UN General Assembly
1971

175. A continuing threat to the peace and security of Africa has been the unfortunate indeed the tragic consequences of the colonial legacy of unnaturally divided peoples and territories. This factor is of particular relevance for the Somali people, for never in African history has a people of such homogeneity been divided between so many foreign rulers. Since those fateful years when the colonial Powers entered our region and divided up the land as if the people on it had no rights and no claim to justice, the Somali people have never ceased their quest for unity. This is a part of those realities which must be faced in Africa. Recently my President, Major General Mohamed Siad Barre, emphasized the necessity of coming to grips with these realities when he said: "We should not be slaves to the colonial barriers created to suit the imperialist designs at a time when the wishes of the African people were not taken into consideration. We should have the courage to tear ourselves away from this bondage and resolve problems with sincerity and seriousness."