THE AFRICAN Regional Organisation of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC-Africa) has issued a stern condemnation of reported moves by the Israeli government, under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to recognise the breakaway region of Somaliland as an independent state.
In a statement from its Lome, Republic of Togo headquarters, on Monday, December 29, 2025, the organisation, which represents over 18 million workers across the continent, labelled the recognition an “irritating and condemnable diplomatic aggression.”
Aligning itself firmly with the African Union Commission in reaffirming “the unity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Somalia,” ITUC-Africa argues that such external recognition blatantly contravenes foundational African political principles, specifically referencing the Constitutive Act of the African Union and the Organisation of African Unity’s 1964 decision on the intangibility of colonial-era borders.
ITUC-Africa asserts that the Israeli recognition represents “foreign interference in African affairs, driven by geopolitical calculations rather than the wellbeing of African peoples.”
It emphasised the critical need for Somalia to have unimpeded political space to rebuild its institutions, consolidate peace, and restore livelihoods after decades of conflict, and warned that “reopening border disputes or promoting a non-existent two-state narrative,” particularly when encouraged from outside the continent, threatens to derail Somalia’s fragile recovery and foster renewed instability.
“Africa’s reconstruction and development will not be achieved through division, but through genuine hard work and partnership, unity and solidarity,” the statement reads, with firm declarations: “Africa is sovereign. Somalia is one.”
