441-00706 Foreign affairs
Petition to the Prime Minister
We, the undersigned, residents of Canada, draw the attention of the Prime Minister:
Whereas:
1. The borders of Somaliland with Ethiopia, Somalia and Djibouti are demarcated;
2. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's proclamation of Somaliland independence was gazetted on June 24, 1960; A former British Protectorate, Somaliland won its independence on June 26, 1960 and signed United Nations treaties with Great Britain and Northern Ireland;
3. The Constitutive Act of the African Union states the Union shall function in accordance with the following principles: (b) respect of borders existing on achievement of independence;
4. Somaliland was an independent, sovereign state before entering an unsuccessful and legally invalid union with Somalia;
5. The independence declaration of May 18, 1991 occurred after years of documented human rights violations by the Somali state against the civilian population of Somaliland;
6. On May 18, 2022, the people of Somaliland will be celebrating 31 years since reclaiming their independence;
7. In 2001, Somaliland established a new constitution. Somaliland has since established its own Currency, Central Bank, and built a successful free-market economy. They have overseen the restoration of peace, established an independent judiciary and Electoral Commission, and cultivated a stable, multiparty democracy;
8. Somaliland has all the attributes of statehood as defined by the 1933 Montevideo Convention. It has a permanent population, a defined territory, government and capacity to enter into relations with other states; and
9. Recognition would enhance security, drive economic development and entrench democracy in one of the world's most unstable regions.
Therefore, we, the undersigned residents of Canada, call upon the Prime Minister to call for an investigation into the legality of the union, and if no legal documentation supporting it is found, to recognize Somaliland as an independent country.
We, the undersigned, residents of Canada, draw the attention of the Prime Minister:
Whereas:
1. The borders of Somaliland with Ethiopia, Somalia and Djibouti are demarcated;
2. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's proclamation of Somaliland independence was gazetted on June 24, 1960; A former British Protectorate, Somaliland won its independence on June 26, 1960 and signed United Nations treaties with Great Britain and Northern Ireland;
3. The Constitutive Act of the African Union states the Union shall function in accordance with the following principles: (b) respect of borders existing on achievement of independence;
4. Somaliland was an independent, sovereign state before entering an unsuccessful and legally invalid union with Somalia;
5. The independence declaration of May 18, 1991 occurred after years of documented human rights violations by the Somali state against the civilian population of Somaliland;
6. On May 18, 2022, the people of Somaliland will be celebrating 31 years since reclaiming their independence;
7. In 2001, Somaliland established a new constitution. Somaliland has since established its own Currency, Central Bank, and built a successful free-market economy. They have overseen the restoration of peace, established an independent judiciary and Electoral Commission, and cultivated a stable, multiparty democracy;
8. Somaliland has all the attributes of statehood as defined by the 1933 Montevideo Convention. It has a permanent population, a defined territory, government and capacity to enter into relations with other states; and
9. Recognition would enhance security, drive economic development and entrench democracy in one of the world's most unstable regions.
Therefore, we, the undersigned residents of Canada, call upon the Prime Minister to call for an investigation into the legality of the union, and if no legal documentation supporting it is found, to recognize Somaliland as an independent country.