The federal government of Somalia has announced a Anti Desert Locust operations to start in what it called Somalia’s regional member states, including the Republic of Somaliland.
The announcement follows, the donation of $8 million dollars in fighting locus infestation in Somalia by the United States International Aid Agency known as USAID.
United States aid agency (USAID), FAO and the Ministry of Agriculture of Somalia’s federal government, will partner in implementing the project without consulting with Somaliland’s government, which is not the process under international laws.
The operation is led by the Desert Locust Control Organization for Eastern Africa (DLCO-EA). The UN’s Food and agriculture organization (FAO) founded in 1962, replaced the International Organization for preventive control of the desert locust of Eastern Africa and western Asia.
The current operation will illegely be based in Mogadishu, which the
leading organization constitution stipulates that DLCO-EA headquarters be in Hargeisa, Somaliland, since it’s succession from the International organization for preventive desert locust.
In article III of the sitting status, the new member states have agreed “The Headquarters of DLCO-EA shall be at Asmara, Ethiopia. The main operational base of DLCO-EA shall be at Hargeisa”.
Contrary to its rules, constitution, and against its better judgment FAO and it’s sub-organization known as DLCO-EA and the fragile federal government of Somalia, USAID and African Peacekeeping have colluded in relocating the operational base of the Anti-Locust from Hargeisa to Mogadishu.
Insiders see the move as yet another flagrant abuse of international authority to pleasure and possibly cohorce a legitimate and democratic nation into reuniting with failed and undemocratic puppet state, Somalia.
Meanwhile, the operational base transfer from Hargeisa to Mogadishu contradicts in Article III paragraph 2, which says “DLCO-EA shall have the capacity of an international legal person to perform any legal act appropriate to its purpose in accordance with the provisions of the present Agreement”, which clearly didn’t happen. In particular it shall have the capacity (a) to contract; (b) to acquire and dispose of immovable and movable property; and (c) to institute legal proceedings. Due to the problems caused by the Desert Locust break out in the
region last year; the fragile government of Somalia and the misguided FAO in collaboration with USAID fund and AMISOM, want to lean on Somaliland government to accept the implementation of this project under the brand of the Somalia’s federal government, which didn’t implement any similar
projects since 1991.
On the other hand, Somaliland’s Lawyer association Chairman Mohamed Mohamoud Hashi told somalidispatch.com that the government of Somaliland is complacent and is not focused, when it comes to international laws. “No organization has the right to change its constitutional legal terms without consultation with its member states, replacing DLOCEA’S constitutional operation base is illegal and it can be interpreted as politicizing humanitarian projects” He said. “The government of Somaliland should examine and challenge the legal bases, and insist that the wait and see politics be changed” He added “We have to apply the succession of our sovereignty in the international organizations like FAO see here http://www.fao.org/3/a-am457t.pdf He concluded.
BY Mohamed Amiin Jibril
Hargeisa, Somaliland
