed to the Secretary General by the Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission, which was annexed to the report of the Secretary General dated 14 March 2008, as well as the response of the Secretary General dated 23 April 2008 (S/2008/309),

Stressing the support that the arms embargo imposed by resolution 733 (1992), expanded and modified by resolutions 1356 (2001), 1425 (2002), 1725 (2006), 1744 (2007) and 1772 (2007) continues contribute to the peace and security of Somalia and calling once again that all Member States, in particular the States of the region, fully respect it,

Expressing deep concern at the human rights situation in Somalia, and taking note of the resolution on Somalia adopted by the Human Rights Council at its seventh session, as well as the extension by the Council of the mandate of the independent expert on Somalia,

Expressing grave concern about the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Somalia and the difficulties still faced by humanitarian organizations operating in the country, particularly with regard to humanitarian access and the safety of their agents, and reaffirming the humanitarian principles of humanity , neutrality, impartiality and independence,

Considering that the situation in Somalia continues to threaten international peace and security in the region,

Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations,

1. Requests the Secretary General to redouble his efforts, in collaboration with the international community, to promote a permanent political process that will ultimately be inclusive, in particular by assisting the transitional federal institutions both in fulfilling their mission in this regard and to provide services to the Somali people;

2. Strongly supports the approach proposed by the Secretary-General in his report of 14 March 2008, welcomes his intention to present an updated, comprehensive and integrated United Nations strategy for peace and stability in Somalia, aligning and incorporating the political, security and programmatic aspects in a sequential manner so that they are mutually reinforcing and to include an assessment of the capacity of the United Nations Political Office for Somalia to implement this strategy, and requests him to provide it with the updated version within 60 days of the adoption of this resolution;

3. Approves the proposal made by the Secretary-General in his report of 14 March 2008 to establish a joint planning group in the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General to facilitate the effective and efficient implementation of the integrated strategy;

4. Welcomes the intention expressed by the Secretary-General in his report of 14 March 2008 to transfer the United Nations Political Office for Somalia and the headquarters of the country team from Nairobi to Mogadishu or to relocate them temporarily elsewhere in Somalia to contribute to the implementation of the comprehensive and integrated United Nations strategy in Somalia and requests him to put in place the security arrangements necessary for such a transfer and to present them to him together with the strategy referred to in paragraph 2 above;

5. Decides that, within the framework of promoting a comprehensive and lasting settlement in Somalia and fostering the ongoing political process, the United Nations Political Office for Somalia and the United Nations country team will increase their support to the Transitional Federal Institutions with the aim of drafting a Constitution and organizing a constitutional referendum and free and democratic elections in 2009, as provided for in the Transitional Federal Charter, and to facilitate the coordination of community support to these efforts, and requests the Secretary-General to report to it on progress made in this regard within 60 days of the adoption of this resolution;

6. Recalls its intention to take action against anyone who attempts to impede or block a peaceful political process, or threatens with force the Transitional Federal Institutions or AMISOM, or acts in a manner that undermines stability of Somalia or the region and therefore requests the Committee established pursuant to resolution 751 (1992) ("the Committee") to recommend specific targeted measures against the individuals and entities concerned within 60 days of the adoption of this resolution;

7. Recalls its intention to strengthen the effectiveness of the arms embargo imposed on Somalia, declares its intention to take action against those who violate this embargo and those who assist them in doing so, and therefore requests the Committee to present to it, within 60 days of the adoption of this resolution, recommendations concerning specific targeted measures against such individuals or entities;

8. Requests the Secretary-General to continue to develop conditional plans for the eventual deployment of a United Nations peacekeeping operation in Somalia to succeed AMISOM, including considering other possible scenarios, in contact closely with the United Nations Political Office for Somalia, the United Nations Country Team and other United Nations system stakeholders, taking into account all relevant conditions on the ground and taking into consideration other options as to the size, configuration, mandate and proposed area of ​​operations for the mission depending on the evolution of the situation on the ground, requests him to report to him on the progress made in this regard in the report referred to in paragraph 5 above, and expresses its readiness to consider, in due course, the establishment of a peacekeeping operation to take over from the African Union Mission in Somalia, to that the political process has advanced and that the security situation on the ground has improved;

9. Welcomes the Secretary-General's undertaking, as indicated in his letter of 23 April 2008 to the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, to make other United Nations technical advisers available to the Strategic Planning Unit and the management of the African Union in Addis Ababa, and encourages him to continue to examine, with the Chairperson of the Commission and in coordination with the donors, the means of strengthening the logistical, political and technical support that the United Nations provides to the African Union, in order to strengthen the latter's institutional capacities so that it can meet its commitments and meet the challenges it faces in supporting AMISOM and facilitating the full deployment of the latter, to the extent possible and as appropriate, the aim being compliance with United Nations standards, and requests him to report to it on the progress made in this regard in the report referred to in paragraph he 5 above;

10. Again urges Member States to provide financial resources, personnel, equipment and services towards the full deployment of AMISOM, and African Union Member States to contribute to the latter in order to facilitate the withdrawal from Somalia of other foreign forces and to help create the necessary conditions for lasting peace and stability, urges Member States who have offered to contribute to AMISOM to honor their commitments, recognizes the need do more to mobilize increased support for AMISOM, and takes note of the Secretary-General's proposals to this effect, as contained in his letter of 23 April 2008;

11. Reaffirms its support for the contribution made by certain States to the protection of maritime convoys of the World Food Programme, calls on States and regional organizations, by closely coordinating their action among themselves, after having notified the Secretary-General in advance, and to the request of the Transitional Federal Government, to take measures to protect the ships involved in the transport and delivery of humanitarian aid destined for Somalia and in the activities authorized by the United Nations, asks the countries contributing troops to the AMISOM, as appropriate, to ensure support for this purpose, and requests the Secretary-General to lend his support to this end;

12. Strongly supports and encourages ongoing humanitarian relief activities in Somalia, recalls its resolution 1502 (2003) on the protection of humanitarian personnel and United Nations personnel, calls on all parties and armed groups in Somalia to doing what is necessary to ensure the safety and security of AMISOM, UN and humanitarian personnel, requires all parties to ensure that humanitarian assistance reaches all those in need, wherever unimpeded or delayed and safely, and urges the countries of the region to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance, including the unimpeded and safe passage of essential relief supplies into Somalia through overland and via airports and ports;

13. Requests the Secretary-General to strengthen the ongoing efforts to establish, under the auspices of the United Nations, a mechanism to centralize and facilitate consultations between the humanitarian organizations active in Somalia, the Government Transitional Federal Government, donors and other concerned parties in order to help resolve the problems of access, security and the delivery of humanitarian assistance throughout Somalia, and further requests him to report on the progress made in the report referred to in paragraph 5 above;

14. Requests the Secretary-General to create an effective capacity within the United Nations Political Office for Somalia to monitor and strengthen the protection of human rights in Somalia and to ensure coordination, as appropriate , between the United Nations Political Office for Somalia, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Independent Expert of the Human Rights Council, and further requests him to report on progress made in this regard in the report referred to in paragraph 5 above;

15. Supports the ongoing efforts of the United Nations, the African Union and interested Member States, in close cooperation with the Transitional Federal Government, to develop security sector institutions in Somalia, and requests the Special Representative of the Secretary-General to strengthen his coordinating role in this area, aligning the relevant UN programs and the activities of Member States;

16. Condemns all violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, calls on all parties in Somalia to fully respect their obligations in this regard, and calls for the perpetrators of these violations in Somalia to be brought to justice;

17. Reaffirms its resolutions 1325 (2000) on women, peace and security and 1674 (2006) and 1738 (2006) on the protection of civilians in armed conflict, and stresses the responsibility of all parties and all armed groups in Somalia to ensure the protection of the civilian population of the country, in accordance with international humanitarian law, international human rights law and refugee law, by avoiding in particular any indiscriminate attack against areas populated;

18. Reaffirms its resolution 1612 (2005) on children in armed conflict and recalls the subsequent findings of its Working Group on Children in Armed Conflict regarding parties to the armed conflict in Somalia;

19. Recalls that, pursuant to Article 65 of the Charter of the United Nations, the Economic and Social Council can provide it with information and assist it if it so requests;

20. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.