US Senator Risch Urges EU Partnership with Trump for Sustainable Funding for AU Peace Efforts in Somalia

The once impenetrable bastion of Dinsor, situated in Somalia’s southwestern region and close to the frontier with Kenya and Ethiopia, crumbled under the combined efforts of African Union troops. Just days prior, they had seized Bardhere, another strategic location. These captures are significant as both towns represented the remaining strongholds of the Al-Shabaab insurgents.

While these victories have offered a flicker of hope, a more complex issue looms over the horizon. U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman, Senator Jim Risch, has vehemently opposed utilizing United Nations assessed contributions to fund the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM).

The mission, which evolved from the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), is a key part of a larger strategy to defeat the Al-Qaeda-affiliated militant group, Al-Shabaab. Yet, Risch remains steadfast. Should the UN Security Council Resolution 2719 (2023), the framework allowing UN to financially support African peace missions, be the source of this funding? He certainly thinks not.

“The U.S. has spent too much for too little progress against Al-Shabaab in Somalia,” Risch asserted bluntly. This sentiment isn’t isolated to a quiet corner of conservative skepticism; it echoes through the corridors of fiscal responsibility. The resolution authorizes African Union-led peace missions to receive up to 75% of their funding from UN allocations. For Risch, this spells an endless financial obligation that disadvantages American taxpayers. Is it not time for fresh thinking in how peace missions are financed, he wonders?

In response to European Union calls for a balanced financial model for this newborn mission, which began operations aligned with UNSC Resolution 2767, Risch has a different blueprint in mind. His vision? A sustainable funding strategy that doesn’t oversell America’s pocket. Could the EU and the U.S. cooperate to devise a more lasting financial mechanism?

Instead of leaning heavily on UN contributions, he implores the European Union to liaise with the U.S. administration. “The EU needs to work with [the U.S.] on a real funding solution,” he emphatically stated. What does this collaboration necessitate? Comprehensive reforms and a strategic focus on practicalities laid out in Resolution 2719. Indeed, the resolution, adopted in December 2023, underscores that African Union-led peace operations approved by the Security Council must adhere to UN financial protocols and accountability measures.

One key facet of the resolution involves mobilizing extra-budgetary resources. Does this imply a concerted global push? Certainly, the obligation to gather the remaining 25% of peace operation budgets falls to both the African Union and the broader UN community.

Moreover, the resolution provides that all support categories be funded, a delicate dance of negotiations between troop-contributing countries, the African Union, and the United Nations. It’s a challenging yet potentially rewarding endeavor, akin to assembling a complex puzzle with various international pieces.

In an evocative joint communiqué on October 22, last year, leaders from Kenya and Somalia–President William Ruto and Hassan Mohamud respectively–urged the international community to examine every funding avenue. They emphasized the urgent need for adequate resourcing of AUSSOM, nodding towards the potential offered by UN Resolution 2719.

“They [Ruto and Mohamud] stressed that AUSSOM must be adequately resourced and noted the importance of exploring all funding options, including UN Resolution 2719,” stated their communiqué. Their message wasn’t just about dollars and cents. It was a rallying cry for international unity in the face of insurgency and instability.

So here we are, at a crossroads where idealistic aspirations meet pragmatic hurdles. Will the international community heed these calls for a committed, innovative funding paradigm? Or will the underestimated conflict in Somalia be left to simmer unattended on the global back burner?

As this unfolds, one can only hope that long-term solutions emerge from among the corridors of power, bridging continents and ideologies in pursuit of tranquility in Somalia.

Edited By Ali Musa
Axadle Times International–Monitoring