MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia no longer hosts a U.N. political mission. The last one wound down after more than 30 years of U.N. political work in the country.
The mission closed Saturday at the Somali government’s request. Its final form, the U.N. Transitional Assistance Mission in Somalia, or UNTMIS, spent two years passing its work to Somali institutions, U.N. agencies, funds and programs, and the U.N. Support Office for Somalia, a U.N. statement said. Somalia and the U.N. worked out that handover plan together.
The U.N.’s political presence goes back to 1995 and its Political Office for Somalia, which gave way to UNSOM in 2013.
Somalia’s federal government later asked for UNSOM’s mandate to end. In November 2024, the Security Council turned UNSOM into UNTMIS, and Resolution 2753 set a two-year transition ending in the mission’s closure.
Raisedon Zenenga, who led UNTMIS as officer-in-charge, said the closure doesn’t end the U.N.’s ties with Somalia.
“Today is not an end to the partnership between the United Nations and Somalia — rather, it marks the conclusion of one chapter and the beginning of another.”
Somalia now has national and federal institutions it didn’t have when U.N. political work there began, he said. Still, he said continued international engagement will remain important to sustaining that progress.
Problems remain. The statement pointed to political, security and institutional challenges and said Al-Shabaab is still a significant threat.
Zenenga paid tribute to U.N. staff who served in Somalia, often in dangerous conditions, and to those who died there.
The U.N. isn’t leaving Somalia. Its agencies, funds and programs will continue development, humanitarian and human rights work, said George Conway, the U.N. resident coordinator for Somalia.
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