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| {{For|the partially recognised state|Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic}} | |||
| {{Coord|25|N|13|W|display=title|type:country}} | |||
| {{Infobox Country | |||
| |native_name = الصحراء الغربية<br />''{{Unicode|As-Ṣaḥrā' al-Ġarbiyyah}}''<br />''Sahara Occidental'' | |||
| |conventional_long_name = Western Sahara | |||
| |common_name = Western Sahara | |||
| |image_flag = | |||
| |image_coat = | |||
| |symbol_type = | |||
| |image_map = LocationWesternSahara.svg | |||
| |national_motto = | |||
| |national_anthem = | |||
| |official_languages = ] ''de jure''<sup>1</sup>, ] and ] ''de facto'' | |||
| |demonym = Sahrawi | |||
| |capital = N/A | |||
| |latd= |latm= |latNS= |longd= |longm= |longEW= | |||
| |largest_city = ] (Laâyoune) | |||
| |government_type = | |||
| |leader_title1 = | |||
| |leader_name1 = | |||
| |leader_title2 = | |||
| |leader_name2 = | |||
| |sovereignty_type = Disputed sovereignty<sup>2</sup> | |||
| |established_event1 = Relinquished by ] | |||
| |established_date1 = November 14, 1975 | |||
| |area_rank = 77th | |||
| |area_magnitude = 1 E11 | |||
| |area_km2 = 266,000 | |||
| |area_sq_mi = 103,000 | |||
| |percent_water = negligible | |||
| |population_estimate = 513,000<ref name=unpop>{{cite paper | url=http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/wpp2008/wpp2008_text_tables.pdf | title=World Population Prospects, Table A.1| version=2008 revision | format=.PDF | publisher=United Nations | author=Department of Economic and Social Affairs | |||
| Population Division | year=2009 | accessdate= 2009-03-12}}</ref> | |||
| |population_estimate_year = 2009 | |||
| |population_estimate_rank = 168th | |||
| |population_census = | |||
| |population_census_year = | |||
| |population_density_km2 = 1.9 | |||
| |population_density_sq_mi = 5 | |||
| |population_density_rank = 236th | |||
| |GDP_PPP = | |||
| |GDP_PPP_rank = | |||
| |GDP_PPP_year = | |||
| |GDP_PPP_per_capita = | |||
| |GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = | |||
| |GDP_nominal = | |||
| |GDP_nominal_rank = | |||
| |GDP_nominal_year = | |||
| |GDP_nominal_per_capita = | |||
| |GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = | |||
| |HDI = | |||
| |HDI_rank = | |||
| |HDI_year = | |||
| |HDI_category = | |||
| |currency = ] ], ] | |||
| |currency_code = | |||
| |time_zone = | |||
| |utc_offset = +0 | |||
| |time_zone_DST = | |||
| |utc_offset_DST = | |||
| |cctld = ] is reserved but not used | |||
| |calling_code = +212<sup>3</sup> | |||
| |footnotes = <br/><sup>1</sup>Arabic is the only official language of both ] and the ] which claim sovereignty over the territory.<br/><sup>2</sup> Mostly under administration of Morocco as its ]. The Polisario Front controls border areas behind the ] as the ], on behalf of the ].<br/><sup>3</sup> Code for Morocco; no code specific to Western Sahara has been issued by the ]. | |||
| }} | |||
| '''Western Sahara''' (Arabic: '''الصحراء الغربية'''; ]: '''Tanẓṛuft Tutrimt'''; {{lang-es|Sahara Occidental}}) is a largely Moroccan-controlled territory in ], bordered by ] to the north, ] to the northeast, ] to the east and south, and the ] to the west. Its surface area amounts to {{convert|266000|km2}}. It is one of the ], mainly consisting of ] flatlands. The largest city is ], which is home to over half of the population of the territory, in total estimated at just more than 500,000.<ref name="unpop"/> | |||
| Western Sahara has been on the ] since the 1960s when it was a Spanish colony.<ref>Whitfield, Teresa. ''Friends Indeed?: The United Nations, Groups of Friends, and the Resolution of Conflict''. 2007, page 191.</ref> The Kingdom of ] and the ] independence movement, with its ] (SADR) government, dispute control of the territory. | |||
| Since a ]-sponsored ceasefire agreement in 1991, most of the territory has been controlled by Morocco, backed by ]{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}}, and the remainder by the Polisario/SADR, backed by ].<ref>Baehr, Peter R. ''The United Nations at the End of the 1990s''. 1999, page 129.</ref> Internationally, major powers such as the ] have taken a generally ambiguous and neutral position on each side's claims, and have pressed both parties to agree on a peaceful resolution. Both Morocco and Polisario have sought to boost their claims by accumulating formal recognition, essentially from African, Asian, and Latin American states in the developing world. Polisario has won formal recognition for SADR from ], and was extended membership in the ], while Morocco has won recognition for its position from the ].<ref>'''', Arabic News, Morocco-Regional, Politics, January 8, 1999. Retrieved August 24, 2006.</ref><ref>'''', Arabic News, Regional-Morocco, Politics, December 17, 1998. Retrieved August 24, 2006.</ref> In both instances, recognitions have over the past two decades been extended and withdrawn according to changing international trends. | |||
| ==History== | |||
| {{Main|History of Western Sahara}} | |||
| ===Early history=== | |||
| The earliest recorded inhabitants of the Western Sahara were agriculturalists called the ].<ref>{{cite web |first=Robert |last=Handloff |title=The West Sudanic Empires |url=http://www.shsu.edu/~his_ncp/WestSud.html |publisher=Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress |accessdate=3 September 2009}}</ref> The Bafour were later replaced or absorbed by ] populations which eventually merged in turn with migrating Arab tribes, although it is clear from the historical record that the Arabic-speaking majority in the Western Sahara descend from ] tribes that adopted Arabic over time. There may also have been some ]n contacts in antiquity, but such contacts left few if any long-term traces. | |||
| The arrival of ] in the 8th century played a major role in the development of relationships between the Saharan regions that later became the modern territories of Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, and Algeria, and neighbouring regions. Trade developed further, and the region became a highway for ]s, especially between ] and ] in ]. In the Middle Ages, the ] and ] movements and dynasties both were able to control the area. | |||
| Towards the late Middle Ages, the ] ] bedouin tribes invaded the ], reaching the northern border-area of the Sahara in the 14th and 15th centuries. Over roughly five centuries, through a complex process of acculturation and mixing seen elsewhere in the Maghreb and North Africa, the indigenous Berber tribes adopted ] Arabic and a mixed Arab-Berber nomadic culture. | |||
| ===Spanish province=== | |||
| {{Sahara conflict}} | |||
| After an agreement among the European colonial powers at the ] in 1884 on the division of ], ] seized control of the Western Sahara and established it as a Spanish protectorate after a series of wars against the local tribes reminiscent of similar European colonial adventures of the period, in the Maghreb, sub-Saharan Africa, and elsewhere. After 1939 this area was administered by Spanish Morocco. As a consequence, ], the Chief of Cabinet, General Secretary of the Government and Head of the palace for the caliph of Spanish Morocco cooperated with the Spaniards to select governors in that area. The Saharan Lords who were already in prominent positions such as the members of Maa El Ainain family provided a list recommending new governors. Together with the Spanish High Commissioner, Belbachir selected from the list of recommendations. During the prophet's birthday celebration these Lords paid their due respect to the caliph to show loyalty to the Moroccan monarchy. As time went by, Spanish colonial rule began to unravel with the general wave of decolonization after ], which saw Europeans lose control of North African and sub-Saharan African possessions and protectorates. Spanish decolonization in particular began rather late, but internal political and social pressures for it in mainland Spain built up towards the end of ]'s rule, in the context of the global trend towards complete ]. Spain began rapidly and even chaotically divesting itself of most of its remaining colonial possessions. After initially being violently opposed to decolonization, Spain began to give in and by 1974–75 issued promises of a ] on ]. The nascent ], a ] organization that had begun fighting the Spanish in 1973, had been demanding such a move. | |||
| At the same time, ] and ], which had historical claims of sovereignty over the territory based on competing traditional claims, argued that the territory was artificially separated from their territories by the European colonial powers. The third neighbour of Spanish Sahara, ], viewed these demands with suspicion, influenced also by its long-running rivalry with Morocco. After arguing for a process of decolonization guided by the ], the Algerian government under ] committed itself in 1975 to assisting the Polisario Front, which opposed both Moroccan and Mauritanian claims and demanded full independence. | |||
| The UN attempted to settle these disputes through a ] in late 1975, as well as a ] from the ] (ICJ), which declared that Western Sahara possessed the right of ]. On November 6, 1975 the ] into Western Sahara began when 350,000 unarmed Moroccans converged on the city of ] in southern Morocco and waited for a signal from King ] to cross into Western Sahara. | |||
| ===Demands for independence=== | |||
| In the waning days of General ]'s rule, the Spanish government secretly signed a ] with Morocco and Mauritania as it moved to abandon the Territory on 14 November 1975, mere days before Franco's death. Although the accords foresaw a tripartite administration, Morocco and Mauritania each moved to annex the territory, with Morocco taking control of the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara as its ] and Mauritania taking control of the southern third as ]. Spain terminated its presence in Spanish Sahara within three months, even repatriating Spanish corpses from its cemeteries. The Moroccan and Mauritanian moves, however, met staunch opposition from the Polisario, which had by now gained backing from ]. In 1979, following Mauritania's withdrawal due to pressure from Polisario, including a bombardment of its capital and other economic targets by the Polisario, Morocco extended its control to the rest of the territory, and gradually contained the guerrillas through setting up ] to exclude guerilla fighters. Hostilities ceased in a 1991 ], overseen by the ] mission ], under the terms of a ] ]. | |||
| ===Stalling of the referendum and Settlement Plan=== | |||
| ] | |||
| The referendum, originally scheduled for 1992, foresaw giving the local population the option between independence or affirming integration with Morocco, but it quickly stalled. In 1997, the ] attempted to revive the proposal for a referendum, but likewise has hitherto not had success. {{As of|2007}}, however, negotiations over terms have not resulted in any substantive action. At the heart of the dispute lies the question of who qualifies to be registered to participate in the referendum, and, since about 2000, Morocco's renewed refusal to accept independence as an option on the referendum ballot combined with Polisario's insistence that independence be a clear option in the referendum. | |||
| Both sides blame each other for the stalling of the referendum. The Polisario has insisted on only allowing those found on the 1974 Spanish Census lists (see below) to vote, while Morocco has insisted that the census was flawed by evasion and sought the inclusion of members of Sahrawi tribes with recent historical presence in the Spanish Sahara. | |||
| Efforts by the UN special envoys to find a common ground for both parties did not succeed. By 1999 the UN had identified about 85,000 voters, with nearly half of them in the Moroccan-controlled parts of Western Sahara or Southern Morocco, and the others scattered between the Tindouf refugee camps, Mauritania and other places of exile. Polisario accepted this voter list, as it had done with the previous list presented by the UN (both of them originally based on the Spanish census of 1974), but Morocco refused and, as rejected voter candidates began a mass-appeals procedure, insisted that each application be scrutinized individually. This again brought the process to a halt. | |||
| According to a NATO delegation, MINURSO election observers stated in 1999, as the deadlock continued, that "if the number of voters does not rise significantly the odds were slightly on the ] side".<ref>http://www.nato-pa.int/archivedpub/trip/as79gsm993-morocco.asp</ref> By 2001, the process had effectively stalemated and the UN Secretary-General asked the parties for the first time to explore other, third-way solutions. Indeed, shortly after the Houston Agreement (1997), Morocco officially declared that it was "no longer necessary" to include an option of independence on the ballot, offering instead autonomy. ], who played an administrative role in MINURSO, wrote that neither side would agree to a voter registration in which they were destined to lose (see '']''). | |||
| ===Baker Plan=== | |||
| As personal envoy of the Secretary-General, ] visited all sides and produced the document known as the "]".<ref name="UN_S2000461">{{UN document |docid=S-2000-461 |type=Document |body=Security Council |year=2000 |accessdate=2007-08-10| date=22 May 2000}}</ref> This was discussed by the ] in 2000, and envisioned an autonomous '''] (WSA)''', which would be followed after five years by the referendum. Every person present in the territory would be allowed to vote, regardless of birthplace and with no regard to the Spanish census. It was rejected by both sides, although it was initially derived from a Moroccan proposal. According to Baker's draft, tens of thousands of post-annexation immigrants from Morocco proper (viewed by Polisario as settlers, but by Morocco as legitimate inhabitants of the area) would be granted the vote in the Sahrawi independence referendum, and the ballot would be split three-ways by the inclusion of an unspecified "]", further undermining the independence camp. Also, Morocco was allowed to keep its army in the area and to retain the control over all security issues during both the autonomy years and the election. In 2002, the Moroccan king stated that the referendum idea was "out of date" since it "can not be implemented";<ref></ref> Polisario retorted that that was only because of the King's refusal to allow it to take place. | |||
| In 2003, a new version of the plan was made official, with some additions spelling out the powers of the WSA, making it less reliant on Moroccan ]. It also provided further detail on the referendum process in order to make it harder to stall or subvert. This second draft, commonly known as Baker II, was accepted by the Polisario as a "basis of negotiations" to the surprise of many.<ref>Shelley, Toby. '''', Middle East Report Online, August 1, 2003. Retrieved August 24, 2006.</ref> This appeared to abandon Polisario's previous position of only negotiating based on the standards of voter identification from 1991 (i.e. the Spanish census). After that, the draft quickly garnered widespread international support, culminating in the UN Security Council's unanimous endorsement of the plan in the summer of 2003. | |||
| === Today === | |||
| ] | |||
| Currently, the Baker II document appears to be a dead letter, and Baker resigned his post at the ] in ].{{Citation needed|date=March 2010}} His resignation followed several months of failed attempts to get Morocco to enter into formal negotiations on the plan, but he met with rejection. The new king, ], opposes any referendum on independence, and has said Morocco will never agree to one: "We shall not give up one inch of our beloved Sahara, not a grain of its sand".<ref></ref> | |||
| Instead, he proposes, through an appointed advisory body ] (CORCAS), a ] Western Sahara as an ] community within Morocco. His father, ], initially supported the referendum idea in principle in 1982, and in signed contracts with Polisario and the UN in 1991 and 1997; thus engaging to a referendum. However, no major powers have expressed interest in forcing the issue, and Morocco has historically showed little real interest in an actual referendum. | |||
| The UN has put forth no replacement strategy after the breakdown of Baker II, and renewed fighting has been raised as a possibility. In 2005, former ] ] reported increased military activity on both sides of the front and breaches of several cease-fire provisions against strengthening military fortifications. | |||
| Morocco has repeatedly tried to get ] into bilateral negotiations, based on its view of Polisario as the ] of the Algerian military. It has received vocal support from ] and occasionally (and currently) from the ]. These negotiations would define the exact limits of a Western Sahara autonomy under Moroccan rule, but only after Morocco's "inalienable right" to the territory was recognized as a precondition to the talks. The Algerian government has consistently refused, claiming it has neither the will nor the right to negotiate on the behalf of the Polisario Front. | |||
| Demonstrations and riots by supporters of independence and/or a referendum broke out in the Moroccan-controlled parts of Western Sahara in May 2005, and in parts of southern Morocco (notably the town of ]). They were met by police. Several international ] organizations expressed concern at what they termed abuse by Moroccan security forces, and a number of Sahrawi activists have been jailed. Pro-independence Sahrawi sources, including the Polisario, have given these demonstrations the name "]", while most sources have tended to see the events as being of limited importance. International press and other media coverage has been sparse, and reporting is complicated by the Moroccan government's policy of strictly controlling independent media coverage within the territory. | |||
| Demonstrations and protests still occur, after Morocco declared in February 2006 that it was contemplating a plan for devolving a limited variant of autonomy to the territory, but still explicitly refused any referendum on independence. As of January 2007, the plan has not been made public, even if the Moroccan government claims that it has been more or less completed.<ref>http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/politics/king_informs_governm/view</ref><ref>http://www.afrol.com/articles/18964</ref> | |||
| Polisario has intermittently threatened to resume fighting, referring to the Moroccan refusal of a referendum as a breach of the ], but most observers seem to consider armed conflict unlikely without the green light from ], which houses the Sahrawis' refugee camps and has been the main military sponsor of the movement. | |||
| In April 2007, the government of Morocco suggested that a self-governing entity, through the ] (CORCAS), should govern the territory with some degree of autonomy for Western Sahara. The project was presented to the UN Security Council in mid-April 2007. The stalemating of the Moroccan proposal options has led the UN in the recent "Report of the UN Secretary-General" to ask the parties to enter into direct and unconditional negotiations to reach a mutually accepted political solution.<ref>(ped). UN Security Council. Retrieved on 2007-05-18.</ref> | |||
| ==Politics== | |||
| {{See also|Politics of Western Sahara|Foreign relations of Morocco}} | |||
| ] | |||
| The legal status of the territory and the question of its ] remains unresolved; the territory is contested between ] and ]. It is considered a non self-governed territory by the ]. | |||
| The government of ] is a formally constitutional ] under Mohammed VI with a bicameral ]. The last elections to the lower house were deemed reasonably free and fair by international observers. Certain powers such as the capacity to appoint the government and to dissolve parliament remain in the hands of the monarch. The Morocco-controlled parts of Western Sahara are divided into several ] treated as integral parts of the kingdom. The Moroccan government heavily subsidizes the Saharan provinces under its control with cut-rate fuel and related subsidies, to appease nationalist dissent and attract immigrants – or settlers – from loyalist Sahrawi and other communities in Morocco proper.<ref name="Thobhani">{{cite book |last= Thobhani |first= Akbarali | title= Western Sahara Since 1975 Under Moroccan Administration: Social, Economic, and Political Transformation | publisher= Edwin Mellen Press |isbn=0773471731}}</ref> | |||
| The ] of the self-proclaimed ] (SADR) is a form of single-party parliamentary and ]ial system, but according to its constitution, this will be changed into a multi-party system at the achievement of independence. It is presently based at the ] ]s in ], which it controls. It also claims to control the part of Western Sahara to the east of the ], known as the ]. This area has a very small population, estimated to be approximately 30,000 nomads.<ref>http://www.nrc.no/arch/_img/9258989.pdf Norwegian Refugee Council Report: Western Sahara, Occupied country, | |||
| displaced people, 2008</ref> The Moroccan government views it as a ] patrolled by ] troops. The SADR government whose troops also patrol the area regard it as the liberated territories and have proclaimed a village in the area, ] as SADR's provisional capital. | |||
| ===Human rights=== | |||
| {{Main|Human rights in Western Sahara}} | |||
| The Western Sahara conflict has resulted in severe ] abuses, most notably the ] of tens of thousands of Sahrawi civilians from the country, the expulsion of tens of thousands of Moroccan civilians by the Algerian government from Algeria,<ref>, Telquel, not in English</ref><ref>, not in English</ref><ref> La Gazette Du Maroc, February 28, 2005, not in English</ref><ref>, Maroc Hebdo International, not in English</ref><ref>, cinemanageria.ifrance.com, not in English</ref><ref>, USFP, not in English</ref><ref>, Minorités.org</ref><ref></ref> and numerous casualties of war and repression. | |||
| During the war years (1975–91), both sides accused each other of targeting ]s. Moroccan claims of Polisario ] has generally little to no support abroad, with the ], ], ] and ] all refusing to include the group on their ] of terrorist organizations. Polisario leaders maintain that they are ideologically opposed to terrorism, and insist that collective punishment and ]s among Sahrawi civilians should be considered ] on the part of Morocco . Both Morocco and the Polisario additionally accuse each other of violating the human rights of the populations under their control, in the ] and the ] refugee camps in ], respectively. Morocco and organizations such as ] consider Algeria to be directly responsible for any crimes committed on its territory, and accuse the country of having been directly involved in such violations.<ref name="Tindouf1">, Arabic News, Morocco-Algeria, Politics, September 29, 2004</ref> | |||
| *] has been repeatedly criticized for its actions in Western Sahara by international human rights organizations such as | |||
| **]<ref></ref><ref></ref><ref></ref><ref></ref><ref></ref><ref></ref><ref></ref><ref></ref><ref></ref><ref></ref><ref></ref> | |||
| **]<ref></ref><ref></ref> | |||
| **]<ref>http://www.omct.org/base.cfm?page=article&num=6130&consol=close&kwrd=OMCT&cfid=4407045&cftoken=75311945</ref><ref>http://www.omct.org/base.cfm?page=article&num=5983&consol=close&kwrd=OMCT&cfid=4407045&cftoken=75311945&SWITCHLNG=ES</ref><ref>http://www.omct.org/base.cfm?page=article&num=6233&consol=close&kwrd=OMCT&cfid=4407045&cftoken=75311945&SWITCHLNG=FR</ref> | |||
| **]<ref> (2006)]</ref> | |||
| **]<ref></ref><ref></ref><ref></ref><ref></ref><ref></ref><ref></ref><ref></ref> | |||
| **] | |||
| **]<ref></ref> | |||
| **]<ref></ref> | |||
| **]<ref></ref><ref></ref> | |||
| **]<ref></ref><ref></ref><ref></ref><ref></ref> | |||
| **]<ref></ref><ref></ref><ref></ref><ref></ref><ref></ref><ref></ref> | |||
| **]<ref></ref><ref></ref> | |||
| **]<ref></ref> | |||
| *] has received criticism from the French organization on its treatment of Moroccan ],<ref></ref> and on its general behaviour in the Tindouf refugee camps in reports by the ] organization , or ].<ref></ref><ref></ref><ref></ref> A number of ] who have defected to Morocco accuse the organisation of abuse of human rights and sequestration of the population in Tindouf.<ref></ref><ref></ref><ref></ref><ref></ref><ref></ref><ref></ref><ref></ref><ref></ref> | |||
| ==Regions== | |||
| ] | |||
| Three Moroccan regions overlap the territory of Western Sahara: | |||
| *] – also includes Moroccan territory outside of Western Sahara | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| Morocco controls territory to the west of the berm (border wall) while the Polisario Front controls territory to the east (see map on right). | |||
| ==Dispute== | |||
| {{Main|Legal status of Western Sahara}} | |||
| The Western Sahara was partitioned between ] and ] in April 1976, with Morocco acquiring the northern two-thirds of the territory.<ref name="autogenerated1">https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/wi.html CIA: The World Factbook: 2006. ‘Western Sahara’, 266.</ref> | |||
| When Mauritania, under pressure from ] guerrillas, abandoned all claims to its portion in August 1979, Morocco moved to occupy that sector shortly thereafter and has since asserted administrative control over the whole territory.<ref name="autogenerated1" /> | |||
| The official Moroccan government name for Western Sahara is the "Southern Provinces," which indicates ] and ]. | |||
| Not under control of the Moroccan government is the area that lies between the ] and the actual border with ]. (for map see external links) The Polisario Front claims to run this as the Free Zone on behalf of the ]. The area is patrolled by ] forces,<ref>http://www.newint.org/issue297/wall.html "Up Against the Wall", Chris Brazier, New Internationalist Magazine (297), December 1998 {{Verify credibility|New Internationalist Magazine |date=July 2007}}</ref> and access is restricted, even among Sahrawis, due to the harsh climate of the ], the military conflict and the abundance of ].<ref> | |||
| *Land Mine Report, Western Sahara, http://www.icbl.org/lm/2006/western_sahara.html | |||
| Landmine Action UK undertook preliminary survey work by visiting the Polisario-controlled area of Western Sahara in October 2005 and February-March 2006. A field assessment in the vicinity of Bir Lahlou, Tifariti and the berms revealed that the densest concentrations of mines are in front of the berms. Mines were laid in zigzags up to one meter apart, and in some parts of the berms, there are three rows of mines. There are also berms in the Moroccan-controlled zone, around Dakhla and stretching from Boujdour, including Smara on the Moroccan border. However, mine-laying was not restricted to the vicinity of the berms; occupied settlements throughout the Polisario-controlled areas, such as Bir Lahlou and Tifariti, are ringed by mines laid by Moroccan forces. | |||
| *Landmine Action UK, (http://www.landmineaction.org/resources.asp?item=research )“Explosive Ordnance Disposal and technical survey in Polisario-controlled areas of Western Sahara,” Project proposal, February 2006, pp. 2–4, quoted in Land Mine Report, Western Sahara, http://www.icbl.org/lm/2006/western_sahara.html , footnote 15 and 17</ref> Still, the area is traveled and inhabited by many Sahrawi ]s from the ] ]s of ] and the Sahrawi communities in ].{{Citation needed|date=February 2007}} ] ] forces are also present in the area. The UN forces oversee the ] between Polisario and Morocco agreed upon in the 1991 ].<ref>http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/minurso/mandate.html MINURSO homepage - mandate Accessed May 21, 2006</ref> | |||
| The Polisario forces (of the ]) in the area are divided into seven "military regions", each controlled by a top commander reporting to the ].<ref> | |||
| * http://www.arso.org/bhatia2001.htm Western Sahara under Polisario Control: Summary Report of Field Mission to the Sahrawi Refugee Camps (near Tindouf, Algeria) by Michael Bhatia, 2001 {{Verify credibility|www.arso.org|date=July 2007}} | |||
| * http://www.newint.org/issue297/wall.html "Up Against the Wall", Chris Brazier, New Internationalist Magazine (297), December 1998 {{Verify credibility|New Internationalist Magazine|date=July 2007}} | |||
| * http://www.palinstravels.co.uk/book-2056 (retrieved on 20 November 2006) Michael Palin, "Sahara with Michael Palin" ISBN 0-297-84303-6, 2002</ref> {{Failed verification|date=February 2007}} The total size of the Polisario's ] army present in this area is unknown, but it is believed to number a few thousand men, despite many combantants being demobilized due to the ].<ref>http://www.arso.org/bhatia2001.htm Western Sahara under Polisario Control: Summary Report of Field Mission to the Sahrawi Refugee Camps (near Tindouf, Algeria) by Michael Bhatia, 2001 {{Verify credibility|www.arso.org|date=July 2007}}</ref> These forces are dug into permanent positions, such as gun emplacements, defensive trenches and underground military bases, as well as conducting mobile patrols of the territory.<ref> | |||
| * http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4132213,00.html "Saharan rebels stranded in camps, casualties of the stalemate between Morocco and the Algerian-backed Polisario rebels; 100,000 refugees subsist on aid." by Rory Carroll in Tifarity, Guardian, Wednesday February 7, 2001 | |||
| * http://www.newint.org/issue297/wall.html New Internationalist, Chris Brazier, "Up Against the Wall", New Internationalist Magazine (297), December 1998 {{Verify credibility|New Internationalist Magazine |date=July 2007}} | |||
| * http://www.palinstravels.co.uk/book-2056 Michael Palin, "Sahara with Michael Palin" ISBN 0-297-84303-6, 2002 (retrieved on 20 November 2006)</ref> | |||
| {{Failed verification|date=February 2007}} | |||
| ], 2005]] | |||
| Major Sahrawi political events, such as ] and sessions of the ] (the SADR parliament in exile) are held in the Free Zone (especially in ] and Bir Lehlou), since it is considered politically and symbolically important to conduct political affairs on Sahrawi territory. In 2005, MINURSO lodged a complaint to the Security Council of the United Nations for "''military maneuvers with real fire which extends to restricted areas''" by Morocco <ref>http://www.canariasahora.com/documentos/8119b2af172030e86f14c5f746e9347d.pdf MINURSO complaint to the UN Security Council (Spanish)</ref>. A concentration of forces for the commemoration of the Saharawi Republic’s 30th anniversary<ref>http://www.spsrasd.info/sps-e270206.html Commemoration of the Saharawi Republic’s 30th anniversary in liberated territories of Western Sahara Sahara Press Service, February 27, 2006 {{Verify credibility|www.spsrasd.info|date=July 2007}}</ref> were however subject to condemnation by the ],<ref name="UN_S2006249">{{UN document |docid=S-2006-249 |type=Document |body=Security Council |year=2006 |accessdate=2007-08-10 |date=19 April 2006}}</ref> as it was considered an example of a cease-fire violation to bring such a large force concentration into the area. In late 2009, Morocco do military maneuvers on ], in the exclusion zone, violating the cease-fire. Both parties have been accused of such violations by the UN, but to date there has been no serious hostile action from either side since 1991. | |||
| Annual demonstrations against the Moroccan Wall are staged in the region by Sahrawis and international activists from ], ] and other mainly ]an countries. These actions are closely monitored by the UN.<ref>http://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=S/2006/249 Secretary General's report to Security Council on Western Sahara, 19 April 2006 (pdf file)</ref>{{Failed verification|date=February 2007}} | |||
| During the joint Moroccan-Mauritanian control of the area, the Mauritanian-controlled part, roughly corresponding to Saquia el-Hamra, was known as ]. | |||
| ==Geography== | |||
| {{Main|Geography of Western Sahara}} | |||
| Western Sahara is located in Northern ], bordering the North ], between ] and ]. It also borders ] to the northeast. The land is some of the most arid and inhospitable on the planet, but is rich in ]s in ]. | |||
| ==Economy== | |||
| {{Main|Economy of Western Sahara|Economy of Morocco}} | |||
| Aside from its rich ] deposits and ] waters, Western Sahara has few natural resources and lacks sufficient rainfall for most agricultural activities. There is speculation that there may be rich off-shore ] and ] fields, but the debate persists as to whether these resources can be profitably exploited, and if this would be legally permitted due to the non-] status of Western Sahara (see below). | |||
| Western Sahara's economy is centred around ]ic ], fishing, and phosphate mining. Most food for the urban population is imported. All trade and other economic activities are controlled by the Moroccan government. The government has encouraged citizens to relocate to the territory by giving ] and ]s on basic goods. These heavy subsidies have created a state-dominated economy in the Moroccan-controlled parts of Western Sahara, with the Moroccan government as the single biggest employer. | |||
| ===Exploitation of natural resources=== | |||
| {{MapLibrary|Western_Sahara_sat.png|Western Sahara}} | |||
| After reasonably exploitable oil fields were located in neighbouring Mauritania, speculation intensified on the possibility of major oil resources being located off the coast of Western Sahara.{{fact|date=April 2010}} Despite the fact that findings remain inconclusive, both Morocco and the Polisario have made deals with oil and gas exploration companies. US and French companies (notably ] and ]) began prospecting on behalf of the Moroccan Office | |||
| National de Recherches et d’Exploitations Petrolières (ONAREP).<ref name="UN_S2002161"/> | |||
| In 2002, ], Under-Secretary General of the ] and head of its ] issued a legal opinion on the matter.<ref name="UN_S2002161">{{UN document |docid=S-2002-161 |type=Document |body=Security Council |year=2002 |accessdate=2007-08-10 |date=12 February 2002}}</ref> The opinion was rendered following an analysis of relevant provisions of the ], the ] resolutions, the case law of the ] and the practice of ].<ref name="UN_S2002161"/> It concluded that while the existing exploration contracts for the area were not illegal, "if further exploration and exploitation activities were to proceed in disregard of the interests and wishes of the people of Western Sahara, they would | |||
| be in violation of the principles of international law."<ref name="UN_S2002161"/> After pressures from corporate ethics-groups, Total S.A. pulled out.{{fact|date=April 2010}} | |||
| In May 2006 the remaining company Kerr-McGee also left following sales of numerous share holders like the National Norwegian Oil Fund, due to continued pressure from NGOs and corporate groups.{{fact|date=April 2010}} | |||
| Despite the UN report and the development regarding the exploration of oil, the ] wants to exploit fishing resources in waters outside Western Sahara and has signed a fishing treaty with Morocco. | |||
| In a previously confidential legal opinion (published in 23 February 2010, although it was forwarded in July 2009), the European Parliament’s Legal Service has declared fishing by European vessels in Western Sahara’s waters to be in violation of international law . | |||
| ==Demographics== | |||
| {{Main|Demographics of Western Sahara}} | |||
| ] | |||
| The indigenous population of Western Sahara is known as ]. These are ]-speaking tribes of mixed ]–] heritage, effectively continuations of the ] groupings of Hassaniya speaking ]ish tribes extending south into ] and north into ] as well as east into ]. The Sahrawis are traditionally ]ic ]s, and can be found in all surrounding countries. War and conflict has led to major displacements of the population. | |||
| As of July 2004, an estimated 267,405 people (excluding the Moroccan army of some 160,000) lived in the ]-controlled parts of Western Sahara. Many Moroccans have settled the area, and the settler population is today thought to outnumber the indigenous Western Sahara Sahrawis. The precise size and composition of the population is subject to political controversy. | |||
| The Polisario-controlled parts of Western Sahara are barren. This area has a very small population, estimated to be approximately 30,000.<ref>http://www.nrc.no/arch/_img/9258989.pdf Norwegian Refugee Council Report: Western Sahara, Occupied country, | |||
| + displaced people, 2008</ref> The population is primarily made up of nomads who engage in herding ]s back and forth between the ] area and ]. However, the presence of mines scattered throughout the territory by both the Polisario and the Moroccan army makes it a dangerous way of life. | |||
| ===The Spanish census and MINURSO=== | |||
| A 1974 Spanish census claimed there were some 74,000 Sahrawis in the area at the time (in addition to approximately 20,000 Spanish residents), but this number is likely to be on the low side, due to the difficulty in counting a nomad people, even if Sahrawis were by the mid-1970s mostly urbanized. Despite these possible inaccuracies, Morocco and the Polisario Front agreed on using the Spanish census as the basis for voter registration when striking a ] agreement in the late 1980s, contingent on the holding of a referendum on independence or integration into Morocco. | |||
| ], Western Sahara.]] | |||
| In December 1999 the United Nations' ] mission announced that it had identified 86,425 eligible voters for the referendum that was supposed to be held under the 1991 ] and the 1997 ]. By "eligible voter" the UN referred to any Sahrawi over 18 years of age that was part of the Spanish census or could prove his/her descent from someone who was. These 86,425 Sahrawis were dispersed between Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara and the refugee camps in Algeria, with smaller numbers in Mauritania and other places of exile. These numbers cover only Sahrawis 'indigenous' to the Western Sahara during the Spanish colonial period, not the total number of "ethnic" Sahrawis (i.e., members of Sahrawi tribal groupings), who also extend into Mauritania, Morocco and Algeria. The number was highly politically significant due to the expected organization of a referendum on self-determination. | |||
| The Polisario has its home base in the ] in Algeria, and declares the number of Sahrawi population in the camps to be approximately 155,000. Morocco disputes this number, saying it is exaggerated for political reasons and for attracting more foreign aid. The UN uses a number of 90,000 "most vulnerable" refugees as basis for its food aid program. | |||
| ==Culture== | |||
| {{Main|Culture of Western Sahara}} | |||
| The major ethnic group of the Western Sahara are the ], a ]ic or ] tribal or ethnic group speaking the ] dialect of ], also spoken in much of ]. They are of mixed Arab-Berber descent, but claim descent from the ], a ]i tribe supposed to have migrated across the desert in the 11th century. | |||
| Physically indistinguishable from the Hassaniya speaking ] of Mauritania, the Sahrawi people differ from their neighbors partly due to different tribal affiliations (as tribal confederations cut across present modern boundaries) and partly as a consequence of their exposure to ] ] domination. Surrounding territories were generally under French colonial rule. | |||
| Like other neighboring Saharan Bedouin and Hassaniya groups, the Sahrawis are ]s of the ] sect and the ] ]. Local religious custom (]) is, like other Saharan groups, heavily influenced by pre-Islamic Berber and ]n practices, and differs substantially from urban practices. For example, Sahrawi ] has traditionally functioned without ]s in the normal sense of the word, in an adaptation to nomadic life. | |||
| The originally ]- and ]-based society underwent a massive social upheaval in 1975, when a part of the population was forced into ] and settled in the ] camps of ], Algeria. Families were broken up by the fight. For developments among this population, see ] and ]. | |||
| ==See also== | |||
| {{portalbox | |||
| |name1=Western Sahara | |||
| |image1=Westernsaharamap.png | |||
| |name2=Africa | |||
| |image2=Africa_satellite_orthographic.jpg | |||
| |name3=Geography | |||
| |image3=Terrestrial_globe.svg}} | |||
| {{Main|Outline of Western Sahara}} | |||
| *] | |||
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| ==Notes and references== | |||
| '''Cited references''' | |||
| {{Reflist|2}} | |||
| '''General references''' | |||
| *Tony Hodges (1983), ''Western Sahara: The Roots of a Desert War'', Lawrence Hill Books (ISBN 0-88208-152-7) | |||
| *Anthony G. Pazzanita and Tony Hodges (1994), ''Historical Dictionary of Western Sahara'', Scarecrow Press (ISBN 0-8108-2661-5) | |||
| *Toby Shelley (2004), ''Endgame in the Western Sahara: What Future for Africa's Last Colony?'', Zed Books (ISBN 1-84277-341-0) | |||
| *Erik Jensen (2005), ''Western Sahara: Anatomy of a Stalemate'', International Peace Studies (ISBN 1-58826-305-3) | |||
| ==External links== | |||
| {{sisterlinks|Western Sahara}} | |||
| ; General information | |||
| * from ] | |||
| * | |||
| *{{CIA World Factbook link|wi|Western Sahara}} | |||
| *{{dmoz|Regional/Africa/Western_Sahara}} | |||
| *{{wikiatlas|Western Sahara}} | |||
| *{{wikitravel}} | |||
| ; United Nations | |||
| * | |||
| * as of February 2009] | |||
| * | |||
| ; Human Rights | |||
| * ''Human rights in Morocco and Western-Sahara | |||
| * ''Human rights in Morocco and Western-Sahara | |||
| * | |||
| ; Other | |||
| * from ] | |||
| * archaeology and past environmental change in Western Sahara | |||
| *. Pablo San Martín & Joanna C. Allan. GEES, 2007. | |||
| * | |||
| *{{PDF|}} On the ] debate | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| *{{PDF||99.8 ]<!-- application/pdf, 102253 bytes -->}} | |||
| {{clear}} | |||
| * ''News | |||
| * | |||
| * ''News in English, French, Spanish and German | |||
| '''French:''' | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| '''Spanish:''' | |||
| * | |||
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