whether those c

riteria will apply to Somaliland

Question

Asked by Lord Lair

To ask Her Majesty's Government what criteria were used in the decisions to recognise the independence of Eritrea, East Timor and Kosovo

; whether those criteria will apply to Somaliland; and whether they will raise the matter in the European Union with a view to gaining agreement on the recognition of Somaliland's independence. [HL5956]

The Minister of State, Foreign and Com

m

onwealth Office (Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead): The general criteria that we apply for recognition of an independent state remain as described in the Written Answer dated 16 November 1989 (Official Report, col। 494) by the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Forei

gn and Commonwealth Affairs। The UK has signed up to an EU common position, and to many UN Security Council resolutions, which refer to the territorial integrity and unity of Somalia. The Government do not propose to raise this issue in the EU.