UN Security Council members condemn Israel’s recognition of Somaliland

Most United Nations Security Council (UNSC) members person slammed Israel’s designation of Somaliland astatine a gathering convened successful effect to the move, which respective countries said whitethorn besides person superior implications for Palestinians successful Gaza.

The United States was the lone subordinate of the 15-member assemblage not to condemn Israel’s ceremonial recognition of the breakaway portion of Somalia astatine the exigency gathering successful New York City connected Monday, though it said its ain presumption connected Somaliland had not changed.

Recommended Stories

• list 1 of 4Somalia condemns Israel’s designation of Somaliland arsenic ‘naked invasion’
• list 2 of 4Any Israeli beingness successful Somaliland volition beryllium a ‘target’: Houthi leader
• list 3 of 4How volition Israel’s designation of Somaliland interaction the Middle East?
• list 4 of 4At UN, Somalia slams Israel’s Somaliland designation arsenic ‘threat’ to peace

Addressing the UNSC, Somalia’s UN ambassador, Abu Bakr Dahir Osman, implored members to firmly cull Israel’s “act of aggression”, which helium said not lone threatened to fragment Somalia but besides to destabilise the wider Horn of Africa and the Red Sea regions.

In particular, Osman said that Somalia was acrophobic the determination could beryllium aimed astatine advancing Israel’s plans to forcibly “relocate the Palestinian colonisation from Gaza to the northwestern portion of Somalia”.

“This utter disdain for instrumentality and morality indispensable beryllium stopped now,” helium said.

The exigency gathering was called aft Israel past week became the archetypal and lone state to recognise the self-declared Republic of Somaliland arsenic an autarkic and sovereign state.

Al Jazeera’s Gabriel Elizondo, reporting from UN office successful New York, said that “14 of the 15 assembly members condemned Israel’s designation of Somaliland”, portion the US “defended Israel’s enactment but stopped abbreviated of pursuing Israel’s lead”.

Tammy Bruce, the US lawman typical to the UN, told the assembly that “Israel has the aforesaid close to found diplomatic relations arsenic immoderate different sovereign state”.

However, Bruce added, the US had “no announcement to marque regarding US designation of Somaliland, and determination has been nary alteration successful American policy”.

Israel’s lawman ambassador to the UN, Jonathan Miller, told the assembly that Israel’s determination was “not a hostile measurement toward Somalia, nor does it preclude aboriginal dialog betwixt the parties”.

“Recognition is not an enactment of defiance. It is an opportunity,” Miller claimed.

Many different countries expressed concerns astir Israel’s designation of Somaliland, including the implications for Palestinians, successful statements presented to the UNSC.

Speaking connected behalf of the 22-member Arab League, its UN envoy, Maged Abdelfattah Abdelaziz, said the radical rejected “any measures arising from this illegitimate designation aimed astatine facilitating forced displacement of the Palestinian people, oregon exploiting bluish Somali ports to found subject bases”.

Pakistan’s lawman UN ambassador, Muhammad Usman Iqbal Jadoon, said astatine the gathering that Israel’s “unlawful designation of [the] Somaliland portion of Somalia is profoundly troubling”, considering it was made “against the backdrop of Israel’s erstwhile references to Somaliland of the Federal Republic of Somalia arsenic a destination for the deportation of Palestinian people, particularly from Gaza”.

China and the United Kingdom were among the imperishable UNSC members to cull the move, with China’s UN envoy, Sun Lei, saying his state “opposes immoderate enactment to split” Somalia’s territory.

“No state should assistance and abet separatist forces successful different countries to further their ain geopolitical interests,” Sun Lei said.

Some non-members of the UNSC besides requested to speak, including South Africa, whose UN envoy, Mathu Joyini, said that her state “reaffirmed” Somalia’s “sovereignty and territorial integrity” successful enactment with planetary law, the UN Charter and the constitutive enactment of the African Union.

Comparison with Palestinian recognition

In summation to defending Israel’s decision, US envoy Bruce compared the determination to recognise Somaliland with Palestine, which has been recognised by much than 150 of the UN’s subordinate states.

“Several countries, including members of this council, person unilaterally recognised a non-existent Palestinian state, yet nary exigency gathering has been convened,” Bruce said, criticising what she described arsenic the UNSC’s “double standards”.

However, Slovenia’s UN ambassador, Samuel Zbogar, rejected the comparison, saying, “Palestine is not portion of immoderate state. It is illegally occupied territory… Palestine is besides an perceiver authorities successful this organisation [the UN].”

“Somaliland, connected the different hand, is simply a portion of a UN subordinate state, and recognising it goes against… the UN Charter,” Zbogar added.

The self-declared Republic of Somaliland broke distant from Somalia successful 1991, aft a civilian warfare nether subject person Siad Barre.