Why Ethiopia Is Cautious About Somaliland’s Secession

[Deeq A.]

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud cited the AU Charter to oppose unilateral secession in Somalia.

Garowe (PP Editorial) — Ethiopia, a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa, is closely monitoring the unlawful recognition that the State of Israel has granted to the Somaliland Administration. Ethiopia’s wariness is rooted in historic territorial disputes between Somalia and Ethiopia.

In 1960, when the Republic of Somalia was formed through the amalgamation of former British Somaliland and the Trust Territory of Somaliland under Italian Administration, a central pillar of the new state’s foreign policy became the doctrine of the “missing territories.” The aim was to reclaim Somali-inhabited regions in Ethiopia and in the Colony and Protectorate of Kenya. The subsequent conflicts between Somalia and Ethiopia stemmed from unresolved, pre-independence territorial disputes between the two countries, including Ethiopia’s annexation of the Haud and Reserved Area in 1954, following Britain’s breach of protection agreements with Somali clans in the north. The “missing territories” doctrine in Somalia’s foreign policy stood in direct opposition to the Charter of the African Union (then the Organisation of African Unity).

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed recognises the geopolitical consequences of secessionist movements.

Ethiopia possesses a deeper understanding of Somalia than Israel does. Some Israeli analysts and lawyers, such as Haviv Rettig Gur and Natasha Hausdorff, argue that the inviolability of colonial borders is unjust. However, respect for the borders of Ethiopia and Somalia is binding on all member states of the African Union. In 2024, when Ethiopia signed a maritime Memorandum of Understanding with the Somaliland Administration in violation of the sovereignty of the Federal Republic of Somalia, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud invoked Article III of the AU Charter, which states: “The Member States … solemnly affirm and declare their adherence to the following principles: … respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of each State and for its inalienable right to independent existence.”

Benjamin Netanyahu rejects Palestinian statehood while endorsing secession in Somalia.

Ethiopia is more vulnerable to ethnonationalist secessionist forces than Somalia, as stipulated in Article 39 of the Ethiopian Constitution: “Every Nation, Nationality and People in Ethiopia has an unconditional right to self-determination, including the right to secession.”

Ethiopia opposes recognition of Somaliland due to the geopolitical ramifications such a decision would have on its search for access to the sea. Only a superpower with veto power can afford to treat the UN Charter lightly. Moreover, Ethiopia has opposes the creation of new Somali nation-states based on the redrawing of colonial borders. All territories in what is now the Somali Region of Ethiopia could be placed in jeopardy if Israel is permitted to undermine the Charter of the African Union. Ethiopia supports a two-state solution to the conflict in Palestine, whereas the Somaliland Administration opposes the creation of a Palestinian state.

© Puntland Post, 2025