The Isaaq Genocide Foundation is alarmed by the misidentification of the Republic of Somaliland by its neighbor, Djibouti. The Foreign Minister of Djibouti, Mr. Mohamoud Ali Youssuf, was quoted on Aswaat.com, an Egyptian website, falsely claiming that the Republic of Somaliland is a separatist, breakaway region of Somalia. He further alleges that Somaliland was a British Protectorate that declared independence in 1991 and has yet to be recognized.
He completely ignores the fact that the Republic of Somaliland was annexed and militarily occupied by Somalia from 1960 to 1991, shortly after it gained independence from the United Kingdom. He obscures the fact that the British Somaliland Protectorate (established in 1887) ceased to exist on June 26th, 1960, when the Republic of Somaliland gained independence by Royal Proclamation.
This narrative is grossly misleading and dangerous. Stripping the Republic of Somaliland of its Statehood is not only illegal but also genocidal. Keeping more than six million people mislabeled as separatists mirrors the scapegoating of the Isaaq people during the Isaaq Genocide of the 1980s by Somalia. The Isaaq Genocide was State sponsored, targeting the Isaaq people for extermination because they are indigenous and numerous in the Republic of Somaliland. Somalia’s irredentist, expansionist pursuits have always sought to exterminate them. Is Djibouti aiding Somalia in this quest?
Minister Youssuf’s attempt to obscure the Statehood of the Republic of Somaliland and its more than six million citizens is in direct violation of the UN Charter of Universal Basic Human Rights. He has, on paper, denied Somalilanders the right to life and security. Hiding the Statehood of the Republic of Somaliland also strips Somalilanders of their rightful choice to nationality—a basic human right. Minister Youssuf deliberately concealed the June 26th, 1960, independence of the Republic of Somaliland. He attempts to deny more than six million people their hard-earned Statehood, which protects them against territorial infringement and interference in their political independence.
Djibouti, a tiny nation in the Horn of Africa that relies on its neighbors in many aspects, is siding with Somalia, Egypt, and Turkey against closer ties between Ethiopia and the Republic of Somaliland. A Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Republic of Somaliland and Ethiopia on January 1st, 2024, granting Ethiopia sea access and Somaliland re-recognition, is vehemently opposed by Somalia and now openly by Djibouti. Both countries are attempting to obscure the Statehood and legitimacy of the Republic of Somaliland.
This dangerous posturing undermines the claim that Djibouti is for regional stability. On the contrary, attempting to deny a large, growing country like Ethiopia access to the sea through a stable, terror-free country like the Republic of Somaliland is not only unfortunate but also has dire and far-reaching consequences. Further destabilization of the Horn of Africa will add fuel to the crises already occurring in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
Tensions in the Horn of Africa must be diffused, not escalated. We urge the government of Djibouti to retract its detrimental assertion that the Republic of Somaliland is a separatist entity. We demand it respects the Republic of Somaliland as an equal, based on the international law of equality of States. The people of the Republic of Somaliland have earned their right to be recognized citizens of the world. Their hard-fought June 26th independence awarded them that right.
Why is the minister hiding the Republic of Somaliland’s independence from the world? Is Djibouti planning to assist Somalia in completing the Isaaq Genocide? The former, now deceased, dictator of Djibouti, Mr. Aptidon, assisted the military junta of Somalia, led by Siad Barre, in its genocidal onslaught against the Isaaq people. The Isaaq Genocide Foundation reminds Djibouti that hiding the Statehood of the Republic of Somaliland and its more than six million people amounts to numerous violations of international law.
Furthermore, Minister Youssuf attempts to strip Somalilanders of their indigenous rights by labeling them separatists. He denies their suffering under Somalia’s annexation and military occupation from 1960 to 1991. He hides the Isaaq Genocide, amounting to its denial. The 10 Stages of Genocide illustrate that denial is the number one indicator that another genocide shall occur.
Djibouti, a country of a million people with a landmass of less than 10,000 square miles, gained its independence in 1977. The Republic of Somaliland, a country of more than six million people with a landmass of 68,000 square miles, gained its independence on June 26th, 1960. What then prompted Mr. Youssuf to mislead the world about the true identity of the Republic of Somaliland?
Is Djibouti deliberately attempting to obscure the democratic governance of its neighbor? Is it worried it will be outshined? Is Djibouti not cognizant that the continued non-recognition of the Republic of Somaliland is detrimental to the region? It is imperative that Djibouti cease its provocative actions against the Republic of Somaliland, a fully-fledged State that never forfeited its independence on June 26th, 1960.
Timothy Snyder, an esteemed historian, lectures on the importance of Statehood and State institutions in providing protections to any citizenry, especially a scapegoated one. Hitler’s SS troops were able to murder more Jews in Poland than in Germany, for example, due to the systematic dismantling of Poland’s State institutions. Furthermore, under the guise of defending itself, Germany falsely blamed Poland for infringing on its territorial integrity. Mr. Youssuf did not once mention the territorial integrity of the Republic of Somaliland, although Djibouti shares a ratified border with it.
Is the Foreign Minister of Djibouti following Hitler’s playbook? Is Djibouti planning to assist Somalia, a State sponsor of genocide, in exterminating Somalilanders? Why is Minister Ali Youssuf insisting that the Memorandum of Understanding between Ethiopia and the Republic of Somaliland infringes on the territorial integrity of Somalia? The Republic of Somaliland is not part of Somalia and never has been.
The Isaaq Genocide Foundation demands that Djibouti cease its mislabeling of the Republic of Somaliland as a separatist entity. The government of Djibouti must apologize to the citizens of the Republic of Somaliland, whom Minister Youssuf has flagrantly labeled separatists. Failure to do so will evidence Djibouti’s nefarious ambitions against the people of the Republic of Somaliland.
We also urge Djibouti to ease tensions in the region rather than escalate them through inflammatory rhetoric. Djibouti must remember that the Republic of Somaliland is a fully-fledged State protected by laws on territorial integrity and political independence. Djibouti must also remember that its UN seat is jeopardized by its interference in the affairs of another State