Press Release By Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Eritrea

Jul 10, 2009, 11:24

The Security Council released a presidential statement on Somalia yesterday, 9
July 2009. The statement does not merit an elaborate response as the true facts
surrounding the matter are well-known indeed. For the record, however, the factual
and legal dimensions underpinning the whole episode are underlined below.
The Security Council does not possess providential authority. The Security Council
is not above the law. The Security Council cannot supplant international law and
the Charter of the United Nations. The Security Council cannot violate the
sovereignty, territorial integrity, political independence, and unity of Somalia
in an arbitrary manner. As such, the Security Council has no legal mandate or
authority to dub as “legitimate” and impose a “government” whose writ is confined
to few suburbs in the capital on the Somali people against their will.
In the same vein, the following simple questions can be raised:
Does the Security Council recognize governments established in “Somaliland”,
“Puntland” or Kismayo as sovereign or transitional entities? If the Security
Council does afford them its recognition, then what is the legal basis of its
decisions? If it does not recognize them, what are the reasons?
What about the Security Council resolution 1725 (2006) passed on December 6, 2006,
which calls for “… respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity, political
independence, and unity of Somalia”?
The Government and People of Eritrea have not recognized, do not recognize and
will not recognize any government that is externally imposed on Somalia against
the choice of the Somali people and in contravention of international law as well
as the Charter of the United Nations.
In the event, the statement outwardly sponsored by the United Kingdom and Uganda
and released in the name of presidency of the Security Council is devoid of any
legality.
Instead of making statements that contradict each other and that are predicated on
multiple standards which subsequently diminish its stature, the Security Council
should have taken commensurate legal action against all those who prolong and
exacerbate the suffering of the Somali people, and, the parties that are
destabilizing the Horn of Africa region.
Indeed, the Security Council should have supported a genuine political process
that is not encumbered by external interferences and that respects the choice of
the whole Somali people in “Somaliland”, “Puntland”, Kismayo and other parts of
Somalia as well as the Diaspora rather than postponing the solution time and again
or seeking scapegoats to cover its failure.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Asmara
July 10, 2009