Chapter ii discusses the international political developments affecting the western sahara. From geography, european colonialism, and the polisario front, this video takes an indepth look at how exactly modern western sahara came to be. The conflict in western sahara how does law protect in war. Overview representative of the united states called.
The conflict in western sahara how does law protect in. Jensen explores the longstanding conflict over the sovereignty of western saharafrom its colonial roots to its. The conflict of western sahara and the united nations role in resolving it mareike peters term paper advanced seminar politics international politics topic. Western sahara territory and refugee camps located near tindouf, algeria, since the conflict in 1975.
Recommendations recent events in egypt, libya, and tunisia show both the necessity for change in morocco and the risks. Yet an examination of the war for western saharaits origins, its evolution, and its nonconclusionis an important first step toward an understanding of the broader conflict. Sep 30, 2019 western sahara has been the subject of territorial disputes since spain withdrew in 1976. The right to selfdetermination as a peremptory norm in international law 1 2. A deceptive calm in the moroccancontrolled western sahara, a semblance of stability and calm. The western sahara conflict between the kingdom of morocco and the polisario front is locked in a seemingly irreconcilable stalemate. What are some solutions to the conflict of western sahara. Feb 21, 2015 peace is the only solution in this world to solve all the problems amicably.
They discussed the strengths and shortcomings of the baker plan 2003, which envisioned saharan selfrule for five years, followed by a referendum with three. Mar 03, 2017 morocco has announced the withdrawal of its forces from a u. The conflict in the western sahara is one of the oldest and most neglected. Western sahara has been on the united nations list of nonselfgoverning territories since the 1960s when it was a spanish colony. The fourapproach dilemma of the western sahara conflict mohammed cherkaoui 74,000 sahrawis who were listed on the spanish census of 1974, and insisted on adding up to 120,000 moroccans to the list. The independence movement is led by the polisario front, which represents the nomadic inhabitants of the western sahara region known as the sahrawis. Beginning in 1979, the organization of african unity oau sought a resolution of the western sahara conflict and called for a ceasefire and a referendum to provide the right of self. The fourapproach dilemma of the western sahara conflict.
If this conflict were to slip into a loselose scenario, one. The purpose of investigating the conflict over the western sahara is to trace and analyze its impact upon the political stability of the northwest region of the african continent. Pdf the western sahara conflict, loselose scenarios, and. Moroccos control of the last colony in africa is at the centre of campaigners legal challenge to the.
Chapter i provides background information on the western sahara. Files are available under licenses specified on their description page. The conflict of western sahara and the united nations role. Time for a solution in w estern sahara conflict, winter2007, v ol.
Pdf western sahara download ebook full pdf download get. All structured data from the file and property namespaces is available under the creative commons cc0 license. List of books and articles about western sahara conflict. The case of the united nations efforts to mediate an end to the seemingly intractable conflict in the western sahara is particularly instructive. This article explains how and why the us administration and its allies in the region, notably algeria, launched a new saharansahelian front in the global war on terror in 200203. The western sahara conflict is an ongoing conflict between the polisario front and the kingdom of morocco. Media coverage of western sahara conflict in our life were we told that we should have known better than say, act and behave one way or another after we said, acted or behaved in certain way. Algeria and the western sahara dispute by jacob mundy. This was a report summarizing the reports that had been submitted by the secretarygeneral to the security council on the situation concerning western sahara from 1 july 2004 to 30 june 2005. It borders on the atlantic ocean in the west, on morocco in the north, on algeria in the northeast, and on mauritania in the east and south. The conflict originated from an insurgency by the polisario front against spanish colonial forces from 1973 to 1975 and the subsequent western sahara war against morocco between 1975 and 1991.
This was a resolution that referred to the continued occupation of western sahara by morocco. At the regional level, the western sahara dispute then became one side of an interlocking conflict between morocco and algeria, which had origins in a brief border war in 1963. Peace and conflict studies, security publish your bachelors or masters thesis, dissertation, term paper or essay. Initially, both morocco and mauritania presented claims, but mauritania renounced its claim in 1979. We were also told that if we knew what you were going to say, act and behave, we should have coached you as to what to say, how to act and behave when you. The right to selfdetermination and the uti possidetis iuris principle 4 5.
The western sahara conflict is both one of the worlds oldest and one of its most neglected. Since the ceasefire of 1991, morocco and the polisario front have maintained a stalemate in the western sahara conflict. Chapter iii discusses the positions of morocco, the. The right of selfdetermination versus territorial integrity 3 4. The right to selfdetermination as a fundamental human right 2 3. The role of natural resources in decolonization, current african issues 33 nai current african issues olsson, claes on. The western sahara conflict also resonated at the international level. Military equipment captured by the sadr in the western sahara war.
The western sahara conflict essay example graduateway. The western sahara is a region on north africas atlantic coast that borders algeria, morocco and mauritania and which has been the subject of contention for the last 42 years. Media coverage of western sahara conflict sahara question. Imagined territories and histories in conflict during the struggles for western sahara, 19561979 author links open overlay panel alicia camposserrano a jose antonio rodriguezesteban b show more. United nations documents related to decolonization of spanish sahara, the western sahara conflict, moroccan military occupation, sahrawi refugees, and the establishment of minurso. The western sahara conflict has outlasted the 197591 war between morocco and the western saharan independence movement, led by the frente polisario. Imagined territories and histories in conflict during the. In times of economic crisis and rising unemployment in north africa, western sahara s natural resources have become fiercely contested treasures. Western sahara, called moroccan sahara in morocco, is a land of 266,000 square kilometers of northwestern africa, bordered by morocco to the north, algeria on northeast, mauritania on the south while its west coast overlooks on atlantic ocean. Western saharas conflict tomatoes highlight a forgotten occupation. Algeria and the western sahara dispute the maghreb center. The new balance of power resulting from recent political developments in the region could lead to a renegotiation of the conflict.
Conflict resolution has placed high priority on developing lessons learned from recent efforts to mediate international conflicts. Jan 03, 2018 the western sahara is a region on north africas atlantic coast that borders algeria, morocco and mauritania and which has been the subject of contention for the last 42 years. List of united nations resolutions concerning western sahara. Unhcr stands ready to promptly resume family visits between the territory and the camps, after almost four years of suspension. The western sahara and the quest for a durable solution a panel of experts discussed the possible solutions to the conflict in the western sahara region.
It includes a number of internal and external traits, a high involvement of external actors and, apparently, no real desire to negotiate, impeding the disputing parties from transforming their initial positions that render this conflict frozen. The western sahara conflict has eluded resolution for so long that the principles underlying united nationsled efforts to seek an enduring outcome have become muddied almost to the point of. The sources of protracted conflict in the western sahara. Nations peacekeeping mission in western sahara, is established under the united nations security council resolution 690 as part of the settlement plan, which had paved way for a ceasefire in the conflict between morocco and the polisario front over the contested territory of western sahara. Nov 29, 2015 this page was last edited on 19 march 2017, at 17. More than 30 years after the war began, the displacement of large numbers of people and a ceasefire in 1991 that froze military positions, its end remains remote. It is a conflict that moves yet fails to transform. France renews its support for moroccos autonomy plan. Pdf the western sahara conflict, loselose scenarios. The kingdom of morocco and the polisario front independence movement, with its sahrawi arab democratic republic sadr government, both want control of the territory.
This obscure war, which recently surpassed forty years of hostilities, is at the center of a complex set of regional and foreign interests that encourage its prolongation. At the same time, these walls served to enclose all of the major population centers of the western sahara and the territorys rich phosphate deposits. Western sahara and dozens of interviews, this paper examines the security risks of the persistence of the conflict by analyzing the destabilizing forces that heighten local tensions and regional instability. Conflict place should be shared to the both countries equally. Morocco has announced the withdrawal of its forces from a u.