UNITED NATIONS - The United States circulated a draft resolution calling for a United Nations peacekeeping force to be deployed in Somalia to replace a small African Union force, but leaving the Security Council to make a final decision by June 1.
The draft resolution, obtained Monday by The Associated Press, would renew the mandate of the African Union force, known as AMISOM, for six months and urge African nations to beef up troop strength from the current 2,600 to the 8,000 originally authorized.
It expresses the council's "intent to establish a United Nations peacekeeping operation in Somalia as a follow-on force to AMISOM, subject to a further decision of the Security Council by June 1, 2009."
The resolution is drafted under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, which is militarily enforceable, and declares that "the situation in Somalia constitutes a threat to international peace and security in the region."
The Horn of Africa nation is at a dangerous crossroads. The president resigned in late December, saying he had lost most of the country to Islamic insurgents, and the Ethiopian troops who have been protecting the weak UN-backed government have begun pulling out. Islamic groups are starting to fight among themselves for power.
Somalia has been beset by 18 years of anarchy, violence and the Islamic insurgency that has killed thousands of civilians and sent hundreds of thousands fleeing. Foreigners, journalists and humanitarian workers are frequently abducted for ransom, and the United States fears the country could become a haven for al-Qaida.
The African Union and the United States have been pushing for months for a UN peacekeeping force, but finding troops for a multinational force initially envisioned as a precursor to a UN operation has been impossible.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said last month he had asked at least 50 nations and three international organizations to support the Security Council's request for a multinational force to stabilize Somalia and the replies were "very lukewarm or negative."
The U.S. draft resolution says Ban should develop the mandate for a U.N. force including facilitating delivery of humanitarian aid, monitoring a cease-fire and assisting "in supporting the effective re-establishment and training of inclusive Somali security forces, including military, police and judiciary."
The draft envisions that ultimately Somali forces "would assume full responsibility for providing security in Somalia." It also stresses the need to create the conditions for the U.N. special representative for Somalia to seek political progress.
