The recognition of Somaliland Growing international engagement and backing Growing body of expert opinion 'In the case of Somaliland. insistence by the African Union on the increasingly abstract notion of the unity and territorial integrity of the Somali Republic. with Somalilanders governed again from Mogadishu. is both unrealistic and unsupported by more than twenty years of state practice. My attempt to re-impose centralized control by Mogadishu would almost certainly open a new chapter in the Somali civil war." Louise Arbor. President 8, CEO of the International Crisis GrOUD (20111, There is a growing body of expert opinion backing greater international engagement and changes to the status quo. • 2003 legal opinion from the South African Department of Foreign Affairs In 2003. the South African Department of Foreign Affairs issued a legal opinion. It stated that: O 'Mt is undeniable that Somaliland does indeed qualify for statehood, and it is incumbent on the international community to recognise it. Any efforts to deny or delay would not only put the international community at risk of ignoring the most stable region in the Nom, it would impose untold hardship upon the people of Somaliland due to the denial of foreign assistance that recognition entails.' O 'The interest of world peace and stability require that, where possible. the division or fragmentation of existing states should be managed peacefully and by negotiation. But where this is not possible, as is the case with Somalia. international law accepts that the interests of justice may prevail over the principle of territorial integrity.' • 2005 African Union fact-finding mission to Somaliland In 2005. the African Union sent a fact-finding mission to Somaliland. O It reported that Somaliland's case is a unique one, which should be judged 'from an objective historical viewpoint and a moral angle vis-a-vis the aspirations of the people". O The mission recommended that the African U