UK policy on Somalia & Somaliland

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UK policy on Somalia and Somaliland

The UK Government has been a strong supporter of President
Mohamud since he took office in September 2012, although it shares
much of the frustration of other donors with his performance, not least
on corruption. It remains a strong supporter of AMISOM, whose troops
are funded through the European Union’s African Peace Facility.72
The UK Government is sympathetic to the idea of a federal Somalia. This
would include Somaliland, with which the UK Government has a
positive relationship, co-operating on development, counter-terrorism
and piracy issues, but which it does not (and will not) recognise as an
independent state. The UK Government has encouraged direct talks
between the Somali Federal Government and its Somaliland counterpart
in recent years.

General UK policy is not to support secessionism within internationally
recognised states. This policy is long-established and reflects the UN’s
position since its creation after World War II. However, there have been
a small number of exceptions to this rule.
• There have been exceptions where secession has been mutually
accepted by leading parties within a state, usually in the context
of a peace process and/or peace agreement (South Sudan and
Eritrea emerged in this way).
• There have been exceptions where secession has taken place from
a state which has lost its legitimacy in the eyes of much of the
international community, including the UK (a number of new
states emerged out of former Yugoslavia in this way).

For the UK to assist Somaliland to gain international recognition, a
policy decision would need first to be taken that Somalia – or the idea
of Somalia as a state – has lost its legitimacy. The UK would be highly
unlikely to act alone, which means that this would have to become the
view of the UK’s international allies and partners too. To take that
position now would be to break ranks with the current US and collective
EU positions on Somalia.

There are many in the international community who sympathise with
Somaliland’s wish for independence, but they appear to be waiting for
an African Union (AU) member state to take the lead.

Source; House of Commons - Briefing Paper (17/07/2016)