Chaired by Conservative Development spokesman Nirj Deva MEP and featuring H.E Saad Ali Shire, Foreign Minister of Somaliland, the conference examined the political and legal case for recognition of Somaliland independence.
The eminent international human rights advocate, the Rt Hon. Sir Desmond De Silva QC, told today's conference in the European Parliament in Brussels: “Piracy, extremism and rampant crime have seen Somalia facing international sanctions; sanctions which have been universally levied to include a Somaliland far removed in nature and governance from the crimes they have been punished for.
"So long as they remain even nominally attached to Somalia, 3.5 million people will continue to suffer the consequences of actions in which they took no part. Where is the justice in that? This is a country that has met every condition of good governance. Yet, if we do not act now, we risk allowing another country in Africa to slip into being a failed state.”
http://conservativeeurope.com/news/meps ... ence-claimMr Deva concluded: “How can we commend in one moment the worthiness of Somaliland, a nation that has, as a functioning reality, been independent for more than 25 years; an island of stability in one of the most troubled regions of the globe, and yet, when the time comes for sentiment to give way to action, the European Union is nowhere to be found?
“We must find ourselves committed to passing a resolution through the European Parliament, demanding the international community’s attention and recommending that this case be sent to the International Court of Justice.
“We cannot wait for the Commission to act. It must be our responsibility to end the perverse limbo state of independence without recognition. This must be solved, not through politics, but with the law.”