This archive report was first published on 30 August 2019.
On August 30, 2019, a bid to include Al-Shabaab, a Somali jihadist group, in a list of organizations under international sanctions was blocked by six UN Security Council members.
The move, which would have effectively kept humanitarian aid away from millions of Somalis living in Al-Shabaab-controlled areas, was opposed by several NGOs and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
The six countries whose votes blocked the implementation of the new sanctions were Germany, Belgium, Poland, France, Kuwait, and the United States.
Kenya, on the other hand, has pushed for tightening sanctions against Al-Shabaab since late last year, particularly after an attack by the group at a Nairobi hotel in January left 21 people dead.
Al-Shabaab's inclusion in UN Resolution 1267, which sanctions Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, was sought by Somalia to address the group's growing influence in the region.
However, critics of the defeated sanctions argued that including Al-Shabaab in the Resolution 1267 designations would have effectively criminalized UN and other assistance to people in Somalia who depend on it.
