PSC/PR/COMM.1(DLXII) Page 1 COMMUNIQUÉ The Peace and Security Council of the African Union (AU), at its 562nd meeting held on 10 December 2015, adopted the following decision on the situation in Somalia and the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM): Council, 1. Takes note of the briefings provided by the Special Representative of the Chairperson of the Commission for Somalia and Head of AMISOM. Council also takes note of the statements made by the representatives of Somalia and of Ethiopia, as Chair of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), as well as by those of China, France, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, as members of the United Nations (UN) Security Council, the UN Secretariat, the European Union (EU) and Italy, as co-Chair of the IGAD Partners Forum; 2. Recalls its previous pronouncements on the situation in Somalia, including communiqués PSC/PR/COMM.(DVIII) adopted at its 508th meeting held on 18 May 2015, communiqué PSC/PR/COMM.(DXXI) adopted at its 521st meeting held on 30 June 2015, and communiqué PSC/PR/COMM.1(DXLIV) adopted at its 544th meeting held on 18 September 2015; 3. Reaffirms the AU’s full support to the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) and its commitment to continue to assist the FGS in its stabilization and reconstruction efforts. Council welcomes the significant progress made by the FGS against key milestones in the completion of Somalia’s federal state formation process and towards reviewing the Provisional Constitution. In this respect, Council notes with satisfaction the establishment of the Interim Regional Administrations of Jubaland, South West and Galmudug, and calls for the timely completion of the formation of the Regional Administration for Hiraan and Middle Shabelle, as well as for the determination of the status of Mogadishu and Banadir. Council welcomes the steps taken towards the operationalization of the National Independent Electoral Commission, as well as of the Boundaries and Federation Commission, following the appointment of the members of these two organs in July 2015. Council calls for the mobilization of the required human, technical and financial resources to enable the two Commissions to fulfill their respective mandates; 4. Commends the FGS for re-affirming its commitment to respect the constitutionallymandated terms of the legislature and the executive, which expire in August and September 2016, respectively; 5. Welcomes the launch in Mogadishu, on 19 October 2015, of the National Consultative Forum (NCF) tasked to oversee the consultative process that will determine the most appropriate electoral model for the 2016 polls. Council further welcomes the work of the NCF in the preparation of the Facilitation Guide that set out four options for the conduct of the