The widespread criticism of the United Nations’ organizations mainly focuses on the absence of the standard of conduct and mandatory integrity of their activities. Critics argue that the UN Organizations’ presences in volatile Africa, Asia and Latin America invent a new form of destabilization within the social structure of those societies.
Another explanation explores that such misconduct results in an uncertainty of stock market failures, devaluation of currency rates and ruins the balances of economic trade between states. This is because the intergovernmental organisations’ standards of conduct and integrity are faultily managed.
For example, the derived standard of conducts and manuals of the integrity of UN principles are not met, and the reason is a mystery of human error. Article 101, paragraph 3 of the UN Charter states the 5.1 of the UN Staff codes of conduct and organisational ethics of integrity. The values of the reassuring demeanours administer these codes set out in the United Nations Staff Member Regulations and other clerical issuances.
The current UN and INGOs establishments disenfranchised and turned into a blind eye to the developments of Somaliland – regarding democracy, freedoms of speech, relative stability and the governance systems. I personally interpret this as the twofold phenomenon. Firstly, the lack of skills and educational shortages of Somaliland Civil Servants allowed the misconduct of the UN liaison office operations. Secondly, the failure of UN staff members to conform with onuses under the Charter of the United Nations as shown in the administrative issuances and articles of global civil servant administered by UNV Conditions of Service standard of conducts are in complete turmoil.
The lack of proficiency, educational abilities and the shortage of skills of Somaliland bureaucrats will let the UN and other INGOs to manipulate the foreign policy of Somaliland. These organizations have never reported Somaliland’s proud tradition of engagement with the international community. As I have mentioned several times, United Nations Organizations singling out Somaliland by exaggerating minor incidents and/or creating fabrications for the sake of enlarging their interest oriented humanitarian projects.
Currently, the UN reports prevent the global member states of the world to address both Somaliland’s problems and successes. For instance, the devastations of the Cyclone Sagar that killed more than 50 people, destroyed hundreds of shelters and displaced hundreds of thousands of people has not yet well reported. In a ways that is different from Cyclone Sagar the UN organizations politicized and exaggerated the four hours war of Tukaraq in their reports.
The United Nations fact-finding missions inadequately investigated the aftermath of Sool regions. The UN reported that 150,000 people were displaced because of the four hours fighting with the 14km uninhabited land. On the contrary, the Population Estimation Survey in 2014 conducted by UNFPA stated that Sool’s total population estimate in urban areas is only 120, 993. Tukaraq is an urban area in the explanation of UNFPA Population Survey.
This shows how contradictory UN reports are; while at the same time such stories lack logic shreds of evidence to support the accusations. And yet UN remains silent about atrocities in Galkayo, Kismayo, Mogadishu, Baidabo, Hiiraan and other war zone regions of Somalia. While, on the other hand, UN reports completely overlooked the democratic success of Somaliland – the peaceful power transfers, the certain freedoms of speech unlike other countries of Africa and the needs of economic development assistance.
Nevertheless, my country, Somaliland informs the 193 member states of the United Nations that Somaliland is guided by the reality of self-determination of its people as an independent sovereign state. The people of Somaliland overwhelmingly decided to end the voluntary union with Somalia in 1991, which began in 1960 soon after when Somaliland gained its independence from Great Britain. Once again, the decision was endorsed enormously in a referendum by the people of Somaliland in 2001 in a percentage of 97.7%.
Therefore, the governments and people of Somaliland are ready to make Somaliland the heart of regional peace, development and democracy. Again, the fundamental basis of Somaliland is peace, democracy, freedom, the rule of law and self-liberty, and we preach to all nations of the world that Somaliland will stand for those values and principles. Due to the dynamic nature of the international system and the foreign relations of the different countries of the world, we are welcoming a real newfangled collaboration between Somaliland and the international community to be further developed, bringing our higher priority of securing international recognition for Somaliland at the heart of our foreign policy.
Mohamed Hagi Mohamoud
Political Analyst and Socio-economic Researcher on International Development and Security Studies