UNSC members condemn Israel's 'illegitimate' recognition of Somaliland
The majority of United Nations Security Council member states have condemned Zionist regime’s recognition of the breakaway region of Somaliland in the Horn of Africa, with several nations expressing concern that the move could significantly impact the situation of Palestinians in Gaza.
Monday's emergency meeting to address the issue was convened following Zionist regime’s unprecedented decision last week to become the first and only entity to officially recognize the self-proclaimed Republic of Somaliland as an independent and sovereign nation.
Addressing the UN Security Council, Somalia’s UN ambassador, Abu Bakr Dahir Osman, urged members to vehemently denounce Israel's “act of aggression.”
He emphasized that the move posed a serious risk of partitioning Somalia, while also jeopardizing stability across the broader Horn of Africa and Red Sea regions.
Osman specifically expressed concern that Somalia viewed the step as a potential effort to push forward Zionist regime’s plans to forcibly relocate the Palestinian population from Gaza to Somalia's northwestern region.
“This utter disdain for law and morality must be stopped now,” he said.
Speaking on behalf of the 22-member Arab League, its UN envoy, Maged Abdelfattah Abdelaziz, said the regional organization dismissed “any measures arising from this illegitimate recognition aimed at facilitating forced displacement of the Palestinian people, or exploiting northern Somali ports to establish military bases.”
China’s UN envoy, Sun Lei, said his country “opposes any act to split” Somalia’s territory.
“No country should aid and abet separatist forces in other countries to further their own geopolitical interests,” he noted.
South Africa’s UN envoy, Mathu Joyini, also said her country “reaffirmed” Somalia’s “sovereignty and territorial integrity” in line with international law, the UN Charter and the constitutive act of the African Union.
Pakistan’s deputy UN ambassador, Muhammad Usman Iqbal Jadoon, said at the meeting that Israel’s “unlawful recognition of [the] Somaliland region of Somalia is deeply troubling.”
He noted that the recognition was made “against the backdrop of Israel’s previous references to Somaliland of the Federal Republic of Somalia as a destination for the deportation of Palestinian people, especially from Gaza.”
The United States was the sole member among the 15-nation body that refrained from condemning Israel's official recognition of the secessionist region of Somalia during the UNSC emergency meeting. However, it asserted that its stance on Somaliland remains unchanged.
Tammy Bruce, the US deputy representative to the UN, told the council that “Israel has the same right to establish diplomatic relations” as any other party.
However, Bruce added, the US had “no announcement to make regarding US recognition of Somaliland, and there has been no change in American policy.”
Israel’s move ‘direct threat’ to Horn of Africa peace
Earlier on Monday, South Africa warned that Zionist regime’s decision to recognize Somaliland as an independent state is a “direct threat” to peace in the Horn of Africa.
The country’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the recognition violates Somalia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
“Israel’s action validates fragmentation and risks a domino effect of instability,” it stressed.
The ministry said it distinguishes "unequivocally" between decolonization and secession, adding, “The former restores sovereignty; the latter dismantles it."
South Africa reaffirmed its commitment to the African Union’s principle of uti possidetis, emphasizing the importance of respecting borders inherited at the time of independence as a measure to prevent conflict.
The country also called on the international community to oppose external interference from Tel Aviv and support efforts towards a unified and stable Somalia.
Somaliland proclaimed its independence from Somalia in 1991.
Israel is currently the only entity to have formally recognized Somaliland. The territory governs the northwestern segment of the area formerly known as the British Protectorate in northern Somalia.
Somalia does not acknowledge Somaliland as an independent state, instead regarding it as an inseparable part of its territory. Mogadishu perceives any direct interaction or agreements with Somaliland as a breach of the nation’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.