The African Union (AU) has rejected the recent Israeli recognition of the breakaway northern Somali territory of Somaliland, saying it defends the territorial integrity of its member states.
Yet, the same AU continues to carry the baggage of an earlier era with the anomalous admission of the Algeria backed Polisario/SADR, an armed separatist movement lacking state attributes and without United Nations recognition.
The contradiction is corrosive to the AU’s credibility and hampers Africa’s strategic partnerships and conflict resolution role.
In its Somaliland response, the AU anchored its position in the Constitutive Act and the 1964 OAU doctrine of respecting borders inherited from colonialism, with the aim of avoiding an endless chain of secessions and destabilization. But four decades ago, at the height of Cold War opportunism, the AU’s predecessor admitted the Polisario entity as a “state,” prejudging an unresolved territorial dispute and overruling the UN track that remains the sole framework for settlement.
The AU cannot, in one breath, declare sovereignty inviolable in Somalia, then in the next, sustain membership for a separatist group that does not meet the minimal Montevideo or Westphalian criteria of statehood and whose “recognition” has repeatedly disrupted Africa’s external engagements.
Global partners, including France, the United States, China, Russia, Japan, and South Korea, have rejected the presence of the Polisario/SADR in joint summits, forcing cancellations, relabeling, or ad hoc fixes that dilute Africa’s collective leverage.
Saudi Arabia downgraded an Arab African summit to a Saudi African format and explicitly referred to “54 states,” signaling refusal to host a non UN recognized entity. When Japan hosted TICAD preparatory meetings, Polisario operatives attempted to infiltrate proceedings under Algerian cover. Tokyo reiterated it invites only UN recognized states, and the incident degenerated into a protocol breach.
The AU Executive Council had to intervene in 2024, voting to ban Polisario participation in international fora, a belated but telling admission that prior tolerance was an error with real-world consequences.
Somaliland and Israel
Israel’s recognition of Somaliland triggered rapid, unified reactions across African and some Arab capitals, all rallying around Somalia’s territorial integrity. The AU’s press note underscored the legal foundation and the precedent risks. In multilateral chambers, UN officials warned of instability and proxy confrontations along one of the world’s busiest maritime corridors if recognition proliferates. This coherence is precisely what Africa needs in the Sahara as well. The AU needs to align with the UN-led process which calls on the parties to negotiate on the basis of Morocco’s autonomy plan.
The AU needs to avoid prejudging outcomes and refuse to normalize non state actors as “member states,” before making statements on Somaliland.
