The European Parliament adopted a resolution on Somalia.
The resolution was tabled by the EPP, S&D, ECR, ALDE, Greens/EFA and GUE/NGL groups.
Members condemned all terrorist attacks against the Somali population, perpetrated by both by al‑Shabaab and other extremist terrorist groups, calling for those responsible to be brought to justice. It stressed the need to eliminate the root causes of terrorism such as insecurity, poverty, and impunity, a lack of justice and oppression and called on international actors, including EU development programmes, to ensure coherence between their development and security policies in Somalia. Members called for the EU to continue to support the peace and reconciliation process in Somalia through the Mutual Accountability Framework and the Security Pact.
They urged the Federal Government of Somalia to ensure that an electoral system based on unweighted universal suffrage is in place ahead of the elections in 2020‑2021 and welcomed the fact that al-Shabaab was unable to impede the 2016-2017 electoral process. Parliament also called on the Federal Government to step up its efforts towards cementing the rule of law in the whole of the country, arguing that impunity is a major cause of the self-perpetuating cycle of violence and the worsening human rights situation. It stressed the need for civilian cases to be tried in civilian courts, and for an independent judiciary, effective anti-corruption measures and investigations into crimes committed against Somali journalists, underlining that any intimidation, detention or killing of journalists, civil society activists and trade unionists is absolutely unacceptable. It also deplored the recruitment of child soldiers in Somalia and gender-based and sexual violence particularly against women as abhorrent war crimes.
Parliament expressed concern about certain foreign interests that further complicate the political landscape, noting that, in terms of the wider confrontation between the UAE and Saudi Arabia, on the one hand, and Qatar, on the other, that Somalia has, in its attempt to remain neutral, been deprived of regular budgetary support payments by Saudi Arabia and the UAE. This in turn further weakens the government’s ability to pay the security forces. Parliament went on to urge the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to cease forthwith all acts of destabilisation in Somalia and respect Somalia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Members commended the work of UNSOM in all aspects and on monitoring human rights in Somalia and also commended the efforts made by the African Union to bring back a certain degree of stability to Somalia and to organise the transitional political process. They called for better EU monitoring and capacity-building to ensure accountability for abuses by AMISOM, especially given the fact that the EU is responsible for the bulk of AMISOM’s funding.
Lastly, Parliament deplored the dire humanitarian situation that is threatening the lives of millions of Somalis, and condemned all attacks against humanitarian actors and peacekeepers in Somali. It recalled that since 2016 the EU has progressively increased its annual humanitarian support to Somalia, in particular in response to the severe drought affecting the country, allocating EUR 120 million to humanitarian partners in 2017. It urged the EU to step up assistance.