Introductory Summary

Over the past decade, Somaliland achieved an enviable measure of peace and stability, as well as economic reconstruction and development while most of the rest of former Somali Republic descended into chaos and violence. It has also established democratic institutions, eliminated all restrictions on the private sector and community-based initiatives. It has done so without any external assistance, and from a base of complete destruction inflicted by the military government of Siyad Bare in 1988. When the 3.5 million people of Somaliland decided to withdraw from the failed union with former Italian-ruled Somalia in May 1991, nothing of economic value was left in country. They started literally from 'ground zero' to rebuild their lives and livelihoods, and reconstruct the physical and human infrastructure for their communities, unimpeded by any central authority.

To further consolidate their gains, the people of Somaliland have started to build the architecture for democratic institutions. A national constitution based on democratic principles has been drafted and is expected to be put to a nation-wide referendum in early 2001. The framework for multi-party system is being set, and a general election is scheduled for the middle of 2002.

Somaliland’s accomplishments, important as they are, are also extremely fragile. Available resources are very limited and there is an obvious limit as to how far these local resources can take the country. The country also faces major restrictions in its normal commercial and economic interaction with the rest of the world because of the absence of international recognition. It cannot borrow externally, cannot access development assistance from development institutions like the World Bank, and has to pay up-front in hard currency for everything it imports. This puts undue burden on a private sector that has proven to be every bit as vibrant and innovative as any in Africa. Citizens face insurmountable difficulties in travelling abroad for business or personal purposes because the non-recognition of it’s travel documents. Somaliland is also denied recourse to redress its legitimate grievances in the international arena – illegal fishing in its waters, waste dumping and violation of its land and air space.

Somaliland has done what it could on its own, and is now appealing to the international community not to let its people down, who have played by the highest standards of international rules and acted with exceptional fortitude, but who face onerous difficulties due to the isolation brought about by non-recognition. It would be unfair to tie their fate to that of their brethren in the rest of the former Somali Republic which is still in turmoil. Legitimate as our case is, we are not even asking for outright recognition but an interim status which could allow us to have normal business and other interactions with the rest of the world. In particular, we are asking:

· Access to international development assistance and policy advice, including from multi-lateral institutions such as the World Bank.

· Access to guarantees and export credits from the EXIM to facilitate the entry of US firms into Somaliland economy; there are absolutely no legal or regulatory restrictions on the entry and operations of private firms, foreign or domestic.

· Ability to use Somaliland travel documents to business or personal travel, under reasonable set of conditions. This is proving to be a source of tremendous hardship for the people of Somaliland.

· Granting of an observer status at the United Nations, a practice which has considerable precedent; the people of Somaliland deserve no less.

Historical Background

· Somaliland gained independence on June 26 1960 and six days later joined Italian Somaliland (also known as Somalia) to form the Somali Republic. Prior to the union Somaliland had a small but efficient public service, a sound administrative structure, a peaceful and stable society, and a growing economy primarily based on livestock exports.

· On 21 October 1969, the military staged a coup d'etat in Mogadishu and installed a Marxist-leaning, Soviet-style form of government which lasted until January 1991 when it was ousted from power by a national uprising.

· During the whole of that period, Somaliland was not only politically and economically marginalized but the entire economy of the country was destroyed by a series of deliberate measures inflicted on the population by the military regime. Among these measures were:

o The imposition of a highly centralized economic system which particularly affected the private-enterprise-based economy of Somaliland.

o The denial of its fair share of development assistance despite the fact that during the military regime, the Somali Republic was one of the highest recipients of external confessional assistance.

o The wholesale destruction of Somaliland's social and economic infrastructure in May 1988 by an air and land bombardment launched by the regime's military forces. All fixed assets including schools, hospitals and production facilities were either totally destroyed or rendered inoperable. In Hargeisa alone, over 80% of housing and other building were destroyed according to UN estimates. All moveable assets, including anything of economic value were hauled away by the military. Even worse, tens of thousand of non-combatants were killed, many more wounded, and hundreds of thousands forced to flee for safety to neighbouring countries. This reign of terror was the beginning of the unravelling of the Somali republic as a functioning state

· When the military regime was ousted in January 1991, the people of Somaliland decided to withdraw from its union with ex-Italian Somaliland and revert to its former independent status. Fortunately, this enabled Somaliland to escape the chaos and anarchy that characterized conditions in Mogadishu and beyond.

· The people of Somaliland, unlike their brethren to the south, set as their first priority, the re-establishment of law and order and the restoration of peace and security throughout their territory.

Recent accomplishments

Since its withdrawal from the union nine years ago, Somaliland has accomplished a number of major goals:

i. It has effected the demobilization of thousands of clan-based militias and the gradual absorption of many of them into the police, custodial and military services of the country.

ii. It has managed to confine to barracks the remainder of the militias pending the availability of resources and training programs to fit them for re-integration into civilian life.

iii. It has re-established various institutions of governance essential for stability and the restoration of democracy., including an elected executive presidency, a 81- cameral parliament, an independent judiciary, a draft constitution, the nucleus of a public service structure, the establishment of a national system of local administration with considerable regional autonomy, and strong and vibrant civil society role and community-based organizations.

Despite the near absence of external assistance and the destruction of its economic base, Somaliland has not only survived but has made remarkable strides towards restoring a measure of normalcy to its economy.

This revival has been based almost entirely on private initiative with the private sector owning and operating the main activities in almost every sector of the economy with a minimum of government control. The resulting competitive forces have made Somaliland highly competitive with its neighbours, particularly in the field of trade and telecommunications. There are four private telecommunications companies that make excellent international connections at rates several times lower than those in some neighbouring countries. Several private airlines started by local entrepreneurs provide domestic and international connections at highly competitive rates. Trade and real estate are booming in Hargeisa, the capital and other urban centres. Small-scale manufacturing activities are beginning to take hold, reflecting investor confidence in the stability of Somaliland. Exports of livestock, the main stay of the economy, is higher than total for the whole of former Somali Republic prior to its disintegration. Two privately-run universities, the first-ever institutions of higher learning in Somaliland, have opened at Amoud and Hargeisa. Compared to only few years, accomplishment are visible and impressive. This contrasts to the continuing chaos in many parts of former Somalia, which the recently-concluded Djibouti conference may only exacerbate.

The Djibouti Conference and the Position of Somaliland

Despite its considerable accomplishments, the situation in Somaliland is still fragile and there are a host of external risks which can easily derail past successes. The biggest risk is spill over of the current turmoil in much of the rest of former Somali Republic. In this regard, the recently-concluded conference in Djibouti could create new tensions for Somaliland and could potentially undermine its stability. The outcome of that conference is an attempts to impose on the whole of former Somali Republic, including Somaliland and Puntland, a group of people who have no legitimacy anywhere in the country and who have little or no solid presence on the ground. In fact many of the participants were the very ones responsible for wholesale destruction of the country under the regime of Siyad Bare. On the other hand, the governance structure in Somaliland is community- based, and has emerged out of grass-roots consultative process conducted inside the country by community leaders. This contrasts with the top-down, externally-driven structure put together in Djibouti

The people and Government of Somaliland initially supported the Djibouti conference in the belief that it would be a conference only for the people of the Southern regional. From the very beginning, Somaliland made it crystal clear not only to the sponsors of the. proposal but also to members of IGAD and its partners, as well as the United Nations Secretariat that Somaliland would neither participate in the conference nor be bound by any of its decisions. However, we did make it known that in the event that the deliberations lead to the emergence of a government acceptable to the people of Somalia, we will be prepared to sit with the representatives of that entity to discuss the future relationships between the two sides. However, the organizers subverted the process by inviting a number of individuals from Somaliland who represented no one but themselves, and many of whom do not even live in the country, in order to convey the impression that Somaliland took part in the Arta conference.

The position of Somaliland is clear: we will not abandon our hard-won achievements, we will resist attempted subversions of our grass-roots based system of governance and the imposition of a rule that is not only externally-imposed but also completely top-down. We will not submit our fate to the brutality which is unfortunately part of the nature of many of the factions in Somalia. However, we are ready to work with and discuss future relationship with any legitimate entity that may emerge from Somalia. The entity put together in Djibouti is not such an entity. We fully concur with the warnings voiced by some members of the UN Security Council who, in a debate in a June 29, 2000 meeting on Somalia, cautioned against any precipitous action [formal recognition of the entity put together in Djibouti which would undermine the stability already achieved in Somaliland and other some parts of the former Somali Republic.

Priority Needs of Somaliland.

· Consolidating peace, this would require of the international community to understand Somaliland's position with respect to the conclusions of the Djibouti conference-- that it is not bound by the results of that conference but that in the event a legitimate leadership emerges for the Southern part of former Somali Republic (Somalia) out of future deliberations, we are ready to sit down with them to discuss modalities for cooperation.

· Granting observer status at the United nations and other international bodies so that the people of Somaliland are not shut off from normal interaction with the rest of the world. It is unfair marginalizing the 3.5 million citizens of Somaliland simply because their brothers in the Southern part of former Somali Republic could not get their act together. While we would prefer outright recognition, we are also cognizant of international political realities that currently prevail and are willing to settle for an interim enhanced legal status temporarily such as that accorded to the Palestinian Authority. We have proven during the past decade that we deserve no less than that.

· Access to international development assistance, including from multi-lateral institutions like the World Bank. A similar recommendation was contained in a non- binding resolution by the US House of Representatives (Con. Res. 20) on October 26, 1999. This would enable Somaliland to undertake urgently needed reconstruction of the country's devastated physical infrastructure, rehabilitation of health and educational facilities all of which have been razed to the ground by the Siyad Bare regime before its collapse. It would also help strengthen the structures of government and upgrade the capability of public institutions. Somaliland has done as much as it could on its own limited resources could carry it. It cannot go much further without external support. A mechanism need to be found, beyond the legalisms of non- membership, whereby it can access assistance from international institutions whose function it is to help countries like Somaliland-possibly along the lines similar to those accorded the Palestinian Authority, Kosovo, etc.

· Access to guarantees and export credits by Export Credit agencies, such as the US Export-Import Bank, to firms that want to trade with, or invest in, Somaliland. This

· will not only reduce the cost of isolation to the private sector in Somalia but would open opportunities for international firms in a virgin territory which despite it's international status is considerably less risky than many developing countries.

· Ability to travel on Somaliland documents for business or personal purposes. This is an issue of top priority for the business community and the general public who are obliged to use the old passports of the former Somali Republic. The fact that these passports are either not accepted or can be obtained by any criminal, a burden imposed on lawful citizens on legitimate missions, is an added source of difficulty.