Western Sahara dispute

Western Sahara dispute

Subject: International relations

Section: Mapping

Context:

• Algeria announced that it was immediately suspending its 20-year-old treaty of “friendship, good neighbourliness, and co-operation” with Spain.
• The blow to the ties came after Spain decided to shift its position on the Western Sahara dispute.

What is the Western Sahara dispute?

• The dispute started with colonisation of the region by Spain in 1884.
• When Spain announced its withdrawal from Western Sahara in 1975, the region descended into a conflict between Mauritania, Morocco and the Polisario Front – with all three trying to control the region.
  • The Polisario Front declared the establishment of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) in Western Sahara on the very day Spain left.
  • However, the SADR did not get Western recognition despite going on to become a member of the African Union.
• The matter then came up before the International Court of Justice in 1975 itself, and the court decided neither Morocco nor Mauritania could claim sovereignty over Western Sahara.
• The ICJ called for decolonization of the region. Notwithstanding the ICJ’s decision, the Moroccan Sultan began the “Green March” towards Western Sahara causing an influx of thousands of Moroccans in the region.
• The Polisario Front kept fighting both Morocco and Mauritania.
  • The Front signed a ceasefire with Mauritania in 1979.
  • The fighting with Morocco continued and finally ended when both Morocco and the Polisario Front agreed to a UN-proposed peace deal.
• Post this 1991 Agreement, Morocco controls about 80 per cent of the Western Sahara, with the Polisario Front-led SADR operating primarily from the eastern flank of the region and from refugee camps in Algeria.
• The Front continues to push for complete independence with support from Algeria. Algeria has been a committed supporter of the Polisario Front, after it recognized the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic in 1976.