Future of the African Union Mission in Somalia

Paul G. Williams, associate professor of international affairs at George Washington University, is the author of a piece titled "AMISOM in Transition: The Future of the African Union Mission in Somalia."  Published on 13 February 2013 by the Rift Valley Institute in Nairobi, Kenya, it takes a critical look at where the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) should go from here.

The author made the following key points:

• AMISOM is in need of a new mandate to enable it to support the new Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) and its vision of security across the country.
• This mandate will need to be agreed between the African Union, United Nations, and the FGS.
• It should include support for the restructuring and empowerment of Somalia's National Security Forces.
• Al-Shabaab is losing fighters but still controls territory, and may be gaining ground in northern Somalia.  Recovering territory and encouraging defectors from al-Shabaab will entail additional resources.
• AMISOM would benefit from predictable levels of funding, the required mission enablers such as air and maritime assets, as well as enhanced capabilities for analysis, planning, and management.
• International attention has been diverted from Somalia to other African crises, including Mali, the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Central African Republic.