On 18 May 2006, the self-declared Republic of
Somaliland marked fifteen years since it proclaimed
independence from Somalia. Although its sovereignty
is still unrecognised by any country, the fact that it is
a functioning constitutional democracy distinguishes
it from the majority of entities with secessionist
claims, and a small but growing number of governments
in Africa and the West have shown sympathy for its
cause. The territory’s peace and stability stands in
stark contrast to much of southern Somalia, especially
the anarchic capital, Mogadishu, where clashes
between rival militias have recently claimed scores of
lives. But Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government
(TFG), which is still struggling to overcome internal
divisions and establish its authority in southern
Somalia, also claims sovereignty over the territory,
and the issue is becoming an increasing source of
tension. The African Union (AU) needs to engage in
preventive diplomacy now, laying the groundwork
for resolution of the dispute before it becomes a
confrontation from which either side views violence
as the only exit.
In December 2005 President Dahir Rayale Kahin
submitted Somaliland’s application for membership
in the AU. The claim to statehood hinges on the
territory’s separate status during the colonial era from
the rest of what became Somalia and its existence
as a sovereign state for a brief period following
independence from Great Britain in June 1960.
