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FOI release

FOI202600014S Official Treaty Register

Published 29 June 2026

© Crown copyright 2026

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/foi-release-official-treaty-register/foi202600014s-official-treaty-register

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000 - REQUEST REF: FOI2026/00014S 

Thank you for your email of 10 June 2026 asking for information under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000. You asked: 

“I write to request written confirmation on letterhead for a correction made by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in August 2025 to entries in your official treaty register relating to five bilateral treaties signed at Hargeisa on 26 June 1960. 

The five treaties in question are registered with the Secretariat of the United Nations - Treaty Series numbers 5346, 5347, 5348, 5349 and 5350 in Volume 374. In August 2025 the Historical Information Unit of the FCDO acknowledged that its official treaty register had erroneously recorded signatories of these treaties being between the United Kingdom and “Somalia”. It was later confirmed that the correct sovereign counterparties was, and is, the Government of Somaliland and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland. The FCDO’s records were thereupon amended. 

I would be most grateful if the FCDO or Treaty Section could confirm: 

  • That the FCDO treaty register in August 2025, was corrected and amended to show the State of Somaliland as the sovereign counterparty to the bilateral treaties registered. 

  • The precise date on which the said correction was made and how. 

  • Whether the correction was made in response to external representation made by members of the public or as part of an internal review by the FCDO. 

  • Whether the corrected entries are, as at the date of this letter, the current authoritative record held by the FCDO in respect of the said treaties.  

  • The legal status of said treaties and the current position of the FCDO regarding the treaties. 

I would be grateful for a written reply on FCDO Treaty Section letterhead.” 

I am writing to advise you that following a search of our paper and electronic records, I have established that the specific information you requested is not held by this Department. 

FCDO Services is a trading fund of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). The FCDO is our primary customer, and we support its overseas diplomatic platform by providing technical and logistical services as part of our Global Property Support Service and Global Maintenance Programme. A search of our records has confirmed that FCDO Services does not hold an official treaty register. I would therefore advise that you contact the FCDO to ascertain if they hold the records you have requested – further information on how to contact the FCDO FOI Team can be found here - https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/foreign-commonwealth-development-office .  

Once an FOI request is answered, it is considered to be in the public domain.  To promote transparency, FCDO Services may now publish the response on GOV.UK in the FOI releases section.  All personal information in the letter will be removed before publishing.  

If you would like to request a review of our decision, you should write to the Data Protection Officer (DPO), Knowledge and Information Management (KIM) Team, FCDO Services, Hanslope Park, Milton Keynes, England, MK19 7BH (e-mail: FCDOServices.DataProtectionOfficer@fcdo.gov.uk).  Please note you have 40 working days to do so from the date of this letter. Please quote the reference number above in any future communications. 

If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint, you may then apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision.  Generally, the Information Commissioner cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the complaints procedure provided by the FCDO. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF, or online at: https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/  

Yours sincerely, 

FOI Officer 

Knowledge and Information Management (KIM) Team 

FCDO Services 

For information about how FCDO Services handles personal information please see our Personal Information Charter.

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