Morocco still occupies Western Sahara

On 27 February 1976 the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic was proclaimed on the territory of Western Sahara by the Polisario national liberation movement. Until the day before it had been a Spanish colony. But Morocco had already occupied the northern two-thirds of the territory on 6 November 1975, and Mauritania the southern third. A huge part of the population fled to Algeria where they have stayed since in the Tindouf refugee camp. The Sahrawis had formed Polisario to fight the Spanish, now they fought and pushed out Mauritania. Mauritania gave up its claim in 1979, but Morocco annexed the southern part.

The United Nations (UN) mediated an agreement including a ceasefire, and a referendum where the people would decide whether they wanted Western Sahara to be independent or a part of Morocco. Morocco has declined the Sahrawis to hold the referendum. They have moved in over 250.000 Moroccans and have offered a referendum  where they will vote. Morocco takes out huge amounts of phosphate and fish, and explore for oil and gas.  At the same time Moroccan forces violently supress the local Sahrawi population. The Rafto Foundation for Human Rights awarded the Rafto prize to the human rights activist Sidi Mohammed Daddach in 2002.

There is a need for more clear and strong support from the international community. Primarily I ask the members of the UN Security Council to implement the UN declarations, including a referendum on the future of Western Sahara.

Commemoration of the 30th independence day from Spain in the Liberated Territories.

Background
The Spanish made the coastal region a protectorate in 1884 and later occupied the interior and made it a colony Spanish Sahara. They discovered huge phosphate deposits in Bu Craa in the 1960s, and built a plant extracting the valuable mineral which is used in fertilizers. The nomadic Sahrawis slowly got national and anticolonial sentiments. They formed Polisario in the early 1970s fighting the Spanish. Spain decided to pull out, but agreed with Morocco and Mauritania to split the land between them. International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague refused Morocco’s and Mauretania’s claims for sovereignty over distinct parts of Western Sahara. But even though the Spanish government didn’t have the authority to give away the sovereignty, it allowed Morocco and Mauritania to occupy Spanish Sahara before they pulled out in 1976.

Map of Western Sahara.Territories.

Cease-fire but no referendum

The United Nations have a mandate to decolonize former colonies, including Western Sahara. This is the only African territory left on the UN-list. The UN made a peace proposal in 1988 which Morocco and Polisario accepted. The UN established the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) to monitor the ceasefire and prepare for the referendum. Morocco has not agreed to the terms, and no referendum has been held. Instead Morocco built a wall through the country and occupies the land west of it. Polisario holds the part east of the wall. Morocco continues to extract huge amounts of phosphate, and fish in the sea. They are also exploring for oil and gas in the ocean, contracting foreign oil companies to do the job. Several companies have pulled out after pressure from groups supporting the Sahrawis, but Total is searching in 2014. Because of this they have been excluded from the Norwegian Pension scheme (KLP).
 

Map of the different walls Morocco has built.

 

Human rights violations

Moroccan security forces have carried out gross violations on the Sahrawi population, hundreds have disappeared, others have been imprisoned, and many more harassed. Sidi Mohammed Daddach, a Sahrawi human rights defender won the Rafto prize from the Norwegian Rafto Foundation for Human Rights. Amnesty International says Moroccan forces continue to target human rights activists and imprison and torture demonstrators in the 2013 annual report. France has refused to give MINURSO a mandate to observe the human rights situation.



Sahrawi human rights defender Ali Salem Tamek in the Moroccan Ait Meloul Prison.

External support
Morocco has gained recognition from several Arab League countries and gets support from France and the US. So they are reluctant to implement UN Declarations and hold a referendum. The Sahrawis on the other hand is supported by Algeria, and is recognized by the African Union.

Sahrawi women.

A Sahrawi man with the flag of Western Sahara.

 Sources and more information
http://www.un.org/en/decolonization/nonselfgovterritories.shtml

http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/missions/minurso/mandate.shtml http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/RES/690(1991)

http://english.klp.no/polopoly_fs/1.24655.1391185298!/menu/standard/file/Total_Decision%20to%20exclude_03062013_ENGLISH.pdf

http://www.wsrw.org/lEN

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sahrawi_Arab_Democratic_Republic

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Sahara

http://freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/FIW%202014%20Scores%20-%20Countries%20and%20Territories.pdf

 

I am open to your comments and proposals.

Warmly

Bjarte Bjørsvik