Foreign relations of Somaliland

Somaliland
This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Somaliland
Constitution Provisional Constitution
Government Government President Muse Bihi Abdi Vice-President Abdirahman Saylici Council of Ministers
Legislative Parliament House of Elders Chairman: Suleiman Mahmud Adam House of Representatives Speaker: Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi
Judiciary Judiciary of Somaliland
Elections Presidential: 2010 2017 Parliamentary: 2005 2019 Political parties Politicians
Foreign relations UNPO Puntland–Somaliland dispute List of representative offices of Somaliland List of diplomatic missions in Somaliland
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Somaliland portal Other countries Atlas

Foreign relations of the Republic of Somaliland are the responsibility of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.^[1] The Republic of Somaliland is a self-declared independent republic that is internationally recognized as an autonomous region of Somalia. The region's self-declared independence remains unrecognised by the international community.^[2][3]

Due to its status, the Republic of Somaliland currently has official contacts with few nations, which include Ethiopia, which has signed a strategic and infrastructure agreement,^[4][5] and United Arab Emirates, which has signed a concession agreement to manage^[6][7] Berbera Port.^[8] International recognition as a sovereign, stable state remains at the forefront of the government's current foreign policy. Other key priorities are encouraging international aid and foreign investment.

The position of most countries in the international community is to support the territorial claims of Somalia's central government.^[9]

Overview

Somaliland has political contacts with its neighbours Ethiopia^[10] and Djibouti,^[11] as well as with Belgium,^[10] France,^[12] Ghana,^[10] South Africa,^[10] Sweden,^[10][13] the United Kingdom,^[10][14] and the United States.^[15]

In 2007, a delegation led by President Kahin was present at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Kampala, Uganda. Although Somaliland has applied to join the Commonwealth under observer status, its application is still pending.^[16]

In 2002, Germany refused to recognize Somaliland as a precursor in establishing a military base in the region. It instead established a naval base in Djibouti.^[17] German naval ships already operated from Berbera.^[18] In September 2012, at the mini-summit on Somalia on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly, the German government also re-affirmed its continued support for Somalia's government, territorial integrity and sovereignty.^[9]

In February 2010, there were rumours that Israel might recognise Somaliland, and Israel is still interesting to maintain a diplomatic relationship with Somaliland.^[19][20] The rumours turned out to be wrong.^[21] Additionally, there was an arms smuggling affair involving Somaliland and an Israeli arms dealer.^[21]

In 2011, the foreign ministers of South Africa and Tanzania said that they were not ready to recognise Somaliland and that they preferred to see Somalia remain as a single country.^[22] In 2012, South Africa and Ethiopia also re-affirmed their continued support for Somalia's government, territorial integrity and sovereignty at the mini-summit on Somalia in New York on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly.^[9]

In April 2014, the Sheffield City Council in the United Kingdom voted to recognize the right to self-determination of Somaliland, the first city council to do so. The gesture was purely ceremonial and carried no legal weight.^[23] On 26 March 2015, Cardiff City Council followed suit.^[24] On 18 May 2015, the UK independence Party announced support for international recognition.^[25] Nevertheless, the Conservative UK government officially recognize Somaliland as an autonomous region of Somalia.

In February 2017, both houses of parliament of Somaliland accepted the bid from the government from the United Arab Emirates for Union Defence Force (UAE) to establish a military base in Berbera, however, the UAE maintained that it recognizes the sovereignty of Somalia over Somaliland.^[26] In January 2018, Somaliland gained attention from the Philippines, and later Timor-Leste, after it passed its first ever anti-rape law. The Philippines has minimal relations with Somalia as the country views Somalia as a 'failed state'. Somaliland currently has no diplomatic contacts with any non-Middle Eastern Asian country, except for minor talks with Taiwan.^[27]

In September 2017, Somaliland began a mutual recognition process with the Free Republic of Liberland, a micronation founded in April 2015 on a 7km piece of Terra nullius between Croatia and Serbia by Czech politician and activist Vít Jedlička, which has in the time since its declaration of independence received over half a million citizenship requests. On the 25th of September 2017 at 1:45PM, a memorandum of understanding between the two countries' governments was signed. Other diplomatic actions also took place that day, including an exchange of gifts, and the creation of a Joint Committee on Technology, Energy and Banking.

Foreign Minister

Since October 2015, Dr. Saad Ali Shire, the previous Planning minister, has served as the Foreign Minister of Somaliland.^[28]

Diplomatic Representative Offices

Somaliland maintains representative (liaison) offices in several countries, but these missions do not have formal diplomatic status under the provisions of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

Such offices exist in the following cities:

• Addis Ababa ^[29]
• Dubai, UAE ^[30]
• Pretoria^[31]
• Stockholm^[32]
• Turin ^[29]
• Washington D.C. ^[29]

The following foreign governments have diplomatic offices in Hargeisa:

•  Ethiopia – consulate; headed by a diplomat with the rank of ambassador.^[33][34][35] It has an embassy in Mogadishu, Somalia's capital.^[36]

As of February 2010, the Yemeni government is reportedly planning to open a diplomatic office in Hargeisa.^[37][38] In October 2012, Denmark has launched a diplomatic office in Hargeisa.

Border disputes

Somaliland is in dispute over control of the Sool, Sanaag and Cayn (SSC) regions with the autonomous Puntland and Khatumo State regional administrations (formerly HBM-SSC or Hoggaanka Badbaadada iyo Mideynta SSC^[39]). The inhabitants of these areas predominantly belong to the same Harti clan that constitutes a majority of Puntland's residents.

Somaliland's leaders have also distanced themselves from the Federal Government of Somalia, which they see as a threat to their self-declared independence.

Human rights

Human rights in Somaliland is relatively better compared to other countries in the Horn of Africa. Women have suffrage rights in the country and have held various positions in government. There is currently no law that expressly protects LGBT citizens separately from other citizens.

Furthermore, Somaliland has been accused of restricting free speech. In one of the cases, a young poet named Naciimo Qorane was sentenced to 3 years in prison by a Somaliland court. Qorane advocates for unity with the rest of Somalia through poetry and appearances on social media.^[40]

In 2018, Somaliland became the first Somali country to pass a law which criminalizes rape.^[41]

Passports

Somaliland currently issues its own passports, which are recognized by eight countries, namely South Africa, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Belgium, France, South Sudan, Kenya, and the UAE.^[42][43]

Organisational membership

Somaliland is a member of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO).^[19]

See also

• List of diplomatic missions of Somaliland
• List of diplomatic missions in Somaliland
• Foreign relations of Somalia

References