- Israel’s recognition of Somaliland last week comes 33 years after it declared its independence and sovereignty from Somalia.
- Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that “it was in the spirit of the Abraham Accords, signed at the initiative of President Trump”.
- Israel’s recognition of Somaliland has received widespread condemnation from many countries and regional blocs, including the African Union, the Arab League, the Gulf Cooperation Council and 14 of the 15 United Nations Security Council members.
After having self-declared its independence and sovereignty from Somalia more than 33 years ago, Somaliland has only now been officially recognised by just one country – Israel.
On Friday, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi and delivered the news of recognition and support of “its right of self-determination”. He also invited him to a state visit.
Israel and Somaliland have also signed an agreement establishing full diplomatic relations, like the opening of embassies and the appointment of ambassadors.
This has drawn widespread condemnation from many countries and regional blocs, including the African Union, the Arab League, the Gulf Cooperation Council and 14 of the 15 United Nations Security Council members.
READ | A violation of sovereignty: Pretoria condemns Israel’s recognition of Somaliland
The United States is the only country that supported Israel at the UN on Monday but stopped short of recognising Somaliland.
Globally, Somaliland is recognised within the sovereign state of Somalia, although Somaliland has been operating as a de facto state since 1991 – with its own currency, courts, security force, flag, parliament and regular elections.
Somalia called Israel’s recognition “an act of aggression” and accused it of recognising the Republic of Somaliland because it plans to displace Palestinians from Gaza and settle them there.
South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation has also condemned the action, saying it “constitutes a violation of the Federal Republic of Somalia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and a direct threat to peace in the Horn of Africa”.
How did it get here?
After the collapse of Somalia in 1991, those in favour of a sovereign Somaliland took the opportunity to hold a conference of Northern Somali clans between April and May 1991 in Burao.
There, it was agreed that the union with the Somali Democratic Republic would be revoked, a new republic formed, and an interim president selected.
However, no government would recognise Somaliland, claiming it was still part of Somalia because of the AU’s 1964 norm to preserve colonial borders; that the Burao conference lacked legitimacy; and that international powers, including the UN, were trying to restore a unitary Somalia and not redraw borders.
The leaders of Somaliland did not agree and continued to define and develop their Constitution and state institutions.
In 2001, a referendum approved a constitution. And, in 2005, an AU fact-finding mission urged a “special method” for Somaliland.
READ | Somalia rejects Ethiopia-Somaliland deal as 'aggression'
Last year, Ethiopia and Somaliland signed a memorandum of understanding granting Ethiopia access to the Red Sea via the port of Berbera, in exchange for possible recognition of Somaliland.
This sent escalating tensions at the Horn of Africa into overdrive, with Turkey having to mediate.
A brief history of Somaliland
Somaliland traces its borders and territory to 1960, after the British and Italian colonising countries handed power back to the Somali people.
Somalia was under Italian rule, and Somaliland was under British rule. The merger of the two areas, Somalia and Somaliland, into the Somali Republic, with power centralised in the south, faced strong resistance from the northern region (Somaliland).
Many in the north boycotted the 1961 constitutional referendum, which established the Somali Republic.
In 1969, a coup d’etat overthrew the republic’s leaders, and Siad Barre became president and renamed the country the Somali Democratic Republic.
Twenty-two years of Barre’s controversial rule, which included the 1988 bombings in Hargeisa and Burao, deepened divisions in the country. It eventually transitioned into the Federal Republic of Somalia in 2012 after a decade of turbulent political rule.
READ | Somalia accuses Ethiopia of 'interference', inciting conflict among clans
It was after Barre’s overthrow in 1991 that Somaliland ended its union with Somalia in the south and, under its first president, Abdirahman Ahmed Ali Tuur, declared its independence. Its capital now being Hargeisa and not Mogadishu.
After a decade of power-sharing between leading clans and security concerns with Somalia, Somaliland transitioned into a multi-party democracy in 2002. In 2003, Dahir Kahin became its first elected president.
In its Constitution, Somaliland claims the same territory as the former British Somaliland Protectorate, rejecting the union that brought Somalia and Somaliland into one country.
Although a few countries have expressed a desire since 1991 to recognise Somaliland as a sovereign state, none did so until Israel last week.
Why is Israel only now recognising Somaliland?
Netanyahu initially said that “it was in the spirit of the Abraham Accords, signed at the initiative of President Trump”.
He is also eyeing Somaliland’s strategic Berbera port and corridor. This gives access to Yemen and the Red Sea.
The 2020 accords were brokered during US President Donald Trump’s first term and included Israel formalising diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, with other countries joining later.
READ | Qaanitah Hunter: Beware the new colonial assault on African sovereignty
At the UN on Monday, however, countries questioned the motives and timing of Israel’s recognition, and whether it was aimed at relocating Palestinians from Gaza and/or establishing military bases.
Have other countries supported Somaliland before?
Yes, the UAE and Ethiopia have been very vocal in their support of Somaliland, but neither state has yet officially recognised the country.
In 2016, UAE company DP World secured a 30-year concession to develop the port of Berbera. In 2017, Somaliland’s Parliament approved a UAE military base at Berbera.
In 2024, Ethiopia and Somaliland signed an agreement through which Ethiopia would get access to the Red Sea via the port of Berbera in exchange for possible recognition of Somaliland.
READ | Somalia to expel Ethiopian troops unless Somaliland port deal scrapped, official says
This heightened tensions as Somalia condemned this as a breach of sovereignty. This escalation led to Turkey-mediated talks, with the corridor and deal now uncertain.
READ | Egypt sends first arms in decades to Somalia, after Ethiopia's deal with Somaliland
The UAE and Ethiopia have not commented on Israel’s recognition yet.
What did UN members say on Monday?
A special emergency meeting of the UN Security Council was convened on Monday to discuss the escalating tensions in the Horn of Africa.
Demark’s representative said this sets a “dangerous precedent” that may exacerbate tensions in the Horn of Africa, while the UK’s delegate said “Al-Shabaab and other terrorist groups benefit from internal divisions in Somalia”.
Pakistan’s delegate said that Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories was the cause of conflict and instability in the Middle East, and “it is now exporting this destabilising conduct to the Horn of Africa”.
China’s delegate urged Israel to reverse its decision and said that it opposes any action to split the country, and that this is an internal issue to be resolved by the Somali people. It also urged pressed Somaliland authorities to:
Stop separatist activities and collusion with external forces.
Russia’s delegate said that these territorial issues must be solved “on the basis of inclusive national dialogue without any external interference”.
However, the exception was the US, which said the UN’s emergency meeting was “to distract from serious work”.
It added that “Israel has the same right to conduct diplomatic relations as any other sovereign state”.
The US referenced the decision earlier this year by many member states “to recognise a nonexistent Palestinian state. And yet, no emergency meeting was called to express this council’s outrage.”
It called the UN Security Council out on what it termed “persistent double standards and misdirection of focus”.
Will the US recognise Somaliland after Israel has?
Not yet, it is under consideration.
Trump said on Saturday that he had to “study” Israel’s pitch, and there are no plans by the US just yet to recognise Somaliland.
Earlier this month, six Republican legislators introduced a bill “to formally recognise Somaliland… as an independent and separate country”. The bill states that “any territorial claims by Somalia over Somaliland are invalid and without merit”.
The bill is in committee and could take a while before it is voted on.
What has SA said?
South Africa condemned Israel’s move on Monday and said its “action validates fragmentation and risks a domino effect of instability”.
Through a Department of International Relations and Cooperation statement, the country said there is a difference “between decolonisation and secession. The former restores sovereignty; the latter dismantles it.”
Department spokesperson Chrispin Phiri told radio station 702 on Tuesday that Israel has undermined the AU’s central principle of respecting the colonial borders.
He said, “What essentially Israel has done is to undermine international law. To go and split a country based effectively on tribal lines is something very, very dangerous.”
He added that South Africa has been in talks with other African countries through the AU, and there is widespread support for SA’s stance.
