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HARGEISA, May 11, 2025 — Somaliland’s House of Representatives is advancing legislation that would criminalize virtually all forms of participation in Somalia-related dialogue, marking the most aggressive legal step yet in the territory’s campaign to sever political and symbolic ties with Mogadishu. The bill, obtained by Somaliland Chronicle, was submitted in May 2025 and follows the executive decision announced on April 16 to withdraw entirely from all dialogue with Somalia following Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre’s provocative visit to Las Anod.
Identified as motion “L/R. /2025” the draft legislation codifies existing political positions into enforceable law, introducing criminal charges, financial prohibitions, and broad media restrictions. Yet, for all its sweeping language, the bill strategically avoids addressing the most persistent contradictions in Somaliland’s foreign policy: continued cooperation with UNSOM, the UN mission legally mandated for Somalia, and the reception of diplomats formally accredited to Mogadishu.
Key Provisions: Legal Threats for Crossing the Line
The bill declares that any Somaliland official who defects to Somalia, whether during or after their public service in Somaliland, is guilty of treason. Charges would be pursued under Penal Code Articles 212, 217, and 184. According to the document:
Among the legislation’s other major provisions:
- Prohibition on all forms of dialogue concerning Somalia’s internal affairs or Somali unity
- Criminal penalties for citizens who organize, support, or participate in such discussions
- Revocation of licenses for vehicles or transport used in connection with such activities
- Sanctions on civil society and media for disseminating messages deemed contrary to Somaliland’s independence
- A formal ban on accepting or using funds from the Somali Stability Fund (SSF)
A member of parliament who co-sponsored the legislation provided the document to Somaliland Chronicle on condition of anonymity. “This bill will likely undergo some revisions in committee, but opposition to its core provisions is not expected from either side of the aisle,” the MP said. “There is broad consensus that Somalia’s recent provocations demand a firm legislative response.”
Las Anod as a Turning Point
The motion directly references the government’s April 16 decision to suspend talks with Somalia after Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre’s visit to Las Anod, where Somalia has been accused of waging a proxy war against Somaliland through local militias since early 2023.
The Las Anod conflict has grown increasingly internationalized, with Somalia providing material and diplomatic support to anti-Somaliland forces, according to Somaliland government officials. In an April 16 statement, Somaliland’s Council of Ministers condemned Barre’s visit as “a direct violation of international law and Somaliland’s territorial integrity” and “political intimidation and conflict incitement that threatens stability in the Horn of Africa.”
Somalia’s recent actions against Somaliland extend beyond the battlefield. On April 22, Somalia’s Civil Aviation Authority issued a directive banning Taiwanese passport holders from entering, exiting, or transiting through Somalia. The ban was widely interpreted as an attempt to derail a scheduled high-level Taiwanese diplomatic mission to Somaliland and further evidence of Somalia’s alignment with Beijing in regional affairs.
The Diplomatic Elephant in the Room
While the bill takes explicit aim at the Somalia Stability Fund, it conspicuously fails to address Somaliland’s most glaring diplomatic contradiction: its continuing engagement with UN entities specifically mandated for Somalia and international diplomats accredited solely to Mogadishu.
“Let’s be honest—Somaliland has been kept on a short leash through its addiction to UN aid that’s explicitly earmarked for Somalia,” said a Western diplomatic source with extensive experience in the Horn of Africa, speaking on condition of anonymity. “They want recognition Monday through Friday, but come the weekend, they’re at the UN conference table alongside Puntland and Jubaland with their hand out. Their independence rhetoric is purely for domestic consumption. In private, these same officials who babble endlessly about sovereignty readily accept being treated like a federal member state of Somalia when money is involved. It’s impossible to take their independence claims seriously when they behave this way.”
The financial entanglements extend far beyond the Somalia Stability Fund. Somaliland has for years accepted World Bank funding as an “implementing partner,” while Somalia’s Federal Government serves as the guarantor and signatory to the agreements with both the World Bank and the Multi-Partner Fund. This arrangement legally positions Somaliland as a sub-national entity operating under Somalia’s sovereign authority.
UNSOM and Diplomats: The Silence is Deafening
Though the bill aims to criminalize support for Somali unity, it says nothing about UNSOM’s operations in Somaliland or the reception of foreign diplomats whose accreditation is limited to Somalia. This omission sustains the international community’s convenient fiction that treats Somaliland as just another federal member state.
When UN officials like James Swan, the current UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative to Somalia, or his predecessors Michael Keating and Nicholas Haysom, arrive in Hargeisa, they are inevitably introduced with “and Somaliland” tacked onto their Somalia titles. This creates the illusion that they represent both entities equally, despite having presented their credentials exclusively in Mogadishu. This diplomatic fiction has undermined Somaliland’s recognition efforts, as these officials return to their headquarters and file reports that treat Somaliland as just another regional administration within Somalia’s federal system.
“When UN officials and foreign diplomats present credentials in Mogadishu and are then welcomed in Hargeisa with a handshake and a press release, we undermine our own cause,” said a senior advisor at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue. “This bill draws red lines around minor leaks while the main pipeline of diplomatic ambiguity remains wide open.”
The financial dimension of this dependency is substantial. In 2024 alone, UN agencies and international NGOs working through Somalia-focused programs disbursed approximately $45 million in Somaliland—primarily in health, education, and infrastructure projects—according to Finance Ministry estimates.
This arrangement constitutes a Faustian bargain that no administration has been willing to sever, despite its corrosive effect on sovereignty claims. The government recognizes privately that these relationships undermine Somaliland’s independence narrative, but fears the socioeconomic consequences of rejecting this assistance. The proposed legislation meticulously avoids disrupting these established aid channels.
Toward a Coherent Foreign Policy?
The bill marks an aggressive attempt to correct what officials view as years of inconsistent messaging and policy. Yet its failure to confront the core instruments of international ambiguity—particularly UNSOM and foreign diplomatic protocols—suggests an unwillingness to jeopardize aid pipelines or invite diplomatic fallout.
“This is performative sovereignty,” said a foreign affairs analyst based in Nairobi. “They want to look defiant while keeping the money flowing.”
The international community has exploited this dependency to circumvent addressing Somaliland’s status directly. At Somalia-focused donor conferences and UN coordination meetings, Somaliland representatives find themselves relegated to the same status as officials from Somalia’s federal member states, their objections noted but ultimately disregarded.
For Western governments and UN agencies, Somaliland represents their sole success story in a region where billions in state-building investment have otherwise yielded negligible returns. They showcase Somaliland’s democratic achievements and stability while sidestepping the politically fraught question of recognition.
Next Steps: Politics and Passage
The bill requires endorsement by parliamentary committee, multiple readings, and final approval by President Abdirahman Irro. Sources close to the executive say passage is all but guaranteed given overwhelming political support.
One presidential advisor remarked, “This legislation is less about law and more about signaling. It tells Somalia, and the world, that the page has turned.”
Yet unless future legislation tackles the UNSOM question and forces foreign diplomats to choose between Mogadishu and Hargeisa, Somaliland’s assertion of sovereignty will remain half-measure policy—loud in rhetoric, but compromised in execution.
Somaliland Chronicle will continue following this story as it moves through parliament.
