Western Sahara

Western Sahara, is an example of a non-self-governing territory currently unofficially administered by Morocco, which invaded it shortly before Western Sahara’s scheduled independence from Spanish colonial rule in the 1970s. The annexation has resulted in five decades of clashes between the native Sahrawi people and the Moroccan armed forces, a refugee crisis that led to the movement of thousands of Sahrawis to neighboring Algeria, and multiple attempts at brokering peace. The Sahrawi people’s right to self determination remains unrealized despite these attempts. While Morocco ceded a portion of the territory in 1991 to the Polisario Front, which considers itself the Western Sahara’s government in exile (currently based in Algeria), this arrangement has not yielded autonomy for the Sahrawi people across the region. Instead, they bear the brunt of a Moroccan regime that human rights organizations, UN monitoring bodies and other reputable organizations have credited to be systematically oppressive against the native populace. There have been numerous incidences of arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances and torture among other heinous methods of silencing dissent that have been reported. With an apparent lack of accountability for the Moroccan regime, it is of utmost significance that the committee considers what checks can be implemented on the administering regime in the interim, before a robust framework for Sahrawi self determination is eventually formulated and actualized.

Given this context, it is important to also underscore that the UN General Assembly has passed two resolutions supporting Sahrawi self-determination in 1979 and 1990 respectively. These resolutions also call for an abrogation of the Moroccan annexation of the region. While the Moroccan kingdom has agreed that the referendum for Sahrawi self-determination must take place, it has not yet facilitated it officially, citing disputes over who deserves the right to vote if such a referendum were to take place. Western Sahara has, despite the dispute with Morocco, been recognized by 84 countries at various points in time and has been declared a full member of the African Union.

The situation in Western Sahara is becoming increasingly relevant as an example of the impact that the foreign administration of non-self-governing territories can have on issues of regional saliency, as well as broader geopolitical dynamics.

The United States government, despite previously echoing UN plans for referendum, has shifted its stance to an outright recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, under the Trump administration. This decision was instrumental in the normalization of ties between Israel and Morocco. Not only did it come as a surprise given the Moroccan regime’s track record of human rights violations in the region, but it also delineates the gross neglect for principled opposition to illegal territorial expansion that one expects global powers to espouse. It removes the will of the native population from the equation, and emboldens an autocratic regime to assert itself in the region. The Biden administration refuses to reverse Trump’s decision, despite bipartisan calls to do so.

Non-self-governing territories thus continue to be significant players in the diplomatic relations between countries. While it is uncertain if the Biden administration will renege on the previous administration’s recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, it is pertinent to draw attention to how the status of such territories is instrumentalized by global and regional powers alike for strategic and geopolitical goals. How can the committee ensure that a people’s right to self determination is not traded with other countries’ geopolitical aims? Can more oversight and accountability preclude instances of neglect regarding a people’s right to claim sovereignty over their territory? As we approach our committee session these ideas and issues are crucial for us to observe and understand.

Best,

Asmer Safi
Assistant Director