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London, UK, June 12, 2010 (SL Times) – Somaliland was a topic of
exchange between Lord Luce and Lord Howell of Guildford (Minister of
State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office) in the House of Lords. Lord Luce
submitted written questions to Lord Howell (Minister of State, Foreign
and Commonwealth Office). The issues in the exchange included
Somaliland’s coming elections, election observers and the required
criteria for the UK to recognize Somaliland.
On the question of the criteria that the United Kingdom will use for
recognizing Somaliland, Lord replied: “The criteria applied by the UK in
determining whether to recognize a state remain as described in the
Written Answer dated 16 November 1989 by the then Parliamentary
Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs.
That Written Answer states that: the normal criteria that we apply for
recognition as a state are that it should have, and seem likely to
continue to have, a clearly defined territory with a population, a
Government who are able of themselves to exercise effective control of
that territory, and independence in their external relations. Other
factors, including some UN resolutions, may also be relevant.”
Asked if the United Kingdom is sending election observers to Somaliland,
Howell of Guildford answered: “The Government are not sending observers
to witness the presidential elections in Somaliland. However, we are
engaged with a UK non-governmental organization that is leading on the
co-ordination of international observers. We will continue to work
closely with them both before and after the elections in June. The
Government will continue to support actively the staging of democratic
elections.”
Queried about the election, Lord Howell replied, “Free and fair
elections in June can only strengthen the reputation of Somaliland in
the international community.”
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