AU’s non-recognition of Somaliland is undermining NEPAD

It has been submitted that the non-recognition of Somaliland by the African Union (AU) is undermining the principles of peace and stability of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).

“The principles of NEPAD demand that African States should promote peace and stability, and this is exactly what Somaliland has achieved and consolidated. Consequently, the non-recognition of Somaliland by the AU is undermining the NEPAD,” declared Dr. Iqbal Jhazbhay of the University of South Africa, Pretoria at a symposium on “The African Union and Somaliland in the Horn of Africa”. His topic was “Somaliland: Post-War Nation-Building & the Challenge of International Recognition”.


He points out that the issue in question also challenges the AU during the ‘good governance’ era of NEPAD, a context within which Somaliland fits comfortably as a good citizen of the international community.

He said it was ironical that certain countries without the necessary institutions and structures were recognized by the international community while Somaliland with the required structures in place have not been recognized. “ Somaliland has brought into sharp focus the grave mistake of the international community in recognizing countries without the required structures and institutions”.

The event was hosted by the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Center (KAIPTC) in Accra in conjunction with the University of South Africa, Department of Religious Studies and Arabic with support from Somaliland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Dr. Jhazbhay said the AU would be doing justice to the sentiments of the people of Somaliland if it establishes a sub committee comprising members from all the five sub regional bodies to analyse the Somaliland case and report back to the continental union for decisive action.

Somaliland is a relatively unknown East African country in the Horn of Africa. She became a sovereign nation in 1947 after breaking the yoke of British colonialism and within its first week of her freedom entered into integration with Somalia. Come 1991, she withdrew from the integration and declared her independence.

On 18th May 2007, Somaliland marked her 16th anniversary of her independence from Somalia. The proclamation of independence was founded on basic requirements of international law, which includes a permanent population, defined territory, a stable system of government and the capacity to enter into international relations with other states.

For 16 years Somaliland has built up and projected a credible domestic political constituency in contrast to its southern neighbour, Somalia, where the United Nations, the African Union and the Transitional Federal Government are struggling to overcome internal divisions and assert national political authority.

However, Somaliland’s success story in establishing and maintaining a functioning constitutional democracy remains a better-kept secret and denied international recognition. Somaliland is vigorously pursuing its moral, if not, legal, case for recognition at the African Union, an effort considered a sine qua non to wider international community.

According to Dr. Jhazbhay, Somaliland has tried to manage extreme Islamic fundamentalism within widely accepted norms and this has reinforced religious and social cohesion within the country.

Speaking on “Somaliland’s Emerging Democracy and Economy:The Way to Consolidation”, Somaliland’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr. Abdillahi Duale submitted that his country has all that it takes in a any stable and democratic state. Expatiating, he disclosed that in a referendum in May 2001, 97 percent of eligible voters approved the country’s Constitution and affirmed Somaliland’s status as a sovereign and independent state.

Since the referendum there have been three democratic elections: local elections in December 2002, Pre4sidential elections in April 2003 and Parliamentary elections in September 2005.

“ Several countries enjoy de factor relations Somaliland. European governments have signed agreements with Somaliland government for the return of refugees, recognizing not just the reality of the Somaliland administration but also the existence of the necessary peace and stability for the return of failed asylum seekers. Ethiopia has an agreement with Somaliland on they use the port at Berbera. Bilateral and multilateral agencies, including those of the UN, operate effectively in Somaliland.”

He disclosed that an AU fact-finding mission in 2005 acknowledged that Somaliland’s independence does not set a precedent for the redrawing of colonial boundaries in Africa because Somaliland had simply re-declared itself independent state within its former colonial boundaries.

“Somaliland’s principal concern is that any escalation of the conflict between the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the Union of Islamic Courts will jeopardize Somaliland’s peace and stability and that Somaliland itself may come under attack. If attacked Somaliland will exercise its right to defend its sovereignty,” Mr. Duale laid bare.

The Foreign Affairs Minister of Ethiopia, Mr. Seyoum Mesfin, said the case of Somalia is a fact on the ground that cannot be wished away, and that dialogue is the way forward out of the stalemate. “The way forward is negotiation and dialogue. We will facilitate dialogue and not force.”

Dr. Kwesi Aning, a lecturer at the KAIPTC, who chaired the event, thanked the speakers for their thought-provoking presentations, and commended participants for their incisive contributions.
 

By Ebenezer Hanson