Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on December 26 that Israel will recognize the Republic of Somaliland as a sovereign state, a few months away from the 35th anniversary of the country’s declaration of independence from Somalia in May 1991. Israel is the first United Nations member state to take such a step. This caused an uproar and prompted an emergency meeting of the Security Council.
Some countries, including China, Türkiye and Saudi Arabia, strongly criticized Israel’s decision, as did the African Union. Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud called it an “existential threat” and cited the country’s “non-negotiable” sovereignty and territorial integrity.
By any reasonable measure, this is a weak case. I have previously argued that Somaliland has achieved statehood and that the country has achieved “remarkable economic and political progress over the past three decades.” It is already an independent state in many practical respects, with an imperfect but functioning democracy, executive, legislative, and judiciary branches, an army, a central bank, and its own currency.
The slavish invocation of Somalia’s interests takes it out of context and inverts its moral core. Somalia has been embroiled in a civil war for decades, is the most corrupt country in the world outside of South Sudan, regularly abuses human rights, has no direct elections by its citizens and has proven powerless to prevent the Islamic terrorist group al-Shabaab from establishing an autonomous “Somali Islamic Emirate” in the south of the country.
Somalia receives tens of billions of dollars in humanitarian and development aid from the United Nations, the European Union, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the African Development Bank, and on a bilateral basis, including the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany. While these funds may have averted a more severe humanitarian crisis than Somalia has experienced to date, it is difficult to demonstrate meaningful progress towards establishing stability, prosperity, democratic institutions, and the rule of law.
In contrast, Somaliland is an unrecognized country and therefore receives much less international support. In 2024, a total of $221 million was received from humanitarian organizations, the United Nations, the Somaliland Development Fund, the World Bank and the German Development Agency.
The question is not whether Somalia and its weak federal government need or deserve international support. The position of the international community, including the African Union, the European Union, and the Arab League, is that Somalia’s unity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity must be given top priority, and defines this as a zero-sum game.
International law protects sovereignty and territorial integrity, and there is no right to secede from an existing state. Article 2, Section 4 of the United Nations Charter requires member states to refrain from “the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.” However, it does not fit Somaliland’s current geopolitical situation. Additionally, Article 1(2) promotes “respect for the equal rights of peoples and the principle of self-determination.” Currently, the “equal rights and right to self-determination” of Somalilanders are treated as a mere token.
In August, it appeared that the US might change its position. President Trump was asked if confirmation was being considered. “We are currently considering it,” he told reporters. “Somaliland is currently working on that.”
In November, Somali-born author Ayaan Hirsi Ali pressed Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) about the Somaliland case on his Verdict podcast.
“Somaliland has built a cohesive, autonomous society with a common language, a shared history, and a vision rooted in stability and progress. It should no longer be bound by the chaos of Mogadishu.”
Cruz agreed, saying, “Recognizing Somaliland is strategy, not charity. It aligns with U.S. security interests and ‘America First’ by strengthening alliances with shared values in a region critical to global trade and counterterrorism.”
they are correct. MAGA supporters may wonder whether Somaliland “shares our values.” The country’s constitution declares, “Islam is the religion of the state of Somaliland, and the promotion of any religion other than Islam is prohibited,” and “the laws of the country shall be based on Islamic Sharia.” However, the country has demonstrated a commitment to democracy and economic freedom, and will be a staunch ally in the region.
President Trump has denied that the United States would work with Israel to recognize Somaliland. But President Trump is flexible, to say the least, and the jury is still out.
International law differs from domestic law and has few, if any, formal enforcement mechanisms. That writ does not apply universally, and to some extent only to those who opt into it. It is greatly influenced by politics and diplomacy.
Currently, 157 United Nations member states recognize the Palestinian state, although it has no globally recognized borders, no single government, and virtually no state or economic structure. There was also little emphasis on Israel’s “territorial integrity.”
Similarly, despite its fragile nature, South Sudan was recognized by the international community and joined the United Nations in 2011 after a referendum on self-determination.
Arguments against recognition of Somaliland are starting to sound outdated and ritualistic. They now have to bear the burden of proof. A logical or moral analysis would suggest that Somaliland wants independence, is capable of maintaining itself, benefits from international recognition, and is being unfairly suppressed in the interests of Somalia, a semi-bankrupt, barely functioning state.
Prime Minister Netanyahu took the first action. His motives are irrelevant. It should encourage others to reconsider the issue. For countries like the United States and the United Kingdom (which have small but influential pro-Somaliland lobbies), maintaining existing policies is akin to Einstein’s false maxim: “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
Financial and diplomatic support did not stabilize or prosper Somalia, but some of what was spent could transform Somaliland. Recognition is fair, just, effective, and in almost everyone’s interest, so what’s holding us back?
Elliott Wilson is an author and historian, a senior national security fellow at the Coalition for World Prosperity, and a contributing editor to Defending the Brink.
