View source for Western Sahara

{{Short description|Disputed territory in North-western Africa}}
{{About|the geographical area|the partially-recognized state that controls the Free Zone and claims sovereignty over Western Sahara|Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}

{{Infobox settlement
| name               = Western Sahara
| native_name        = {{Native name|ar|الصحراء الغربية|italics=off}}<br />{{Native name|es|Sahara Occidental}}
| settlement_type    = [[United Nations list of non-self-governing territories|UN Non-Self-Governing Territory]]
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| image_map          = Westernsaharamap.png
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| map_caption        = Map of Western Sahara
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| coordinates        = {{Coord|25|N|13|W|type:country}}
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| subdivision_type   = [[Political status of Western Sahara|Status]]
| subdivision_name   = [[United Nations list of non-self-governing territories|UN non-self-governing territory]] under partial Moroccan [[military occupation]]<!--Occupation is cited in the article's lede-->
| subdivision_type1  = [[List of active national liberation movements recognized by intergovernmental organizations|Legitimate representative]]
| subdivision_name1  = {{flagicon|Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic}} [[Polisario Front]]<!--Polisario's status is cited in the article's lede-->
| subdivision_type2  = [[United Nations list of non-self-governing territories|Administering power]]
| subdivision_name2  = {{flag|Spain}} (''de jure''){{efn|In 1976, Spain withdrew from Western Sahara and informed the [[Secretary-General of the United Nations]] that it no longer considers itself responsible for the territory. Nonetheless, the criminal division of the [[High courts of justice (Spain)|Spanish National High Court]] ruled in 2014 that Spain remains as Western Sahara's ''de jure'' administering power.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wsrw.org/files/dated/2016-04-19/audiencia_nacional_4.7.2014_-_gdeim_izik.pdf|title=AAN 256/2014 - ECLI:ES:AN:2014:256A|date=21 November 2014|access-date=2 July 2025|quote=In conclusion, Spain is still ''de jure'', although not de facto, the Administering Power, and as such, until the end of the decolonization, has the obligations contained in articles 73 and 74 of the Charter of the United Nations.}}</ref> This position is shared by the United Nations, the [[African Union]], and several legal jurists.<ref>{{UN doc|docid=S/2002/161|title=Letter dated 29 January 2002 from the Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, the Legal Counsel, addressed to the President of the Security Council|body=S|date=12 February 2002}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=International Law and the Question of Western Sahara|editor-last1=Arts|editor-first1=Karin|editor-last2=Leite|editor-first2=Pedro Pinto|chapter=Spain as Administering Power of Western Sahara|author-first1=Eduardo Trillo|author-last1=de Martín-Pinillos|publisher=International Platform of Jurists for East Timor|location=Leiden|year=2007|ISBN=9892008200}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|title=Western Sahara as a Hybrid of a Parastate and a State-in-Exile: (Extra)territoriality and the Small Print of Sovereignty in a Context of Frozen Conflict|last1=Fernández-Molina|first1=Irene|last2=Ojeda-García|first2=Raquel|year=2020|journal=[[Nationalities Papers]]|DOI=10.1017/nps.2019.34|pages=83–99|quote=A number of jurists argue that Spain remains the ''de jure'' administering power of Western Sahara since the Madrid Accords violated Article 73 of the UN Charter and failed to be endorsed by the UN General Assembly. Such has been the position advocated by the African Union [...] since 2014.}}</ref> Additionally, Spain continues to exert control over Western Saharan civilian air traffic.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Multilateralism and International Law with Western Sahara as a Case Study|year=2010|publisher=[[University of South Africa]]|location=Pretoria|chapter=Spain's Legal Obligations as Administering Power of Western Sahara|author-last1=Carlos|author-first1=Ruiz Miguel|editor-last1=Oliver|editor-first1=Michele|editor-first2=Delarey|editor-last2=van Tonder|editor-first3=Neville|editor-last3=Botha|isbn=9781868886043|quote=As far as airspace is concerned, the airspace of the Western Sahara is included in the Spanish airspace, and more precisely in the Canary Islands Flight Information Region. This means that Morocco requires Spanish permission for flights in this territory.}}</ref>}}
| subdivision_type3  = Claimants
| subdivision_name3  = {{Unbulleted list | {{Flag|Morocco}} | {{Flag|Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic|name=Sahrawi Republic}}}}
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| seat_type          = Largest city
| seat               = [[Laayoune]]
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| unit_pref          = Metric
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<!-- for references: use<ref> tags -->| area_footnotes     = 
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| area_magnitude     = <!--<ref name="auto1" /> -->
| area_note          = <ref name="Area">[https://www.britannica.com/summary/Western-Sahara Encyclopædia Britannica: Western Sahara summary]</ref>
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| area_blank2_title  = <!-- square kilometers -->
| area_total_km2     = 272,000
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| area_blank2_km2    = <!-- hectares -->
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| population_total   = {{UN_Population|Western Sahara}}{{UN_Population|ref}}
| population_density_km2 = 2.03
| population_note    = ({{UN_Population|Year}})
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| utc_offset         = +01:00
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| iso_code           = [[ISO 3166-2:EH|EH]]
| website            = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} -->
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}}

'''Western Sahara'''{{efn|{{Langx|ar|الصحراء الغربية}}{{Lrm}} ''{{Transliteration|ar|aṣ-Ṣaḥrā' al-Gharbiyyah}}''; {{Langx|es|Sahara Occidental/Sáhara Occidental}}}} is a [[United Nations list of non-self-governing territories|non-self-governing territory]] in [[Maghreb|North-western Africa]] undergoing [[decolonization]]. It has a surface area of {{Convert|272,000|km2}}.<ref name="Area"/> Western Sahara is the last African colonial state yet to achieve independence and has been dubbed "Africa's last colony".<ref name="dn">{{Cite web |url=https://www.democracynow.org/2020/12/24/western_sahara_a_rare_look_inside |date=2020-12-04 |title=Western Sahara: A Rare Look Inside Africa's Last Colony as U.S. Recognizes Moroccan Occupation |access-date=2023-11-01 |language=en-US |work=[[Democracy Now!]]}}</ref><ref name="Connett 2016">{{cite web | last=Connett | first=David | title=Africa's last colony has taken its struggle for self-determination to European courts | website=The Independent | date=23 Jan 2016 | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/western-sahara-africa-s-last-colony-takes-struggle-for-selfdetermination-to-european-courts-a6830216.html | access-date=3 Nov 2023}}</ref> With an estimated population of around 600,000 inhabitants, it is the most sparsely populated territory in Africa and the [[list of countries and dependencies by population density|second most sparsely populated territory in the world]], consisting mainly of desert flatlands.

[[Spain]] previously colonized the territory as the [[Spanish Sahara]] until 1976, when it [[Madrid Accords|attempted to transfer]] its administration to [[Morocco]] and [[Mauritania]] while ignoring an [[International Court of Justice]]'s [[Advisory opinion on Western Sahara|verdict]] that those countries had no sovereignty over Western Sahara. [[Western Sahara War|A war erupted]] and the [[Polisario Front]]—a national liberation movement recognized by the United Nations as the legitimate representative of the [[Sahrawis|people of Western Sahara]]—proclaimed the [[Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic]] (SADR) with a [[government-in-exile]] in [[Tindouf]], Algeria. Mauritania withdrew its claims in 1979, and Morocco secured ''de facto'' control of most of the territory, including all major cities and most natural resources. A UN-sponsored ceasefire agreement was reached in 1991, though a planned referendum monitored by the UN's [[United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara|MINURSO]] mission has since stalled.

Approximately 30% of the Western Sahara is controlled by the Polisario Front; the remaining 70% is [[military occupation|occupied]]<ref name="United Nations Documents">{{cite web | title=A/RES/35/19 – E – A/RES/35/19 | website=Question of Western Sahara | url=https://undocs.org/en/A/RES/35/19 | page=214 | access-date=8 Apr 2021}}</ref><ref name="WalterUngern-Sternberg2014">{{cite book|author1=Christian Walter|author2=Antje von Ungern-Sternberg|author3=Kavus Abushov|title=Self-Determination and Secession in International Law|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tGQJBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT264|date=5 June 2014|publisher=OUP Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-100692-0|page=264}}</ref> by Morocco.<ref name="RASD">{{Cite web |title=Western Sahara: Provinces & Urban Places - Population Statistics, Maps, Charts, Weather and Web Information |url=https://citypopulation.de/en/westernsahara/ |access-date=2025-07-15 |website=citypopulation.de}}</ref> Morocco maintains the [[Moroccan Western Sahara Wall|Berm]], a {{convert|2,700|km|mi|abbr=on|sigfig=2|adj=mid|-long}} wall lined with [[land mine]]s that splits the territory. The Polisario Front is primarily supported by [[Algeria]] and has [[International recognition of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic|received partial international recognition for the SADR]]<ref>{{cite book|editor1=Evert Kleynhans|editor2=Marco Wyss|title=The Handbook of African Defence and Armed Forces|year=2025|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-19-888475-0|page=135|chapter=Mauritania, Morocco, and Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic|author=Saïd Haddad|location=Oxford}}</ref> and membership in the [[African Union]]. Morocco is supported by [[France]] and the [[United States]], and several states began expressing support for its [[Western Sahara Autonomy Proposal|autonomy proposal]] in the 2020s.

== Geography ==
{{Main|Geography of Western Sahara}}

[[File:Dait Um Saad 2.jpg|thumb|Intermittent lake Dait Um Saad]]

Western Sahara is located on the north-west coast in [[West Africa]] and on the cusp of [[North Africa]], bordering the North [[Atlantic Ocean]] to the northwest, [[Morocco]] to [[Morocco–Western Sahara border|the north-northeast]], [[Algeria]] to [[Algeria–Western Sahara border|the east-northeast]], and [[Mauritania]] to [[Mauritania–Western Sahara border|the east and south]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Western Sahara {{!}} Facts, History, & Map|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Western-Sahara|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|access-date=27 May 2020}}</ref>

Among the most arid and inhospitable on the planet, the land along the coast is low flat desert and rises, especially in the north, to small mountains reaching up to {{Convert|600|m}} on the eastern side.

While the area can experience flash flooding in the spring, there are no permanent streams. At times, a cool off-shore current can produce fog and heavy dew.

The interior experiences extreme summer heat, with average highs reaching {{Convert|43|-|45|C|F}} in July and in August; during winter, days are still hot to very hot, with average highs from {{Convert|25|to|30|C|F}}; however, in the northern part of the territory, the thermometer may drop below {{Convert|0|°C|0}} at night and it can be freezing in December and in January, although this is rare.

Western Sahara contains four terrestrial [[ecoregion]]s: [[Saharan halophytics]], [[Mediterranean acacia-argania dry woodlands and succulent thickets]], [[Atlantic coastal desert]], and [[North Saharan steppe and woodlands]].<ref name="DinersteinOlson2017">{{cite journal|last1=Dinerstein|first1=Eric|last2=Olson|first2=David|last3=Joshi|first3=Anup|last4=Vynne|first4=Carly|last5=Burgess|first5=Neil D.|last6=Wikramanayake|first6=Eric|last7=Hahn|first7=Nathan|last8=Palminteri|first8=Suzanne|last9=Hedao|first9=Prashant|last10=Noss|first10=Reed|last11=Hansen|first11=Matt|last12=Locke|first12=Harvey|last13=Ellis|first13=Erle C|last14=Jones|first14=Benjamin|last15=Barber|first15=Charles Victor|last16=Hayes|first16=Randy|last17=Kormos|first17=Cyril|last18=Martin|first18=Vance|last19=Crist|first19=Eileen|last20=Sechrest|first20=Wes|last21=Price|first21=Lori|last22=Baillie|first22=Jonathan E. M.|last23=Weeden|first23=Don|last24=Suckling|first24=Kierán|last25=Davis|first25=Crystal|last26=Sizer|first26=Nigel|last27=Moore|first27=Rebecca|last28=Thau|first28=David|last29=Birch|first29=Tanya|last30=Potapov|first30=Peter|last31=Turubanova|first31=Svetlana|last32=Tyukavina|first32=Alexandra|last33=de Souza|first33=Nadia|last34=Pintea|first34=Lilian|last35=Brito|first35=José C.|last36=Llewellyn|first36=Othman A.|last37=Miller|first37=Anthony G.|last38=Patzelt|first38=Annette|last39=Ghazanfar|first39=Shahina A.|last40=Timberlake|first40=Jonathan|last41=Klöser|first41=Heinz|last42=Shennan-Farpón|first42=Yara|last43=Kindt|first43=Roeland|last44=Lillesø|first44=Jens-Peter Barnekow|last45=van Breugel|first45=Paulo|last46=Graudal|first46=Lars|last47=Voge|first47=Maianna|last48=Al-Shammari|first48=Khalaf F.|last49=Saleem|first49=Muhammad|display-authors=1|title=An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm|journal=BioScience|volume=67|issue=6|year=2017|pages=534–545|issn=0006-3568|doi=10.1093/biosci/bix014|pmid=28608869|pmc=5451287|doi-access=free}}</ref>

<gallery class="left">
File:Western Sahara (orthographic projection).svg|Western Sahara in Africa
File:Western Sahara Topography.png|Topography of Western Sahara
</gallery>

== History ==
{{Main|History of Western Sahara}}

=== Early history ===
{{Further|Timeline of Serer history|Serer history}}
The earliest known inhabitants of Western Sahara were the [[Gaetuli]]. Depending on the century, Roman-era sources describe the area as inhabited by Gaetulian Autololes or the Gaetulian Daradae tribes. Berber heritage is still evident from regional and place-name [[toponymy]], as well as from tribal names.

Other early inhabitants of Western Sahara may be the [[Bafour]]<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 |access-date=3 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511101722/http://www.shsu.edu/~his_ncp/WestSud.html |archive-date=11 May 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and later the [[Serer people|Serer]]. The Bafour were later replaced or absorbed by [[Berber languages|Berber-speaking]] populations, which eventually merged in turn with the migrating [[Beni Ḥassān]] Arab tribes.

The arrival of Islam in the 8th century played a major role in the development of the [[Maghreb]] region. Trade developed further, and the territory may have been one of the routes for [[Camel train|caravans]], especially between [[Marrakesh]] and [[Tombouctou Region|Tombouctou]] in [[Mali]].

In the 11th century, the [[Maqil]] Arabs (fewer than 200 individuals) settled in [[Morocco]] (mainly in the [[Draa River]] valley, between the [[Moulouya River]], [[Tafilalt]] and [[Taourirt, Morocco|Taourirt]]).<ref name=khaldun>History of Ibn Khaldun Volume 6, pp80-90 by [[ibn Khaldun]]</ref> Towards the end of the [[Almohad Caliphate]], the Beni Hassan, a sub-tribe of the Maqil, were called by the local ruler of the [[Sous]] to quell a rebellion; they settled in the Sous [[Ksar|Ksours]] and controlled such cities as [[Taroudant]].<ref name=khaldun /> During [[Marinid dynasty]] rule, the Beni Hassan rebelled but were defeated by the Sultan and escaped beyond the Saguia el-Hamra dry river.<ref name=khaldun /><ref>''[[Rawd al-Qirtas]]'', [[Ibn Abi Zar]]</ref> The Beni Hassan then were at constant war with the [[Lamtuna]] nomadic Berbers of the [[Sahara]]. Over roughly five centuries, through a complex process of acculturation and mixing seen elsewhere in the Maghreb and North Africa, some of the indigenous Berber tribes mixed with the Maqil Arab tribes and formed a culture unique to Morocco and [[Mauritania]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}

=== Spanish province ===
{{Main|Spanish Sahara}}

[[File:Western Sahara 1876.png|thumb|upright=1.6|Western Sahara 1876]]

The Spanish presence in the region of modern-day Western Sahara lasted from 1884 to 1975. While initial Spanish interest in the Sahara was focused on using it as a port for the [[Slavery in Spain|slave trade]], by the 1700s [[Spain]] had transitioned economic activity on the Saharan coast towards commercial fishing.<ref>Besenyo, Janos. ''Western Sahara''. Publikon, 2009, P. 49.</ref> By the 19th century, Spain had claimed the southern coastal region and penetration of the hinterland gradually followed; later in 1904 the northern region was acquired. After an agreement among the [[Colonialism|European colonial powers]] at the [[Berlin Conference]] in 1884 on the division of [[scramble for Africa|spheres of influence in Africa]], the same year Spain seized control of Western Sahara and established it as a Spanish colony.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www1.american.edu/ted/ice/sahara.htm |title=ICE Conflict Case ZSahara |publisher=.american.edu |date=17 March 1997 |access-date=13 November 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120125165704/http://www1.american.edu/ted/ice/sahara.htm |archive-date=25 January 2012}}</ref> Despite establishing their first colony in the region at Río de Oro Bay in 1884, the Spanish were unable to pacify the interior of the region until the 1930s. Raids and rebellions by the indigenous Saharan population kept the Spanish forces out of much of the territory for a long time. The territory was eventually subdued by joint Spanish and [[France|French]] forces in 1934, the same year the Spaniards divided their Saharan territories into two regions named after the rivers: [[Saguia el-Hamra|Saguía el-Hamra]] and [[Río de Oro]]. After 1939 and the outbreak of [[World War II]], this area was administered by [[Spanish Morocco]]. In 1958, Spain joined the district of [[Saguia el-Hamra]] (the "Red River") in the north with the [[Río de Oro]] (in the south) to form the province of Spanish Sahara, following Morocco's claiming these regions in 1957. As a consequence, [[Ahmed Belbachir Haskouri]], the Chief of Cabinet, General Secretary of the Government of Spanish Morocco, cooperated with the Spanish to select governors in that area. The Saharan lords who were already in prominent positions, such as the members of [[Ma al-'Aynayn|Maa El Ainain]] family, provided a recommended list of candidates for new governors. Together with the Spanish High Commissioner, Belbachir selected from this list.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}} During the annual celebration of [[Muhammad]]'s birthday, these lords paid their respects to the caliph to show loyalty to the Moroccan monarchy.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}}[[File:Morocco Protectorate.svg|thumb|Spanish and French protectorates in Morocco and Spanish Sahara, 1912]]As time went by, Spanish colonial rule began to unravel with the general wave of decolonization after [[World War II]]; former North African and sub-Saharan African possessions and protectorates gained independence from European powers. Spanish decolonization proceeded more slowly, but internal political and social pressures for it in mainland Spain built up towards the end of [[Francisco Franco]]'s rule. There was a global trend towards complete [[decolonization]]. Spain abandoned most territories within neighboring Morocco in 1956, but resisted encroachment by the [[Moroccan Liberation Army]] within [[Ifni]] and Spanish Sahara from 1956 to 1958. In 1971, Sahrawi (an [[Arabic language|Arabic]] term for those from [[Sahara]]) students in Moroccan universities began organizing what came to be known as The Embryonic Movement for the Liberation of Saguía el Hamra and Río de Oro. The movement tried without success to gain backing from several Arab governments, including Algeria and Morocco. Spain began rapidly to divest itself of most of its remaining colonial possessions. By 1974–75 the government issued promises of a referendum on independence in Western Sahara.

At the same time, Morocco and [[Mauritania]], which had historical and competing claims of sovereignty over the territory, argued that it had been artificially separated from their territories by the European colonial powers. [[Algeria]], which also bordered the territory, viewed their demands with suspicion, as Morocco also claimed the Algerian provinces of [[Tindouf Province|Tindouf]] and [[Béchar Province|Béchar]]. After arguing for a process of decolonization to be guided by the [[United Nations]], the Algerian government under [[Houari Boumédiènne]] in 1975 committed to assisting the Polisario Front, which opposed both Moroccan and Mauritanian claims and demanded full independence of Western Sahara.

The UN attempted to settle these disputes through a [[UN visiting mission to Spanish Sahara|visiting mission]] in late 1975, as well as a [[International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on Western Sahara|verdict]] from the [[International Court of Justice]] (ICJ). It acknowledged that Western Sahara had historical links with Morocco and Mauritania, but not sufficient to prove the sovereignty of either State over the territory at the time of the Spanish colonization. The population of the territory thus possessed the right of [[self-determination]]. On 6 November 1975 Morocco initiated the [[Green March]] into Western Sahara; 350,000 unarmed Moroccans converged on the city of [[Tarfaya]] in southern Morocco and waited for a signal from King [[Hassan II of Morocco]] to cross the border in a peaceful march. A few days before, on 31 October, Moroccan troops invaded Western Sahara from the north.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=János|first1=Besenyő|title=Western Sahara|date=2009|publisher=Publikon Publishers|location=Pécs|isbn=978-963-88332-0-4|url=http://www.kalasnyikov.hu/dokumentumok/besenyo_western_sahara.pdf}}</ref>

=== Demands for independence ===
[[File:Western sahara walls moroccan map-en.svg|thumb|upright=1.6|System of the [[Moroccan Wall]]s in Western Sahara set up in the 1980s]]
[[File:RASD - Commemoration of the 30th independence day in the Liberated Territories (2006).jpg|thumb|Commemoration of the 30th independence day from [[Spain]] in the [[Free Zone (Western Sahara)|Liberated Territories]] (2005)]]
In the waning days of General [[Francisco Franco|Franco]]'s rule, and after the [[Green March]], the Spanish government signed a [[Madrid Accords|tripartite agreement]] with Morocco and Mauritania as it moved to transfer the territory on 14 November 1975. The accords were based on a bipartite administration, and Morocco and Mauritania each moved to annex the territories, with Morocco taking control of the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara as its [[Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara|Southern Provinces]], and Mauritania taking control of the southern third as [[Tiris al-Gharbiyya]]. Spain terminated its presence in Spanish Sahara within three months, repatriating Spanish remains from its cemeteries.<ref>Tomás Bárbulo, "La historia prohibida del Sáhara Español",''Destino, Imago mundi,'' Volume 21, 2002, Page 292</ref>

The Moroccan and Mauritanian annexations were resisted by the [[Polisario Front]], which had gained backing from [[Algeria]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/7091323//|title=Algeria Claims Spanish Sahara Is Being Invaded|date=1 January 1976|work=The Monroe News-Star|access-date=19 October 2016|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> It initiated guerrilla warfare and, in 1979, Mauritania withdrew due to pressure from Polisario, including a bombardment of its capital and other economic targets. Morocco extended its control to the rest of the territory. It gradually contained the guerrillas by setting up [[Moroccan Western Sahara Wall|the extensive sand-berm in the desert]] (known as the Border Wall or Moroccan Wall) to exclude guerrilla fighters.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2015/05/western-sahara-struggle-freedom-cut-wall-150528065625790.html|title=Western Sahara's Struggle for Freedom Cut Off By a Wall|last=McNeish|first=Hannah|date=5 June 2015|work=Al Jazeera|access-date=17 October 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/is-one-of-africas-oldest-conflicts-finally-nearing-its-end |author=Nicolas Niarchos |title=Is One of Africa's Oldest Conflicts Finally Nearing Its End?|quotation=For the past forty years, tens of thousands of Moroccan soldiers have manned a wall of sand that curls for one and a half thousand miles through the howling Sahara. The vast plain around it is empty and flat, interrupted only by occasional horseshoe dunes that traverse it. But the Berm, as the wall is known, is no natural phenomenon. It was built by the Kingdom of Morocco, in the nineteen-eighties, and it's the longest defensive fortification in use today—and the second-longest ever, after China's Great Wall |magazine=The New Yorker|date=29 December 2018|access-date=30 December 2018}}</ref> Hostilities ceased in a 1991 cease-fire, overseen by the peacekeeping mission [[United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara|MINURSO]], under the terms of a UN [[Settlement Plan]].

=== Stalling of the referendum and Settlement Plan ===
{{More citations needed|section |date=May 2024}}
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 [[Houston Agreement]] attempted to revive the proposal for a referendum but likewise has hitherto not had success. {{As of|2010}}, 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 the year 2000, Morocco considers that since there is no agreement on persons entitled to vote, a referendum is not possible. Meanwhile, Polisario still insisted on a referendum with independence as a clear option, without offering a solution to the problem of who is qualified to be registered to participate in it.

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 that escaped from Spanish invasion to the north of Morocco by the 19th century.

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-occupied parts of Western Sahara, and the others scattered between the [[Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf Province, Algeria|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 [[Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic|SADR]] side".<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.nato-pa.int/archivedpub/trip/as79gsm993-morocco.asp |title=Visit to Morocco 28 April - 2 May 1999 |date=May 1999 |publisher=NATO PA&nbsp;– Archives |access-date=13 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928052936/http://www.nato-pa.int/archivedpub/trip/as79gsm993-morocco.asp |archive-date=28 September 2011 |url-status=dead}}</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. Erik Jensen, 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 ''[[#Bibliography|Western Sahara: Anatomy of a Stalemate]]'').

=== Baker Plan ===
{{Main|Baker Plan}}

As personal envoy of the Secretary-General, [[James Baker]] visited all sides and produced the document known as the "Baker Plan".<ref name="UN_S2000461">{{cite web |id=S-2000-461 |access-date=10 August 2007|publisher=[[United Nations Security Council]] |url=https://undocs.org/Home/Mobile?FinalSymbol=S/2000/461 |title=Report of the Secretary-General on the situation concerning Western Sahara |date=22 May 2000 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240923042559/https://documents.un.org/doc/undoc/gen/n00/430/35/pdf/n0043035.pdf |archive-date= 2024-09-23}}</ref> This was discussed by the [[United Nations Security Council]] in 2000, and envisioned an autonomous [[Western Sahara Authority]] (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 [[Moroccan settlers|post-annexation settlers from Morocco]] would be granted the vote in the Sahrawi independence referendum, and the ballot would be split three ways by the inclusion of an unspecified "[[Autonomous administrative division|autonomy]]", further undermining the independence camp. Morocco was also allowed to keep its army in the area and retain 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 "cannot be implemented";<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.countrywatch.com/facts/facts_default.aspx?type=text&topic=SEWSA |title=CountryWatch&nbsp;– Interesting Facts of the World |publisher=Countrywatch.com |access-date=13 November 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081005160618/http://www.countrywatch.com/facts/facts_default.aspx?type=text&topic=SEWSA |archive-date=5 October 2008}}</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 [[devolution]]. 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. ''[http://www.merip.org/mero/mero080103.html Behind the Baker Plan for Western Sahara] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061210082330/http://www.merip.org/mero/mero080103.html |date=10 December 2006}}'', Middle East Report Online, 1 August 2003. Retrieved 24 August 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.

=== End of the 2000s ===
{{See also|Western Sahara Autonomy Proposal}}
Baker resigned his post at the United Nations in 2004; his term did not see the crisis resolved.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://allafrica.com/stories/200406141270.html|title=Western Sahara: Baker Resigns As UN Mediator After Seven Years|date=14 June 2004|access-date=4 October 2014}}</ref> His resignation followed several months of failed attempts to get Morocco to enter into formal negotiations on the plan, but he was met with rejection.

King [[Hassan II of Morocco]] initially supported the referendum idea in principle in 1982, and signed contracts with Polisario and the UN in 1991 and 1997. No major powers have expressed interest in forcing the issue, however, and Morocco has shown little interest in a real referendum. Hassan II's son and successor, [[Mohammed VI of Morocco|Mohammed VI]], has opposed 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>{{Cite web|url=http://www.timesnews.co.ke/04apr06/insight/ins4.html|title=Times News – Bold, Authoritative, and True|website=Times News|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130605000502/http://www.timesnews.co.ke/04apr06/insight/ins4.html|archive-date=5 June 2013}}</ref> In 2006, he created an appointed advisory body [[Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs]] (CORCAS), which proposes a self-governing Western Sahara as an autonomous community within Morocco.

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 United Nations Secretary-General [[Kofi Annan]] 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 engage Algeria in bilateral negotiations, based on its view of Polisario as the [[wikt:cat's-paw|cat's paw]] of the Algerian military. It has received vocal support from France and occasionally (and currently) from the United States. 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 behalf of the Polisario Front.

In May 2005, demonstrations and riots by supporters of independence or a referendum broke out in the Moroccan-occupied parts of Western Sahara and in parts of southern Morocco (notably the town of [[Assa, Morocco|Assa]]). They were met by police. Several international human rights 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 "[[Second Sahrawi Intifada|Independence Intifada]]", while most sources have tended to see the events as being of limited importance. International press and other media coverage have been sparse, and reporting is complicated by the Moroccan government's policy of strictly controlling independent media coverage within the territory.

[[File:Manifestation in Madrid for the independence of the Western Sahara (11).jpg|thumb|A demonstration in Madrid for the independence of Western Sahara]]
Demonstrations and protests still occur, even 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 had not been made public, though the Moroccan government claimed that it was more or less complete.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.afrol.com/articles/18964 |title=afrol News&nbsp;– No plans for a referendum in Western Sahara |publisher=Afrol.com |access-date=13 November 2011}}</ref>

Polisario has intermittently threatened to resume fighting, referring to the Moroccan refusal of a referendum as a breach of the [[Settlement Plan|cease-fire terms]], but most observers seem to consider armed conflict unlikely without the green light from [[Algeria]], 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 [[Western Sahara Autonomy Proposal|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>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090711072545/http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N07/299/28/PDF/N0729928.pdf?OpenElement Report of the Secretary-General on the situation concerning Western Sahara (13 April 2007)(ped). UN Security Council]</ref>

=== 2010s ===
[[File:Posten der Frente Polisario 2.jpg|thumb|A MINURSO car (left), and a post of the Polisario Front (right) in 2017 in southern Western Sahara]]
In October 2010, Gadaym Izik camp was set up near [[Laayoune]] as a protest by displaced [[Sahrawi people]] about their living conditions. It was home to more than 12,000 people. In November 2010, Moroccan security forces entered Gadaym Izik camp in the early hours of the morning, using helicopters and water cannon to force people to leave. The Polisario Front said Moroccan security forces had killed a 26-year-old protester at the camp, a claim denied by Morocco. Protesters in Laayoune threw stones at police and set fire to tires and vehicles. Several buildings, including a TV station, were also set on fire. Moroccan officials said five security personnel had been killed in the unrest.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-11710400 | title=Deadly Clashes as Morocco Breaks Up Western Sahara Camp |work=BBC News | date=11 September 2010 | access-date=13 November 2010}}</ref>

On 15 November 2010, the Moroccan government accused the Algerian secret services of orchestrating and financing the Gadaym Izik camp with the intent to destabilize the region. The Spanish press was accused of mounting a campaign of disinformation to support the Sahrawi initiative, and all foreign reporters were either prevented from traveling or else expelled from the area.<ref>{{Cite web |title=New expulsions of Spanish citizens from Western Sahara |url=https://elpais.com/elpais/2010/11/14/inenglish/1289715642_850210.html |website=El País |language=en |date=14 November 2010}}</ref> The protest coincided with a fresh round of negotiations at the UN.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Deadly Clashes Stall Western Sahara-Morocco Peace Talks |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/nov/12/western-sahara-peace-talks-stall |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=12 November 2010 |access-date=15 November 2010 |author=Black, Ian|author-link=Ian Black (journalist)}}</ref>

In 2016, the European Union (EU) declared that "Western Sahara is not part of Moroccan territory."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/dominicdudley/2016/09/14/morocco-setback-western-sahara/#582f3c726a3c|title=Morocco Suffers Legal Setback As EU Official Declares Western Sahara 'Not Part of Morocco'|last=Dudley|first=Dominic|date=14 September 2016|work=Forbes|access-date=17 October 2016}}</ref> In March 2016, Morocco "expelled more than 70 U.N. civilian staffers with MINURSO" due to strained relations after [[Ban Ki-moon]] called Morocco's annexation of Western Sahara an "occupation".<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-bc-un--united-nations-western-sahara-20160829-story.html|title=UN Document Says Morocco Violated Western Sahara Cease-Fire|last=Lederer|first=Edith M.|date=30 August 2016|work=Chicago Tribune|access-date=17 October 2016}}{{Dead link|date=August 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref>

===2020s===
[[File:American-Israeli delegation visit to Morocco, December 2020 4335P (50749223147).jpg|thumb|right|As part of the [[Israel–Morocco normalization agreement]], the United States became the first state to recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara.]]
The 2020s have seen a diplomatic shift in favor of Morocco, with several African states opening [[List of diplomatic missions in Morocco|consulates accredited to Morocco]] in Western Sahara, implying ''de facto'' recognition.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Accountability for Blood Phosphates: Western Sahara and Canadian Corporate Liability|url=https://www.mcgill.ca/humanrights/files/humanrights/sebastien_o_-_accountability_for_blood_phosphates_13_2.pdf|last=Offredo|first=Sébastien|date=2024|periodical=[[McGill University Faculty of Law|McGill Centre for Human Rights & Legal Pluralism Working Paper Series]]|article-number=13/2}}</ref> Even so, the Polisario Front has seen limited victories in cases brought before the [[African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights|African Court]] and the [[European Court of Justice]]. In November 2020, the ceasefire between the Polisario Front and Morocco broke down, leading to ongoing [[2020 Western Saharan clashes|armed clashes]] between both sides.

On 10 December 2020, the [[United States]] announced that it would recognize full Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara in exchange for [[Israel–Morocco normalization agreement|Morocco normalizing relations with Israel]] with a view for subsequent establishment of diplomatic relations.<ref name="Israel1">{{Cite web|last=Magid|first=Jacob|date=10 December 2020|title='Historic decision': Israel and Morocco agree on full ties 'as soon as possible'|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-and-morocco-to-establish-full-official-relations-trump-announces/|access-date=10 December 2020|website=Times of Israel}}</ref><ref name="bbc.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-55266089|title=Morocco latest country to normalise ties with Israel in US-brokered deal|publisher=bbc.com|date=10 December 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite tweet |user=realdonaldtrump |first=Donald J.|last=Trump |number=1337067127455539201 |date=10 December 2020 |access-date=10 December 2020 |title=Morocco recognized the United States in 1777. It is thus fitting we recognize their sovereignty over the Western Sahara.}}</ref> Following this, [[Israel]] officially recognized Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara in July 2023.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Eljechtimi |first=Ahmed |date=2023-07-17 |title=Israel recognises Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/morocco-says-israel-recognises-its-sovereignty-over-western-sahara-2023-07-17/ |access-date=2023-07-19}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-07-17 |title=Israel recognizes Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara |url=https://apnews.com/article/israel-morocco-western-sahara-benjamin-netanyahu-088340188bfec408f9def1493d6f6a08 |access-date=2023-10-27 |language=en |work=Associated Press News}}</ref>

In February 2021, Morocco proposed to Spain the creation of an autonomy for Western Sahara under the sovereignty of the [[Mohammed VI of Morocco|King of Morocco]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://elpais.com/espana/2021-02-05/marruecos-intenta-que-espana-cambie-su-posicion-sobre-el-sahara.html|title=Marruecos intenta que España cambie su posición sobre el Sáhara|trans-title=Morocco tries to get Spain to change its position on the Sahara|date=6 February 2021|newspaper=[[El País]]|language=spanish}}</ref> In March 2022, the [[Government of Spain|Spanish government]] abandoned its traditional position of neutrality in the conflict, siding with the Moroccan government and recognizing the autonomy proposal "as the most serious, realistic and credible basis for the resolution of the dispute".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://elpais.com/espana/2022-03-18/sanchez-considera-la-autonomia-del-sahara-como-la-base-mas-seria-realista-y-creible-para-resolver-el-conflicto.html|title=España toma partido por Marruecos en el conflicto del Sáhara|trans-title=Spain sides with Morocco in the Sahara conflict|date=18 March 2022|newspaper=[[El País]]|language=spanish}}</ref> This sudden turnaround was generally rejected by both the Opposition, the parties that make up the government coalition, the Polisario Front, as well as members of the governing party, who support a solution "that respects the democratic will of the Saharawi people".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.heraldo.es/noticias/nacional/2022/03/18/reacciones-politicas-postura-pedro-sanchez-plan-marroqui-sahara-1560962.html|title=La oposición, Unidas Podemos y socios del Gobierno rechazan la postura de Sánchez con el plan marroquí para el Sáhara|trans-title=The Opposition, Unidas Podemos and government partners reject Sánchez's stance on Morocco's Sahara plan|date=18 March 2022|newspaper=[[Heraldo de Aragón]]|language=spanish}}</ref>

In October 2024, in a speech to the [[Parliament of Morocco]], French President [[Emmanuel Macron]] backed Morocco's autonomy proposal.<ref name="BootyBBC2024">{{cite news |last1=Booty |first1=Natasha |title=France backs Morocco in dispute over Western Sahara |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1vdl92zlzqo |access-date=30 October 2024 |work=www.bbc.com}}</ref> Macron also unveiled a €25 million ($27 million) investment in [[Guelmim-Oued Noun]], which includes part of the Western Sahara.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Metz |first1=Sam |title=France announces new investments in disputed Western Sahara |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/france-announces-new-investments-disputed-western-sahara-115284457 |access-date=30 October 2024 |work=ABC News |agency=Associated Press |date=29 October 2024 |language=en}}</ref> In June 2025, [[UK Foreign Secretary]] [[David Lammy]] stated that Morocco's plan for autonomy in Western Sahara represented "the most credible, viable and pragmatic" solution to the conflict.<ref>{{cite web |last=Oubachir |first=Akram |url=https://apnews.com/article/morocco-western-sahara-united-kingdom-c9d32485e082c1a406207021eb26409f |title=UK latest country to back Morocco's plan in disputed Western Sahara |work=[[AP News]] |date=1 June 2025 |access-date=2 June 2025}}</ref> In July 2025, the [[Copernicus Programme]] corrected its cartography, separating Morocco from Western Sahara.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://elfarodeceuta.es/copernicus-separa-sahara-occidental-marruecos/|title=Copernicus separa el Sáhara Occidental de Marruecos|work=El Faro de Ceuta|last=Jiménez|first=Isabel|date=12 July 2025|access-date=20 July 2025|language=Spanish}}</ref>

In October 2025, the United Nations Security Council referenced Morocco's Autonomy Proposal as a basis for negotiations "with a view to achieving a just, lasting and mutually acceptable resolution to the dispute, consistent with the UN Charter" and welcomed "any constructive suggestions by the parties in response to the Autonomy Proposal". The resolution recognised that "genuine autonomy could represent a most feasible outcome" and encouraged the parties to submit ideas to support "a final mutually acceptable solution".<ref name="res2797">{{cite web | title=With 11 Members Voting in Favour, 3 Abstaining, Security Council Adopts Resolution 2797 (2025), Renewing Mandate of UN Mission in Western Sahara for One Year | website=Meetings Coverage and Press Releases | date=31 Oct 2025 | url=https://press.un.org/en/2025/sc16208.doc.htm | access-date=1 Nov 2025}}</ref>

== Politics ==
{{See also|Politics of Western Sahara|Foreign relations of Morocco|Foreign relations of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic}}

[[File:Laayoune-miltary checkpoint.jpg|thumb|A Moroccan police checkpoint in the suburbs of [[Laayoune]]]]

[[Sovereignty]] over Western Sahara is contested between [[Morocco]] and the [[Polisario Front]] and its legal status remains unresolved. The United Nations considers it to be a "[[United Nations list of non-self-governing territories|non-self-governing territory]]".

Formally, Morocco is administered by a [[Bicameralism|bicameral]] [[Parliament of Morocco|parliament]] under a [[constitutional monarchy]] wherein the [[List of rulers of Morocco|monarch]] retains significant powers, such as the capacity to appoint the government and to dissolve parliament. The last elections to [[House of Representatives (Morocco)|the parliament's lower house]] were deemed reasonably free and fair by international observers.{{Citation needed|date=May 2011}} The Morocco-occupied parts of Western Sahara are divided into [[Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara|several provinces]] that are treated as integral parts of the kingdom. The Moroccan government heavily subsidizes the Saharan provinces under its occupation with cut-rate fuel and related subsidies, to appease nationalist dissent and attract immigrants from Sahrawis 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 |location= [[Lewiston, New York]] |publisher= [[Edwin Mellen Press]] |isbn= 0-7734-7173-1 |year= 2002 |url-access= registration |url= https://archive.org/details/westernsaharasin0000thob}}</ref>

The [[government in exile|exiled government]] of the self-proclaimed [[Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic]] (SADR) is a form of single-party parliamentary and presidential 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 [[Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf Province, Algeria|Tindouf refugee camps]] in Algeria, which it controls. It also controls the part of Western Sahara to the east of the Moroccan Wall, known as the ''[[Free Zone (region)|liberated territories]]''. This area has a very small population, estimated to be approximately 30,000 nomads.<ref name="nrc.no" /> The Moroccan government views it as a no-man's land patrolled by UN troops. The SADR government whose troops also patrol the area have proclaimed a village in the area, [[Bir Lehlou]] and [[Tifariti]], as SADR's former and actual temporary factual capitals.

On 18 December 2019, the [[Comoros]] became the first nation to open a consulate in [[Laayoune]] in support of Moroccan claims to Western Sahara.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.arabnews.com/node/1600946/world|title=First foreign diplomatic post opens in Western Sahara|website=Arab News|date=18 December 2019}}</ref> In January 2020, [[The Gambia]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sahara-news.org/2259-sahara-gambia-opens-consulate-in-dakhla-dealing-another-hard-blow-to-polisario.html|title=Sahara: Gambia Opens Consulate in Dakhla, Dealing another Hard Blow to Polisario|website=Sahara News|date=7 January 2020}}</ref> and [[Guinea]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sahara-news.org/2270-sahara-guinea-opens-consulate-in-dakhla-another-diplomatic-setback-for-polisario.html|title=Sahara: Guinea Opens Consulate in Dakhla, Another Diplomatic Setback for Polisario|website=Sahara News|date=17 January 2020}}</ref> opened consulates in [[Dakhla, Western Sahara|Dakhla]]; meanwhile, [[Gabon]] opened a consulate general in Laayoune.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sahara-news.org/2274-gabon-opens-consulate-general-in-laayoune.html|title=Gabon Opens Consulate General in Laayoune|website=Sahara News|date=17 January 2020}}</ref> As part of the Moroccan-Israeli normalisation deal, the [[United States]] established a temporary consulate post in Dakhla in January 2021 as a transition to establishing a permanent consulate within the near future.<ref name="bbc.com"/><ref>{{cite web|last=Elshamy|first= Mosa'ab|url=https://apnews.com/d5f1a1416e429b8a168a7eaaed3e702e|title=US Consulate a turning point for disputed Western Sahara|publisher=Associated Press|date=9 January 2021}}</ref>

=== Human rights ===
{{Main|Human rights in Western Sahara}}

[[File:Sangar western sahara.jpg|thumb|A [[Sangar (fortification)|sangar]] (fortification) from the Western Sahara conflict. The fortification is built of rocks on top of a mesa overlooking the Grart Chwchia, Al Gada, Western Sahara. The Sangar is facing north and was probably built by the Sahrawis in the 1980s.]]
[[File:Tamekinprison.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Sahrawi people|Sahrawi]] human rights defender [[Ali Salem Tamek]] in [[Ait Meloul Prison]], Morocco<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.spsrasd.info/en/content/violent-aggression-against-saharawi-political-prisoners-sal%C3%A9 |title=Violent aggression against the Saharawi political prisoners in Salé |publisher=SPS |date=12 February 2012 |access-date=10 August 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140708185632/http://www.spsrasd.info/en/content/violent-aggression-against-saharawi-political-prisoners-sal%C3%A9 |archive-date=8 July 2014}}</ref>]]

The Western Sahara conflict has resulted in severe human-rights abuses, constantly reported by external reporters and human rights activists,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kerry-kennedy/morocco-secret-police-laayoune_b_1835223.html |title=A Brush With Morocco's Secret Police in Laayoune, Moroccan-Occupied Western Sahara (PHOTOS) |publisher=Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights |date=25 August 2012 |access-date=1 September 2012 |author=Kerry Kennedy, President of the RFK}}</ref> most notably the displacement 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>*[http://www.telquel-online.com/189/couverture_189_1.shtml Maroc/Algérie. Bluff et petites manœuvres] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160115012241/http://www.telquel-online.com/189/couverture_189_1.shtml |date=15 January 2016 }}, Telquel, not in English{{Unreliable source?|www.telquel-online.com|date=May 2011}}
* [http://www.aljazeera.net/news/archive/archive?ArchiveId=316911 Aljazeera.net] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140322115134/http://www.aljazeera.net/news/pages/2c63a1c5-c249-45cd-b131-ff57a53ae894 |date=22 March 2014 }}, not in English
* {{Cite web |url=http://www.lagazettedumaroc.com/articles.php?r=7&sr=959&n=409&%20%20id_artl=5975 |title=La "Répudiation massive" de l'Algérie des colonels! |language=fr |work=La Gazette Du Maroc |date=28 February 2005 |access-date=12 May 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012214448/http://www.lagazettedumaroc.com/articles.php?r=7&sr=959&n=409&%20%20id_artl=5975 |archive-date=12 October 2007 }}
* [http://www.maroc-hebdo.press.ma/MHinternet/Archives_435/html_435/jugement.html Jugement Dernier], Maroc Hebdo International, not in English {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060909032212/http://www.maroc-hebdo.press.ma/MHinternet/Archives_435/html_435/jugement.html |date=9 September 2006 }}
* [http://cinemanageria.ifrance.com/cine_maroc/films_marocains/82.htm#drame Le Drame des 40.000], cinemanageria.ifrance.com, not in English {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061016105500/http://cinemanageria.ifrance.com/cine_maroc/films_marocains/82.htm |date=16 October 2006 }}
* [http://www.usfp.ma/article.php?t=4&id=46 Mohamed Elyazghi au Matin du Sahara: Solution politique au Sahara et refondation de nos relations avec Alger] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060910000000/http://www.usfp.ma/article.php?t=4&id=46 |date=10 September 2006 }}, USFP, not in English{{Unreliable source?|www.usfp.ma|date=May 2011}}
* {{Cite web |url=http://minorites.org/article.php?IDA=7531 |title=La mal-vie des Marocains d'Algérie |archive-date=13 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013180223/http://minorites.org/article.php?IDA=7531 |url-status=dead }}
* [http://www.ambafrance-ma.org/presse/index.cfm?pjour=1&jr=20060728 Revue de Presse des Quotidiens] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090107232935/http://www.ambafrance-ma.org/presse/index.cfm?pjour=1&jr=20060728 |date=7 January 2009 }} <!--
 --></ref> and numerous casualties of war and repression.

During the war years (1975–1991), both sides accused each other of targeting civilians. Moroccan claims of Polisario terrorism have generally had little to no support abroad, with the US, European Union, [[African Union]] and UN all refusing to include the group on their [[United States Department of State list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations|lists]] of terrorist organizations. Polisario leaders maintain that they are ideologically opposed to terrorism, and insist that collective punishment and [[forced disappearance]]s among Sahrawi civilians<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://web.amnesty.org/web/ar2001.nsf/webmepcountries/MOROCCO+AND+WESTERN+SAHARA?OpenDocument |title=Amnesty International &#124; Working to Protect Human Rights |publisher=Web.amnesty.org |access-date=13 February 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071114174415/http://www.web.amnesty.org/web/ar2001.nsf/webmepcountries/MOROCCO%2BAND%2BWESTERN%2BSAHARA?OpenDocument |archive-date=14 November 2007}}</ref> should be considered [[state terrorism]] on the part of Morocco.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.arso.org/akhbar2.htm |title=Western Sahara – Sahara Occidental – Akhbar Es-Sahra 2 |publisher=Arso.org |access-date=13 February 2012}}</ref> Both Morocco and the Polisario additionally accuse each other of violating the human rights of the populations under their control, in the [[Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara|Moroccan-occupied parts of Western Sahara]] and the [[Sahrawi refugee camps|Tindouf refugee camps]] in Algeria, respectively. Morocco and organizations such as [[:fr:France Libertés&nbsp;— Fondation Danielle-Mitterrand|France Libertés]] 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">[http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/040929/2004092916.html Morocco's Memorandum to UN unveils Algiers' responsibility in Sahara conflict, political parties] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014213721/http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/040929/2004092916.html |date=14 October 2013}}, Arabic News, Morocco-Algeria, Politics, 29 September 2004</ref>{{Unreliable source?|www.arabicnews.com|date=May 2011}}

[[Morocco]] has been repeatedly criticized for its actions in Western Sahara by international human rights organizations including:
* [[Amnesty International]]<ref>*{{Cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE29/001/2010/en |title=Morocco/Western Sahara: Broken Promises: The Equity and Reconciliation Commission and its Follow-up |publisher=Amnesty.org |date=6 January 2010 |access-date=1 February 2012}}
* {{Cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE29/005/2009/en |title=Morocco/Western Sahara: No more half measures: Addressing enforced disappearances in Morocco and Western Sahara |publisher=Amnesty.org |date=28 August 2009 |access-date=1 February 2012}}
* {{Cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE29/004/2008/en |title=Morocco/ Western Sahara: Further Information on UA 16/08&nbsp;– Fear of unfair imprisonment/ Prisoners of conscience/ Health concern |date=8 February 2008 |publisher=Amnesty.org |access-date=1 February 2012}}
* {{Cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE29/005/2008/en |title=Morocco/ Western Sahara: Three years' imprisonment for putting a profile of Prince Moulay Rachid on Facebook |publisher=Amnesty.org |date=25 February 2008 |access-date=1 February 2012}}
* {{Cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE29/004/2005/en |title=Morocco/Western Sahara: New arrests and allegations of torture of Sahrawi human rights defenders |publisher=Amnesty.org |date=31 July 2005 |access-date=1 February 2012}}
* {{Cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE29/003/2005/en |title=Morocco/Western Sahara: Justice must begin with torture inquiries |publisher=Amnesty.org |date=21 June 2005 |access-date=1 February 2012}}
* {{Cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE29/008/2004/en |title=Morocco/Western Sahara: Torture of detainees must end |publisher=Amnesty.org |date=23 June 2004 |access-date=1 February 2012}}
* {{Cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE29/004/2004/en |title=Morocco/Western Sahara: Torture in the "anti-terrorism" campaign&nbsp;– the case of Témara detention centre |publisher=Amnesty.org |date=23 June 2004 |access-date=1 February 2012}}
* {{Cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE29/011/2003/en |title=Morocco/Western Sahara: Briefing to the Committee against torture (November 2003) |publisher=Amnesty.org |date=11 November 2003 |access-date=1 February 2012}}
* {{Cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE29/001/2003/en |title=Morocco/Western Sahara: reports of secret detention and torture on the rise |publisher=Amnesty.org |date=21 February 2003 |access-date=1 February 2012}}
* {{Cite web |url=http://www.amnestyusa.org/all-countries/morocco-and-western-sahara/page.do?id=1011203 |title=Morocco and Western Sahara Human Rights |publisher=Amnestyusa.org |access-date=13 November 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110503215530/http://www.amnestyusa.org/all-countries/morocco-and-western-sahara/page.do?id=1011203 |archive-date=3 May 2011}}<!--
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* [[Human Rights Watch]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://hrw.org/english/docs/2005/12/10/morocc12183.htm |title=Morocco/Western Sahara: Activists Need Fair Trial |publisher=[[Human Rights Watch]] |date=9 December 2005 |access-date=13 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080723211820/http://hrw.org/english/docs/2005/12/10/morocc12183.htm |archive-date=23 July 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.hrw.org/reports/1995/Wsahara.htm |title=Western Sahara: Keeping It Secret – The United Nations Operation in the Western Sahara |publisher=[[Human Rights Watch]] |access-date=13 November 2011 |archive-date=18 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018112444/https://www.hrw.org/reports/1995/Wsahara.htm |url-status=dead }}<!--
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* [[World Organization Against Torture]]
* [[Freedom House]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=22&year=2006&country=7106 |title=Western Sahara * |publisher=Freedomhouse.org |date=10 May 2004 |access-date=13 November 2011 |archive-date=3 October 2009 |archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20091003035206/http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=22&country=7106&year=2006 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* [[Reporters Without Borders]]<ref>*{{Cite web |url=https://rsf.org/en/news/swedish-photographer-expelled-western-sahara-day-after-his-arrest |title=Swedish photographer expelled from Western Sahara a day after his arrest |date=22 February 2007 |website=rsf.org |access-date=15 April 2017 |archive-date=18 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018112321/https://rsf.org/en/news/swedish-photographer-expelled-western-sahara-day-after-his-arrest |url-status=dead }}
* {{Cite web |url=https://rsf.org/en/news/journalist-assaulted-name-moroccan-control-western-sahara |title=Journalist assaulted in the name of Moroccan control of Western Sahara |date=26 May 2005 |website=rsf.org |access-date=15 April 2017 |archive-date=15 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170415023733/https://rsf.org/en/news/journalist-assaulted-name-moroccan-control-western-sahara |url-status=dead }}
* {{Cite web |url=https://rsf.org/en/news/journalists-working-western-sahara-face-assaults-arrests-and-harassment |title=Journalists working in Western Sahara face assaults, arrests and harassment |date=16 June 2005 |website=rsf.org |access-date=15 April 2017 |archive-date=15 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170415023904/https://rsf.org/en/news/journalists-working-western-sahara-face-assaults-arrests-and-harassment |url-status=dead }}
* {{Cite web |url=https://rsf.org/en/news/western-sahara-government-corruption-and-palace-life-are-all-limits-press |title=Western Sahara, government corruption and palace life are all off-limits for the press |date=13 April 2005 |website=rsf.org |access-date=15 April 2017 |archive-date=15 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170415023957/https://rsf.org/en/news/western-sahara-government-corruption-and-palace-life-are-all-limits-press |url-status=dead }}
* {{Cite web |url=https://rsf.org/en/news/two-norwegian-journalists-threatened-expulsion |title=Two Norwegian journalists threatened with expulsion |date=16 June 2004 |website=rsf.org |access-date=15 April 2017 |archive-date=15 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170415023312/https://rsf.org/en/news/two-norwegian-journalists-threatened-expulsion |url-status=dead }}
* {{Cite web |url=https://rsf.org/en/news/morocco-puts-us-censorship-busting-site-anonymizercom-its-black-list |title=Morocco puts US censorship busting site Anonymizer.com on its black list |date=20 December 2005 |website=rsf.org |access-date=15 April 2017 |archive-date=15 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170415024414/https://rsf.org/en/news/morocco-puts-us-censorship-busting-site-anonymizercom-its-black-list |url-status=dead }}
* {{Cite web |url=https://rsf.org/en/news/appeal-court-upholds-exorbitant-damages-award-against-journal-hebdomadaire |title=Appeal court upholds exorbitant damages award against Journal Hebdomadaire |date=18 April 2006 |website=rsf.org |access-date=15 April 2017}}<!--
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* [[International Committee of the Red Cross]]
* [[OHCHR|UN High Commissioner for Human Rights]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.arso.org/OHCHRrep2006en.pdf |title=Report of the OHCHR to Western Sahara & the refugee camps in Tindouf 2006 |access-date=13 November 2011}}</ref>
* Derechos Human Rights<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.derechos.org/human-rights/mena/moro/ |title=Human rights in Morocco & Western Sahara |publisher=Derechos.org |access-date=13 November 2011}}</ref>
* [[Defend International]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.defendinternational.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=191&Itemid=126 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130121182849/http://www.defendinternational.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=191&Itemid=126 |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 January 2013 |title=Wave of arrests in Western Sahara |publisher=Defendinternational.com |date=31 August 2007 |access-date=13 November 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.defendinternational.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=153&Itemid=126 |title=Morocco: Protect And Preserve Mass Grave Sites |publisher=Defendinternational.com |date=15 January 2008 |access-date=13 November 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111202151033/http://www.defendinternational.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=153&Itemid=126 |archive-date=2 December 2011}}</ref>
* [[Front Line (NGO)|Front Line]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/2436 |title=Western Sahara: UPDATE&nbsp;– Human rights defenders on hunger strike in protest at continued arbitrary detention |publisher=Frontlinedefenders.org |access-date=13 November 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/2154 |title=Western Sahara: Severe beating of human rights defender, Mr Mohammed al-Tahleel by security forces |publisher=Frontlinedefenders.org |access-date=13 November 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/1932 |title=Western Sahara: Torture and solitary confinement of human rights defender Mr Yahya Mohamed el Hafed Aaza |publisher=Frontlinedefenders.org |access-date=13 November 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/1585 |title=Western Sahara: Systematic repression of human rights defenders |publisher=Frontlinedefenders.org |access-date=13 November 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111205123703/http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/1585 |archive-date=5 December 2011}}</ref>
* [[International Federation for Human Rights]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fidh.org/fr/regions/maghreb-moyen-orient/maroc/7588-sahara-occidental-arrestation-de-m-duihi-hassan-mar-001-0210-obs-024|title=Sahara occidental : Arrestation de M. Duihi Hassan – MAR 001 / 0210 / OBS 024|website=Fédération internationale pour les droits humains}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fidh.org/fr/regions/maghreb-moyen-orient/maroc/Harcelement-a-l-encontre-de-Mme,7215|title=Harcèlement à l'encontre de Mme Elghalia Dijim et M. Duihi Hassan – MAR 003 / 1109 / OBS 166|website=Fédération internationale pour les droits humains}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.fidh.org/Detentions-arbitraires-Poursuites-judiciaires,3433 |title=Détentions arbitraires&nbsp;– Poursuites judiciaires&nbsp;– Mauvais traitements |publisher=Fidh.org |date=8 November 2011 |access-date=13 November 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fidh.org/fr/regions/maghreb-moyen-orient/maroc/Nouvelle-condamnation-d-un|title=Nouvelle condamnation d'un militant sahraoui.|website=Fédération internationale pour les droits humains}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fidh.org/Apres-l-interdiction-de-trois-hebdomadaires-au|title=Après l'interdiction de trois hebdomadaires au Maroc, RSF et la FIDH dénoncent une décision inique et inacceptable|author=FIDH|access-date=3 October 2014}}</ref>
* [[Society for Threatened Peoples]]<ref>{{Cite web |author=Gesellschaft fuer bedrohte Voelker&nbsp;– Society for Threatened Peoples |url=http://www.gfbv.de/pressemit.php?id=2204&stayInsideTree=1 |title=EU ignores violations of human rights in Morocco |publisher=Gfbv.de |access-date=1 February 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120128141944/http://www.gfbv.de/pressemit.php?id=2204&stayInsideTree=1 |archive-date=28 January 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author=Gesellschaft fuer bedrohte Voelker&nbsp;– Society for Threatened Peoples |url=http://www.gfbv.de/pressemit.php?id=807&stayInsideTree=1 |title=Almost 700 arrested in the year 2006 |publisher=Gfbv.de |access-date=13 November 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120128142112/http://www.gfbv.de/pressemit.php?id=807&stayInsideTree=1 |archive-date=28 January 2012}}</ref>
* [[Norwegian Refugee Council]]<ref>{{Cite web |author=Norwegian Refugee Council |url=https://www.nrc.no/resources/reports/occupied-country-displaced-people/ |title=Occupied Country, Displaced People [Updated] |website=nrc.no |date=15 February 2014 |access-date=15 April 2017}}</ref>

{{See also|List of human rights organisations}}

The [[Polisario Front|POLISARIO]] has received criticism from the French organization France Libertes on its treatment of Moroccan prisoners of war,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.freethemnow.org/FranceLiberte.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051211175842/http://www.freethemnow.org/FranceLiberte.pdf |archive-date=11 December 2005 |title=The Conditions of Detentions of the Moroccan POWs Detained in Tindouf (Algeria) |date=11 December 2005 |access-date=13 November 2011}}</ref> and on its general behaviour in the Tindouf refugee camps in reports by the [[Belgium|Belgian]] commercial counseling society [[European strategic intelligence and security center|ESISC]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.esisc.net/en/p.asp?TYP=TEWN&LV=187&see=y&t=37&PG=TEWN/EN/detail_os&l=8&AI=1840 |title=The Polisario Front and the IRA – Two approaches to the process of negotiation |publisher=Esisc.net |access-date=13 November 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110918134233/http://www.esisc.net/en/p.asp?TYP=TEWN&LV=187&see=y&t=37&PG=TEWN%2FEN%2Fdetail_os&l=8&AI=1840 |archive-date=18 September 2011}}</ref><ref>ESISC is [http://kbopub.economie.fgov.be/kbopub/toonondernemingps.html?ondernemingsnummer=878853652 a Brussels-based commercial firm in the domain of counselling] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018112445/http://kbopub.economie.fgov.be/kbopub/toonondernemingps.html?ondernemingsnummer=878853652 |date=18 October 2017 }}, including among its clients the Moroccan embassy in Belgium</ref> Social anthropologist of the Sahara Desert, Konstantina Isidoros, said that in both 2005 and 2008, ESISC issued two near-identical reports proclaiming distorted truths that Polisario is evolving to new fears terrorism,{{Clarify|date=June 2018}} radical Islamism or international crime. According Isidoros "lies appear to play some peculiar importance in this report".<ref>Konstantina Isidoros. [https://web.archive.org/web/20170827165230/https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/1951/9a64ad4b0e97872d03e42d752087ace599ce.pdf Western Sahara and the United States' geographical imaginings] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170827165230/https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/1951/9a64ad4b0e97872d03e42d752087ace599ce.pdf#page=65 |date=27 August 2017}} // ACAS Concerned Africa Scholars, BULLETIN N°85 – SPRING 2010</ref>{{Clarify|date=June 2018}} Jacob Mundi<ref>Jacob Mundy – Assistant Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies at Colgate University</ref> considers this report as a part of the Moroccan propaganda designed to discredit the Polisario Front.<ref>Jacob Mundi. Failed States. Ungoverned Areas, and Safe Havens: The Terrorization of the Western Sahara Peace Process // Fonkem Achankeng. Nationalism and Intra-State Conflicts in the Postcolonial World. Lexington Books, 2015, {{ISBN|1498500269}}, 9781498500265. Pp.139–140. "Decades later, substitute "'Al-Qaeda" for "Communism" and the discourse is essentially the same. One of the first major salvos in the Moroccan offensive to link Polisario to Al-Qaeda was a series of think tank reports paid for by the royal palace (Moniquet, 2005, 2008). When a Moroccan newsmagazine, Le Journal hebdomadaire (9 December 2005), dared expose the fact that the European Strategic Intelligence and Security Institute was being paid to tar and feather Polisario, thus began the regime's successful five-year campaign to drive one of the few independent media voices out of existence. Morocco even enlisted its academic voices to aid in the terrorization of the Western Sahara peace process by linking Al-Qaeda to Polisario. "</ref>

A number of [[Polisario defections|former Polisario officials]] who have defected to Morocco accuse the organization of abuse of human rights and sequestration of the population in Tindouf.<ref>{{Cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180901215633/https://www.un.org/press/fr/1996/19961010.CPSD108.html |archive-date=2018-09-01 |url=https://www.un.org/News/fr-press/docs/1996/19961010.CPSD108.html |title=Communiquées de presse CPSD/108. Quatrième Commission: Le Maroc reste attaché au plan de règlement et à la tenue d'un référendum transparent au Sahara Occidental |publisher=United Nations |access-date=6 January 2025 |language=fr |trans-title=Press releases CPSD/108 Fourth Committee: Morocco remains committed to the settlement plan and the holding of a transparent referendum in Western Sahara |date=10 October 1996}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/991105/1999110536.html |title=Report: Clan wars and unavoidable scission in Tindouf, defectors |publisher=Arabicnews.com |access-date=12 May 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014201349/http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/991105/1999110536.html |archive-date=14 October 2013}}</ref>

== Administrative divisions{{Anchor|Regions}} ==
<!-- "Administrative divisions of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic" and "Subdivisions of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic" redirect here -->
[[File:Western Sahara Map.png|thumb|341x341px|Image showing Western Sahara divided between the Moroccan-held area (in red) and the SADR-held area (in green).]]

=== Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic ===
The SADR has two levels of notional administrative division:
* 4 provinces ({{Transliteration|ar|[[Wilayah|''wilayat'']]}}), named after the notional capitals: [[Aousserd]], [[Dakhla, Western Sahara|Dakhla]], [[Laayoune]], and [[Smara]]
* [[Districts of Western Sahara|25 districts]] ({{Transliteration|ar|daerah}})

=== Moroccan regions and provinces ===
Three Moroccan regions are within or partly within Western Sahara:
* [[Guelmim-Oued Noun|Guelmim-Oued Noun Region]]
*: ''[[Assa-Zag Province]]''
* [[Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra|Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra Region]]
*: ''[[Boujdour Province]]''
*: ''[[Es Semara Province]]''
*: ''[[Laâyoune Province]]''
*: ''[[Tarfaya Province]]''
* [[Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab|Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab Region]]
*: ''[[Aousserd Province]]''
*: ''[[Oued Eddahab Province]]''

Morocco occupies territory to the west of the berm (border wall) while the Sahrawi Republic controls territory to the east (see map on right).

== Dispute ==
{{Main|Political status of Western Sahara}}
 {{See also|United Nations Security Council Resolution 1979}} {{Western Sahara conflict}}
[[File:Tifaritibombed.jpg|thumb|Remains of the former Spanish barracks in [[Tifariti]] after the Moroccan airstrikes in 1991]]
Western Sahara was partitioned between Morocco and Mauritania in April 1976, with Morocco acquiring the northern two-thirds of the territory.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{Cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/wi.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070612210735/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/wi.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=12 June 2007 |title=CIA: The World Factbook: 2006. 'Western Sahara', 266 |publisher=Cia.gov |access-date=12 May 2012}}</ref> When Mauritania, under pressure from [[Polisario]] 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", consisting of the [[Río de Oro]] and [[Saguia el-Hamra]] regions.

The portion not under the occupation of the Moroccan government is the area that lies between the [[Moroccan Western Sahara Wall|border wall]] and the actual border with Algeria. The Polisario Front claims to run this as the Free Zone on behalf of the [[SADR]]. The area is patrolled by Polisario forces,<ref name="up">{{Cite web |author=Chris Brazier |url=http://www.newint.org/issue297/wall.html |title=Up Against the Wall |work=New Internationalist Magazine |issue=297 |date=December 1998 |access-date=12 May 2012 |archive-date=18 December 2002 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021218035935/http://www.newint.org/issue297/wall.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> and access is restricted, even among Sahrawis, due to the harsh climate of the [[Sahara]], the military conflict and the abundance of [[land mines]]. 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-occupied zone, around Dakhla and stretching from Boujdour, including [[Smara]] on the Moroccan border. Mine-laying was not restricted to the vicinity of the berms though, as towns throughout the Polisario-controlled areas, such as Bir Lehlou and Tifariti, are ringed by mines laid by Moroccan forces.<ref>[http://www.landmineaction.org/resources.asp?item=research "Explosive Ordnance Disposal and technical survey in Polisario-controlled areas of Western Sahara,"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324000932/http://www.landmineaction.org/resources.asp?item=research |date=24 March 2012 }} Project proposal, February 2006, pp. 2–4, quoted in [http://www.icbl.org/lm/2006/western_sahara.html Land Mine Report, Western Sahara] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090218170830/http://www.icbl.org/lm/2006/western_sahara.html |date=18 February 2009 }}, footnote 15 and 17.</ref>

Despite this, the area is traveled and inhabited by many Sahrawi [[nomad]]s from the [[Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf Province, Algeria|Tindouf refugee camps]] of [[Algeria]] and the Sahrawi communities in [[Mauritania]].<ref name="nrc.no">{{Cite web |url=http://www.nrc.no/arch/_img/9258989.pdf |title=Norwegian Refugee Council Report: Western Sahara, Occupied country, displaced people, 2008 |access-date=12 May 2012 |archive-date=28 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080528214406/https://www.nrc.no/arch/_img/9258989.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> United Nations [[MINURSO]] forces are also present in the area. The UN forces oversee the [[cease-fire]] between Polisario and Morocco agreed upon in the 1991 [[Settlement Plan]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/minurso/mandate.html |title=MINURSO homepage&nbsp;– mandate|publisher=United Nations |access-date=13 November 2011}}</ref>

The Polisario forces (of the [[Sahrawi People's Liberation Army]] (SPLA)) in the area are divided into seven "military regions", each controlled by a top commander reporting to the [[President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic|President of the Polisario proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic]].<ref name=up /><ref name="bhatia">{{Cite web|url=http://www.arso.org/bhatia2001.htm |title=Western Sahara under Polisario Control: Summary Report of Field Mission to the Sahrawi Refugee Camps (near Tindouf, Algeria)|first= Michael|last= Bhatia|publisher=Arso.org |year=2001 |access-date=12 May 2012}}</ref> The total size of the Polisario's [[guerrilla warfare|guerrilla]] army present in this area is unknown, but it is believed to number a few thousand men, despite many combatants being demobilized due to the [[cease-fire]].<ref name=bhatia />

Major Sahrawi political events, such as [[Polisario Front#Structure|Polisario congresses]] and sessions of the [[Sahrawi National Council]] (the SADR parliament in exile) are held in the Free Zone (especially in [[Tifariti]] and Bir Lehlou), since it is 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>{{Cite web |url=http://www.canariasahora.com/documentos/8119b2af172030e86f14c5f746e9347d.pdf |title=MINURSO complaint to the UN Security Council (Spanish) |access-date=13 November 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110919041948/http://www.canariasahora.com/documentos/8119b2af172030e86f14c5f746e9347d.pdf |archive-date=19 September 2011}}</ref> A concentration of forces for the commemoration of the Saharawi Republic's 30th anniversary<ref>[http://www.spsrasd.info/sps-e270206.html] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110526203328/http://www.spsrasd.info/sps-e270206.html|date=26 May 2011}} Commemoration of the Saharawi Republic's 30th anniversary in the liberated territories of Western Sahara Press Service, 27 February 2006 {{Unreliable source?|www.spsrasd.info|date=July 2007}}</ref> were subject to condemnation by the United Nations,<ref name="UN_S2006249">{{UN document |docid=S-2006-249 |type=Document |body=Security Council |year=2006 |access-date=10 August 2007 |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, Moroccan troops performed military maneuvers near [[Umm Dreiga]], 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.

UN sponsored peace talks, the first in six years between Morocco and Polisario, were held in Geneva on 5 December 2018, with both sides agreeing to meet again in a few months for further talks.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2018/12/01/a-new-push-to-resolve-the-conflict-over-western-sahara |newspaper=The Economist|title= The sands time forgot |access-date=2 January 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/is-one-of-africas-oldest-conflicts-finally-nearing-its-end |title=Is One of Africa's Oldest Conflicts Finally Nearing Its End? |author=Nicolas Niarchos |magazine=The New Yorker |date=29 December 2018 |access-date=2 January 2019}}</ref>

During the joint Moroccan–Mauritanian occupation of the area, the Mauritanian-occupied part, roughly corresponding to Saquia el-Hamra, was known as [[Tiris al-Gharbiyya]].

== Economy ==
{{Main|Economy of Western Sahara}}

{{More citations needed|section|date=June 2023}}
[[File:Productos naturales en la farmacia de Dajla - Saharauiak.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|Natural products in a pharmacy]]
Aside from its rich fishing waters and phosphate reserves, Western Sahara has few natural resources and lacks sufficient rainfall and freshwater resources for most agricultural activities. Western Sahara's much-touted phosphate reserves are relatively unimportant, representing less than two percent of proven phosphate reserves in Morocco. There is speculation that there may be off-shore oil and natural gas 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-self-governing territories|non-self-governing]] status of Western Sahara (see below).

Western Sahara's economy is based almost entirely on fishing, which employs two-thirds of its workforce, with mining, agriculture and tourism providing modest additional income. Most food for the urban population comes from Morocco. All trade and other economic activities are controlled by the Moroccan government (as its de facto southern province). The government has encouraged citizens to relocate to the territory by giving subsidies and price controls on basic goods. These heavy subsidies have created a state-dominated economy in the Moroccan-occupied parts of Western Sahara.

Due to the disputed nature of Moroccan sovereignty over the territory, the application of international accords to Western Sahara is highly ambiguous. Political leadership of trade agreement signatories such as the United States (US-Morocco Free Trade Agreement) and Norway (European Free Trade Association trade accord) have made statements as to these agreements' non-applicability – although practical policy application is ambiguous.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.house.gov/pitts/press/releases/040722r-FTAwsahara.htm |title=Rep. Pitts lauds protection of Sahrawis in Morocco trade pact |publisher=House.gov |date=22 July 2004 |access-date=13 November 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110912001457/http://www.house.gov/pitts/press/releases/040722r-FTAwsahara.htm |archive-date=12 September 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Western Sahara excluded from EFTA-Morocco free trade agreement |url=http://www.spsrasd.info/en/detail.php?id=11569 |publisher=SPS |date=12 May 2010 |access-date=13 May 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110516150119/http://www.spsrasd.info/en/detail.php?id=11569 |archive-date=16 May 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | title = Western Sahara "not part of EFTA-Morocco free trade" | url = http://www.afrol.com/articles/36091 | publisher = Afrol news | date = 13 May 2010 | access-date =14 May 2010}}</ref>

=== Exploitation of natural resources ===
{{MapLibrary|El Aaiún 13.22342W 27.14668N.png|[[Laayoune]]}}
After reasonably exploitable oil fields were located in Mauritania, speculation intensified on the possibility of major oil resources being located off the coast of Western Sahara. Despite the fact that findings remain inconclusive, both Morocco and the Polisario have signed deals with oil and gas exploration companies. US and French companies (notably TotalEnergies and [[Kerr-McGee]]) began prospecting on behalf of the Moroccan Office National de Recherches et d'Exploitations Petrolières (ONAREP).<ref name="UN_S2002161" />

In 2002, [[Hans Corell]], Under-Secretary General of the United Nations and head of its [[United Nations Office of Legal Affairs|Office of Legal Affairs]], issued a legal opinion on the matter.<ref name="UN_S2002161">{{UN document |docid=S-2002-161 |type=Document |body=Security Council |year=2002 |access-date=10 August 2007 |date=12 February 2002}}</ref> The opinion was rendered following an analysis of relevant provisions of the [[Charter of the United Nations]], the [[United Nations General Assembly]] resolutions, the case law of the [[International Court of Justice]] and the practice of sovereign states.<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, TotalEnergies pulled out in late 2004.<ref>{{Cite news | title = Upstream Online: Total turns its back on Dakhla block, 2004 | url = http://www.wsrw.org/index.php?cat=193&art=1500 | publisher = [[Western Sahara Resource Watch]] | date = 3 December 2004 | access-date =2 September 2010}}</ref>

In May 2006, the remaining company, Kerr-McGee, also left, following sales of numerous shareholders like the National Norwegian Oil Fund, due to continued pressure from NGOs and corporate groups.<ref>{{Cite news | title=Last oil company withdraws from Western Sahara | url=http://www.afrol.com/articles/19029 | publisher=Afrol News | date=2 May 2006 | access-date=1 October 2010}}</ref>

In December 2014, it became known that [[Seabird Exploration]] operated controversial seismic surveys offshore Western Sahara, in violation of the 2002 [[Hans Corell]] legal opinion.<ref>{{Cite news | title=Korsvold og SeaBird-sjefen fikk protestbrev fra det okkuperte Vest-Sahara | url=http://www.dagbladet.no/2014/12/09/nyheter/nobels_fredspris/samfunn/36639526/ | publisher=Dagbladet.no | date=9 December 2014 | access-date=10 December 2014}}</ref>

The [[European Union]] fishing agreements with Morocco include Western Sahara.

In a previously confidential legal opinion (published in February 2010, although it was forwarded in July 2009), the European Parliament's Legal Service opined that fishing by European vessels under a current EU–Morocco fishing agreement covering Western Sahara's waters is in violation of international law.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.wsrw.org/index.php?parse_news=single&cat=105&art=1348 |title=European Parliament's lawyers declare EU fishing illegal |publisher=wsrw.org |date=23 February 2010 |access-date=13 November 2011}}</ref>

Similarly, the exploitation of [[phosphate]] mines in [[Bou Craa]] has led to charges of international law violations and divestment from several European states.<ref name="phosphateslaw">{{Cite web |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/layout/set/print/World/Africa/2013/0124/In-remote-Western-Sahara-prized-phosphate-drives-controversial-investments |title=In remote Western Sahara, prized phosphate drives controversial investments |last=Chick |first=Kristen |date=24 January 2013 |work=[[The Christian Science Monitor]]  |access-date=24 January 2013 }}{{Dead link|date=June 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

== Demographics ==
{{Main|Demographics of Western Sahara}}
{{Update|part=section|date=June 2024|reason=Most recent info date says 2008}}[[File:Empty Town Western Sahara.JPG|thumb|Morocco built several empty towns in Western Sahara, ready for refugees returning from Tindouf.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.wobook.com/WB6H8MF6zj5s-14/actuel/actuel43.html|title=L'Actuel Maroc, no. 43 (April 2012), p.22|access-date=3 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006115208/http://www.wobook.com/WB6H8MF6zj5s-14/actuel/actuel43.html|archive-date=6 October 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>]]

The indigenous population of Western Sahara is usually known in Western media as [[Sahrawi people|Sahrawis]], but they are also referred to in Morocco as "Southerners" or "Southern Berbers". They are [[Hassaniya Arabic|Hassaniya]]-speaking or [[Berber language|Berber]]-speaking tribes of [[Berber people|Berber]] origin ([[Haplogroup E-M215 (Y-DNA)#E-M183|97% of Y-DNA]]). Many of them have mixed [[Arab-Berber|Berber-Arab]] heritage, effectively continuations of the tribal groupings of Hassaniya-speaking and [[Zenaga language|Zenaga]]-Berber speaking [[Moors|Moorish]] tribes extending south into Mauritania and north into Morocco as well as east into Algeria. The Sahrawis are traditionally nomadic Bedouins with a lifestyle very similar to that of the [[Tuareg people|Tuareg Berbers]] from whom Sahrawis most likely have descended, and they can be found in all surrounding countries. War and conflict has led to major population displacement.

As of July 2004, an estimated 267,405 people (excluding about 160,000 Moroccan military personnel) lived in the Moroccan-occupied parts of Western Sahara. Many people from parts of Morocco have come to settle in the territory, and these latest arrivals are 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 sparse population, estimated to be approximately 30,000 in 2008.<ref name="nrc.no" /> The population is primarily made up of nomads who engage in herding camels back and forth between the [[Tindouf]] area and Mauritania. The presence of land mines scattered throughout the territory by the Moroccan army makes this a dangerous way of life.

=== 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 [[cease-fire]] agreement in the late 1980s, contingent on the holding of a referendum on independence or integration into Morocco.

In December 1999, the United Nations' [[MINURSO]] mission announced that it had identified 86,425 eligible voters for the referendum that was supposed to be held under the 1991 [[Settlement plan]] and the 1997 [[Houston accords]]. By "eligible voter" the UN referred to any Sahrawi over 18 years of age that was part of the Spanish census or could prove their descent from someone who was. These 86,425 Sahrawis were dispersed between Moroccan-occupied 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 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 [[Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf Province, Algeria|Tindouf refugee camps]] 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}}

{{See also|Western Saharan cuisine}}
[[File:Exhibicion de camellos en la wilaya de Dajla (campamentos de refugiados saharauis de Tinduf, abril de 2007).jpg|thumb|[[Sahrawi people]]]]
[[File:Museo de la Guerra en Rabuni, sede del gobierno de la RASD.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|[[People's Liberation Army Museum|Museum of the Sahrawi People's Liberation Army]]]]
The major ethnic group of Western Sahara are the [[Sahrawi people|Sahrawis]], a nomadic or [[Bedouin]] ethnic group speaking the [[Hassaniya|Hassānīya]] dialect of [[Arabic language|Arabic]], also spoken in much of Mauritania. They are of mixed Arab-Berber descent, but claim descent from the [[Beni Hassan]], an Arab tribe that migrated across the desert in the 11th century.

Like other Saharan Bedouin and Hassaniya groups, the Sahrawis are mostly Muslims of the [[Sunni]] branch and the [[Maliki]] [[fiqh]]. Local religious custom ([[Urf]]) is, like other Saharan groups, heavily influenced by pre-Islamic Berber and African practices, and differs substantially from urban practices. For example, Sahrawi Islam has traditionally functioned without mosques, in an adaptation to nomadic life.{{Citation needed|date=November 2013}}

The original [[clan]]-/tribe-based society underwent a massive social upheaval in 1975 when the war forced part of the population to settle in the [[Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf Province, Algeria|refugee camps of Tindouf]], Algeria, where they remain. Families were broken up by the dispute.

The [[People's Liberation Army Museum|Museum of the Sahrawi People's Liberation Army]] is located in this refugee camp. This museum is dedicated to the struggle for the independence of Western Saharan people. It presents weapons, vehicles and uniforms, as well as abundant documentation history.

=== Cross-cultural influence ===
The contemporary history of the territory has experienced long-term international presence and occupation that has deeply influenced the cultural practices of the people, such as languages spoken throughout the territory and its institutions.<ref name="San Martin 2005 565–592">{{Cite journal |last=San Martin|first=Pablo|year=2005|title=Nationalism, identity and citizenship in the Western Sahara|journal=The Journal of North African Studies|publisher= Taylor & Francis|volume=10 |issue=3–4 |pages=565–592 |doi=10.1080/13629380500336870|s2cid=144988314}}</ref> Spanish colonization lasted roughly from 1884 to 1976, following the creation of the Madrid Accords where Spain absolved all responsibility over the territory and left it to Morocco and Mauritania.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Zunes|first1=Stephen|last2= Mundy| first2= Jacob|title=Western Sahara: War, Nationalism, and Conflict Irresolution|publisher= Syracuse UP|year=2010}}</ref>

Throughout the nine decades of Spanish colonial presence, one of the primary spoken languages in Western Sahara came to be Spanish. The reasons for its widespread usage was due to the necessity of communicating with Spanish leadership and administrators throughout the territory, who ultimately established institutions modeled after those of Spain.<ref name="San Martin 2005 565–592" /> The importance and prevalence of Spanish has persisted to the present day, even after Spanish withdrawal from Western Sahara in 1976, due to various education exchanges and host programs for Sahrawi children to Spain and Cuba.<ref>{{Cite journal |last= Fiddian-Qasmiyeh|first= Elena|date= 14 July 2009|title= Representing Sahrawi Refugees' 'Educational Displacement' to Cuba: Self-Sufficient Agents of Manipulated Victims of Conflict?|journal= Journal of Refugee Studies|publisher= Oxford Journals|volume= 22|issue= 3|pages= 323–350|doi=10.1093/jrs/fep019}}</ref>

One such exchange program to Spain is Vacaciones en Paz (Vacations in Peace), which is an annual holiday program that was created in 1988 and is organized by the Union of Sahrawi Youth (UJSARIO) in collaboration with 300 other associations throughout Spain.<ref name="Fiddian">{{Cite journal|last1= Fiddian|first1= Elena|last2= Chatty|first2= Dawn|author-link2= Dawn Chatty|last3= Crivello|first3= Gina|date= December 2005|title= Sahrawi Refugee Children in a Spanish Host Program|url= http://www.forcedmigration.org/research-resources/expert-guides/sahrawi-refugee-children-in-a-spanish-host-program/alldocuments|journal= Forced Migration Online|publisher= University of Oxford, Department of International Development|access-date= 16 March 2014|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140318022402/http://www.forcedmigration.org/research-resources/expert-guides/sahrawi-refugee-children-in-a-spanish-host-program/alldocuments|archive-date= 18 March 2014|url-status= dead}}</ref> The program itself allows 7,000 to 10,000 Sahrawi children between the ages of 8 and 12 the opportunity to live in Spain for the summer outside of the refugee camps. Sometimes children return to the same Spanish household year after year while they are still eligible, and forge strong relationships with their host families.<ref name="Fiddian" /> These types of exchange programs that successfully create cross-border and cross-cultural relationships reinforce the usage of the Spanish language throughout subsequent generations of Sahrawi children.

=== Gender relations ===
[[File:Urgencias campamentos refugiados saharauis.jpg|thumb|upright|Two women outside a hospital emergencies at a Sahrawi refugee camps]]
Much Spanish literature and recent refugee studies scholarship has been dedicated to the exploration of the major role women play in Sahrawi society, and the degree of freedom they experience within the occupied territory and the refugee camps. There is a consensus among Sahrawi women that they have always enjoyed a large degree of freedom and influence within the Sahrawi community.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Juliano|first=Dolores |author-link=María Dolores Juliano |title=La causa Saharaui y las mujeres: "siempre hemos sido muy libres"|publisher=Icaria Editorial|year=1998}}</ref>

Traditionally, women have played pivotal roles in Sahrawi culture, as well as in efforts to resist colonialism and foreign interference in their territory.<ref name="Lippert 636–651">{{Cite journal |last=Lippert|first= Anne|date=Spring 1992|title= Sahrawi Women in the Liberation Struggle of the Sahrawi People|jstor= 3174626|journal= Journal of Women in Culture and Society|publisher= The University of Chicago Press|volume= 17|issue= 3|pages= 636–651|doi=10.1086/494752|s2cid= 144819149}}</ref> Similar to other nomadic traditions on the African continent, Sahrawi women traditionally exercised significant power and roles both in the camp and in their tents.

Sahrawi women could inherit property, and subsist independently from their fathers, brothers, husbands, and other male relatives.<ref name="Lippert 636–651" /> Women were key for establishing alliances through marriage, being that the Sahrawi culture values monogamy, with their tribe and to others.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mohsen|first= Safia|date=Fall 1967|title= Legal Status of Women among the Awad'Ali'|publisher= Institute for Ethnographic Research |journal=Anthropological Quarterly |volume= 40|issue= 3|pages= 153–66}}</ref> Furthermore, Sahrawi women were endowed with major responsibility for the camp during long periods of absence by the men of the camp due to war or trade. Among the responsibilities women had were setting up, repairing, and moving the tents of the camp, and participating in major tribal decisions.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=de Chassey|first=Francis|title=L'etrier, la houe et le livre, societés traditionnelles au Sahara et au Sahel Occidental|journal=[[Archives de sciences sociales des religions]]|publisher=Editions Anthropos|year=1977|volume=48|issue=2|pages=267–268|url=http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/assr_0335-5985_1979_num_48_2_2199_t1_0267_0000_3}}</ref>

In the contemporary history of Western Sahara, women have occupied central roles and been highly represented in the political sphere.<ref name="López Belloso 159–76">{{Cite journal |last1=López Belloso|first1= María|last2= Mendia Azkue|first2= Irantzu|date= December 2009|title= Local Human Development in contexts of permanent crisis: Women's experiences in Western Sahara|journal= Journal of Disaster Risk Studies|publisher= JAMBA|volume= 2|issue= 3|pages= 159–76|doi=10.4102/jamba.v2i3.24|doi-access= free}}</ref> During Spanish colonial rule, Sahrawi women actively provided financial and physical support to the resistance movements during the 1930s, 1950s, and the late 1960s.<ref name="Lippert 636–651" /> In more official ways, women were consistently part of the Polisario Front, which in 1994 created the National Union of Sahrawi Women (NUSW).<ref name="López Belloso 159–76" /> The NUSW was structured at the local, regional, and national levels and concentrated on four areas: the occupied territories and emigration, information and culture, political and professional development, and foreign affairs.<ref name="López Belloso 159–76" />

=== Art and cultural expression ===
[[Sahara International Film Festival|FiSahara International Film Festival]] is an annual film festival that takes place in one of the southwestern refugee camps in Algeria.<ref>{{Cite news |last= Isaacson|first= Andy|date= 28 July 2009|title= A Desert Film Festival Complete with Camels|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/02/movies/02isaa.html?_r=0|newspaper= The New York Times|location= Dakhla Refugee Camp, Algeria|access-date= 16 March 2014}}</ref> At this event, actors, directors, and film industry insiders from around the world join the Sahrawi people for a week-long festival of screenings, parallel activities, and concerts. The festival provides entertainment and educational opportunities for Sahrawi refugees alongside cultural celebrations for visitors and spectators. It aims to raise awareness of the humanitarian crises in the refugee camps, and expose the Sahrawi people to this medium of art and expression.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web |url= http://www.festivalsahara.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=191&Itemid=186&lang=es/|title= FiSahara Film Festival|author=<!-- Staff writer(s); no by-line. --> |website= FiSahara International Film Festival|access-date=17 March 2014}}</ref>

Spanish filmmakers and actors, such as [[Javier Bardem]], [[Penélope Cruz]], and [[Pedro Almodóvar]] have supported and attended the festival. In 2013, the festival screened over 15 films from around the world including comedies, short films, animations, and documentaries. Some of the films were made by the refugees themselves.<ref name="auto" /> Art as embodied in film has been a strong and popular medium that Sahrawi youth have used to express themselves, and share their stories of conflict and exile.

ARTifariti, the International Art and Human Rights Meeting in Western Sahara, is an annual art workshop set up in the Liberated Zone and refugee camps, specifically in Tifariti, that brings artists from all over the world. This event led to the introduction of graffiti art to the camps, and popular graffiti artists have come to the workshop to work with refugees.<ref>{{Cite web|url= http://www.artifariti.org/en/about-artifariti|author= <!-- Staff writer(s); no by-line. -->|title= About ARTifariti|access-date= 17 March 2014|archive-date= 18 March 2014|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140318020841/http://www.artifariti.org/en/about-artifariti|url-status= dead}}</ref> One such artist was Spanish street artist MESA, who travelled to the Sahrawi refugee camps in 2011 and displayed his own graffiti throughout the landscape.<ref name="Abba">{{Cite news|last= Abba|first= Agaila|date= 17 February 2014|title= These artists are transforming the dreary environment of the Saharawi refugee camps|url= http://www.yourmiddleeast.com/culture/these-artists-are-transforming-the-dreary-environment-of-the-saharawi-refugee-camps_21663|access-date= 16 March 2014|archive-date= 24 February 2014|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140224034348/http://www.yourmiddleeast.com/culture/these-artists-are-transforming-the-dreary-environment-of-the-saharawi-refugee-camps_21663|url-status= dead}}</ref> His canvases of choice were destroyed walls, which he brought back to life through his art.

MESA inspired other Sahrawis to express themselves and embody their national struggle through art and graffiti. One such artist is Mohamed Sayad, a Sahrawi artist that has been transforming the refugee camp landscape by creating works of art amongst the devastation in camps that have existed for four decades.<ref name="Abba" /> His canvases, much like MESA, are walls that have been ruined by massive floods in the Sahrawi refugee camps in southwestern Algeria. Sayad's work tells a consistent story, one that draws on his experience of protracted conflict and a life under Moroccan occupation. Sayad's graffiti depicts aspects of Sahrawi culture and includes actual Sahrawi people as his subjects.<ref name="Abba" />

Poetry is a popular artform in Sahrawi culture, and is composed by both men and women.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Voices of a lost homeland: The poetry of Western Sahara|url=http://www.middleeasteye.net/discover/western-sahara-algeria-badi-poetry-exile|access-date=2 January 2021|website=Middle East Eye|language=en}}</ref> Notable poets include: [[Al Khadra Mabrook]], [[Hadjatu Aliat Swelm]], Beyibouh El Haj.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Settled wanderers |editor1=Berkson, Sam |editor2=Sulaymān, Muḥammad|year=2015|isbn=978-0-9927655-4-5|location=London |publisher=Influx Press |oclc=910977882}}</ref> Traditionally, Sahrawi poetry was performed and passed on orally: younger poets would undergo 'apprenticeships to more experienced ones, today the internet is a key way in which Sahrawi poetry is transmitted between and within generations'.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Deubel|first=Tara Flynn|date=1 March 2012|title=Poetics of diaspora: Sahrawi poets and postcolonial transformations of a trans-Saharan genre in northwest Africa|url=https://doi.org/10.1080/13629387.2011.610591|journal=The Journal of North African Studies|volume=17|issue=2|pages=295–314|doi=10.1080/13629387.2011.610591|s2cid=145103012|issn=1362-9387|url-access=subscription}}</ref> However Sahrawi poets find it difficult to be published, especially by Arabic publishers, due to the political nature of much of their output.<ref name=":0" />

== See also ==
{{Portal|Western Sahara|Geography}}
{{Div col|colwidth=25em}}
* [[Bibliography of Western Sahara]]
* [[List of cities in Western Sahara]]
* [[Music of Western Sahara]]
* [[Outline of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic]]
* [[Telecommunications in Western Sahara]]
* [[Transport in Western Sahara]]
* [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 1979]]
* [[List of states with limited recognition]]
* [[List of national border changes since World War I]]
{{Div col end}}
{{Clear}}

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
{{Sister project links|v=no|n=Category:Western Sahara|b=no|s=no|voy=Western Sahara|d=Q6250|q=no}}

{{Countries and territories of North Africa}}
{{Countries of Africa}}
{{SADR topics}}
{{States with limited recognition}}
{{Western Sahara topics}}
{{United Nations list of non-self-governing territories}}

{{Authority control}}
{{Coord|24|N|14|W|type:country|display=title}}

[[Category:Western Sahara| ]]
[[Category:Maghrebi countries]]
[[Category:Saharan countries]]
[[Category:Countries and territories where Arabic is an official language]]
[[Category:Disputed territories in Africa]]
[[Category:Territorial disputes of Morocco]]
[[Category:Former Spanish colonies]]
[[Category:Countries in Africa]]
[[Category:Countries and territories where Spanish is an official language]]