This letter highlights the crucial need for Somaliland to officially use State Responsibility Articles in international affairs about its status and rights. Invoking State Responsibility under the Articles has real legal weight for Somaliland’s pursuit of justice and recognition, not just symbolic value.

1. Putting an end to the possibility of claiming ignorance.

•Somaliland makes the legal grounds and current violations known to other states and organizations, which means those states can no longer plausibly claim ignorance of their wrongful recognition policies or Somaliland’s true legal position.

•After notification, states and institutions cannot reasonably claim ignorance; any further failure to respect Somaliland’s rights and status becomes a conscious violation of international law.

•It puts the international community’s legal standing on solid ground, so further violations are intentional, not accidental.

1. Defining and Implementing Legal Commitments.

• According to the Articles on State Responsibility, violations of key principles, like self-determination and sovereign equality, generate duties for every state, beyond just those directly participating.

• Somaliland’s invocation of these articles clarifies that they are binding law, not discretionary policy.

1. Collective Responsibility and Accountability Demanded

•If peremptory norms (jus cogens) are seriously breached, like denying self-determination, all states must not recognize or help sustain the illegal situation and must work together to end it (per Articles 40 and 41 of the Articles on State Responsibility).

•A formal request prompts the global community to examine their actions and policies, urging changes.

4. Creating Legal and Diplomatic Leverage

•Somaliland’s credibility grows, it attracts global legal attention, and it gains support from law-abiding states by basing its claims on widely recognized legal structures.

•Those who break international law face accountability risks, reputational harm, and possible legal remedies.

Somaliland: The Importance of Formal Invocation.

•It puts the global community on alert, forcing all parties to accept current legal responsibilities and stopping future knowledge denials.

•It changes how other states and organizations behave, turning potentially negligent or uninformed conduct into knowing and intentional actions, thus strengthening the argument for accountability.

•This highlights Somaliland’s dedication to global law and honest diplomacy, adding weight to its pursuit of recognition, justice, and restitution.

Conclusion

Somaliland strategically and lawfully needs to formally invoke the Articles on State Responsibility. It makes sure everyone knows their rights and what happens if they act against them, forces all international actors to face up to what they should legally and morally do, and pushes for justice, accountability, and acknowledgment for Somaliland and its people.

Ibn Ali

Twitter Analyst