A UN Envoy’s Proposal for a Partition of Western Sahara is Rejected

By William Crawford

A United Nation’s Envoy has recently suggested a partition of the disputed territory of Western Sahara. The rightful authority in the former Spanish colony has long been in dispute since its listing by the United Nations as a “Non-Self-Governing Territory” in 1963. Since the end of Spanish rule in the territory, both Morocco and the pro-independence Polisario Front claim to be the rightful authority in Western Sahara. Both sides have rejected the idea of partition, which has been proposed previously. Morocco maintains a policy of non-negotiation in regard to what it considers to be its “Southern Provinces”. The Polisario Front similarly is unwilling to compromise on the matter, demanding self-determination for Sahrawis through a referendum. The majority of Western Sahara is currently administered by Morocco, with some areas around the borders of the territory under the control of the Polisario Front. The Polisario Front announced in 2020 that it would be returning to the use of armed conflict to advance the cause of Sahrawi independence. The Polisario Front currently runs out of refugee camps in neighboring countries, which are often sympathetic and provide aid to the Sahrawi independence group.

The conflict over Western Sahara has been fairly cool for some time. Morrocco maintains firm control over the majority of the territory and the Polisario Front seems incapable of dislodging Moroccan control. International recognition of the legitimate authority in Western Sahara is split. The United Nations officially considers the Polisario Front to be the legitimate representative of the Sahrawi people. The United States, Spain, and France have given approval to a Moroccan autonomy plan for the region. While the United States has taken the rare step of officially recognizing Moroccan sovereignty of Western Sahara, endorsement of the autonomy plan is seen as a de facto recognition of Moroccan claims. Moroccan friendliness with western states, as well as Western Sahara’s considerable phosphate deposits, has enticed European states like Spain and France to contradict the United Nations and the European Court of Justice to side with Morocco in this dispute.