After two years of fraught negotiations, discussions over funding the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) are finally drawing to a close. They are almost certain to leave the mission with a substantial funding shortfall. This reality was cemented at a financing event in New York in September, when no substantial new pledges were made. In response to the increasingly concerning funding predicament, UN Security Council Resolution 2809 called on the African Union (AU) to share updated plans that account for the lack of financing. Policymakers must now consider a range of options for the mission’s future—choices that will be critical to shaping Somalia’s trajectory toward peace and stability.

AUSSOM’s Funding Predicament

AU peace operations have been deployed to Somalia since 2007. AUSSOM, the latest iteration, began in January 2025. Mandated to stabilize the country and combat al-Shabaab, AU missions initially scored major military successes. Yet as their offensives slowed and donor priorities shifted, the financing of AU peace operations in the country has come under increasing scrutiny.

Fraught negotiations over funding AUSSOM have been ongoing since 2023. The AU’s latest estimate is that the mission requires $196 million for 2025, mostly to cover stipends paid to troop-contributing countries (TCCs) at a rate of $1,000 per month per soldier. The EU has historically covered the majority of these costs, but in 2022, it signaled that it would substantially reduce its contribution, reflecting a renewed focus on European security and concerns about the AU’s effectiveness. Read more