Technical Officials from Troop Contributing Countries (TCCs) to the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) have today kick-started preparatory meetings for the Heads of State Summit of the Troop Contributing Countries (TCCs) to ATMIS due 27 April 2023 at Entebbe State House The objective of the Summit is twofold:
1) To evaluate the achievements made in the implementation of the ATMIS mandate, and 2) To review the ATMIS drawdown plan in compliance with the United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs) 26/70 (2022) and 26/28.
The Heads of State Summit will be a follow-up event after the meeting between the President of the Republic of Somalia H.E Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and the President of the Republic of Uganda H.E Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, during the United States Africa Leaders’ Summit held in Washington DC, from 13-15 December 2022; in which H.E Hassan Mohamud requested H.E Museveni to host an Extra-Ordinary Summit of Heads of State of the Troop Contributing Countries (TCC) to ATIMS which include; Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda.
While opening the session of the Technical Officials of the TCCs to ATMIS was on Monday at Serena Conference Hotel in Kampala, the Head of Ugandan Delegation, who is also the Head of the Regional Peace and Security Department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Julius Kivuna welcomed delegates and thanked them for accepting to participate in this important meeting of the TCCs to ATMIS.
He called upon experts to discuss as candidly as possible so that the meeting can propose workable recommendations for strategic leaders of ATMIS to make decisions that will support the smooth and peaceful drawdown process of the ATMIS Troops.
He extended Uganda’s appreciation to the TCCs, the host country Somalia and ATMIS partners for the immense support, sacrifice, and spirit of brotherhood in an effort to promote and sustain peace, security and stability in Somalia and our region.
“These efforts have led to a number of achievements, including saving lives, improved infrastructure, social services that have greatly improved the lives and livelihoods of our brothers and sisters in Somalia,” Amb. Kivuna noted. He further underscored that the meeting provides a crucial platform for TCCs to deliberate on the pertinent issues under ATMIS but importantly to evaluate the achievements made in the implementation of the ATMIS mandate.
Proceeding the Extra Ordinary Summit will be the meeting of the Chief of Defence Forces, Permanent Secretaries, and the Ministerial Session tomorrow of the ATMIS TCCs and Somalia due 25 and 26 April 2023 respectively.
ATMIS TCCs and Development Partners including the UN, AU, UK, US, EU, IGAD and the EAC Secretariat are all expected to attend both the Ministerial Session and the summit.
In attendance were delegates from Somalia, United Nations Support Office, African Union, East African Secretariat, and representatives from Troop Contributing Countries: namely Uganda, Kenya, Burundi, Ethiopia, and Djibouti.
Recently, ATMIS projected the number of dead soldiers to be at 3,000 since the mission started in 2007, noting that thousands of others have been critically injured. According to the mission, over $200 million has been used as compensation to the families of both deceased and injured soldiers throughout the same period.
