Annexation of Western Sahara

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Territorial control in Western Sahara per the initial annexation in 1976 by Morocco and Mauritania Western Sahara situation January 1976 en.svg
Territorial control in Western Sahara per the initial annexation in 1976 by Morocco and Mauritania

The annexation of Western Sahara occurred in two stages: 1976 and 1979. Shortly after Spain gave up control over Spanish Sahara in 1975, both Mauritania and Morocco occupied the territory. On 14 April 1976, the two countries annexed it between themselves via the Western Sahara partition agreement. However, on 14 August 1979, Mauritania renounced all territorial claims to Western Sahara and withdrew its troops, prompting Morocco to extend its annexation to formerly Mauritanian-controlled areas. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Since World War II, it has been held in international law that any act of annexation is illegal. Likewise, the United Nations regards the Moroccan annexation of Western Sahara as null and void, such that the territory is not a legal part of Morocco and it remains subject to the international guidelines for a military occupation. [4]

As Morocco and the United States have had a close relationship since the former's independence, Morocco has enjoyed full American support throughout the Western Sahara conflict. [5] In exchange for the Israel–Morocco normalization agreement in 2020, the United States officially recognized Western Sahara as part of Morocco, and urged the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic to "negotiate a mutually acceptable solution" using Morocco's Western Sahara Autonomy Proposal as the only framework. In 2023, Israel formally recognized Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara. [6]

Background

As Spain began the process of decolonization of Western Sahara, a number of international bodies were asked to opine on the territories' status. The UN visiting mission to Spanish Sahara, carried out in May 1975, published their report on 15 October 1975. On the next day, on 16 October 1975, the International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on Western Sahara was published. Both reports supported a referendum of the people of Western Sahara; the ICJ report 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.

1975: start of the occupation

On 31 October 1975, Moroccan troops began an invasion of Western Sahara from the north. [7]

The Moroccan government’s Green March took place on 6 November 1975, in which 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.

The Madrid Accords were signed by Spain with Morocco and Mauritania on 14 November 1975. [8]

The Moroccan and Mauritanian annexations were resisted by the Polisario Front, primarily by guerrilla warfare, which had gained backing from Algeria. [9]

1976: annexation and partition

Following the occupation, on 14 April 1976, the Western Sahara partition agreement was signed to formalize the annexation and agree the borders between Morocco and Mauritania. Morocco annexed the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara as its Southern Provinces, and Mauritania annexed the southern third as Tiris al-Gharbiyya. [2] [3]

1979: Mauritanian withdrawal and Morocco further annexation

In 1979, Mauritania withdrew due to pressure from Polisario, including a bombardment of its capital and other economic targets.

On 14 August 1979, Morocco extended its control and annexed the rest of the territory. [2] [3]

Similar events

Armed Conflicts over "non-self-governing territories" in the Name of "Restoration of Inherent Territories". [10] [11] [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Sahara</span> Disputed territory in North-western Africa

Western Sahara is a disputed territory in North-western Africa. It has a surface area of 272,000 square kilometres (105,000 sq mi). Approximately 30% of the territory is controlled by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR); the remaining 70% is occupied and administered by neighboring Morocco. It is the most sparsely populated country in Africa and the second most sparsely populated country in the world, mainly consisting of desert flatlands. The population is estimated at 618,600. Nearly 40% of that population lives in Morocco-controlled Laayoune, the largest city of Western Sahara.

The history of Western Sahara can be traced back to the times of Carthaginian explorer Hanno the Navigator in the 5th century BC. Though few historical records are left from that period, Western Sahara's modern history has its roots linked to some nomadic groups such as the Sanhaja group, and the introduction of Islam and the Arabic language at the end of the 8th century AD.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Political status of Western Sahara</span>

Western Sahara, formerly the Spanish colony of Spanish Sahara, is a disputed territory claimed by both the Kingdom of Morocco and the Popular Front for the Liberation of the Saguia el Hamra and Rio de Oro, which is an independence movement based in Tifariti and Bir Lehlou. The Annexation of Western Sahara by Morocco took place in two stages, in 1976 and 1979, and is considered illegal under international law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polisario Front</span> Military and political organisation in Western Sahara

The Polisario Front, Frente Polisario, Frelisario or simply Polisario, is a Sahrawi nationalist liberation movement seeking to establish a Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic for the Sahrawi people through the means of self-determination and armed resistance in the disputed territory of Western Sahara.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spanish Sahara</span> Former Spanish colony and province

Spanish Sahara, officially the Spanish Possessions in the Sahara from 1884 to 1958, then Province of the Sahara between 1958 and 1976, was the name used for the modern territory of Western Sahara when it was occupied and ruled by Spain between 1884 and 1976. It had been one of the most recent acquisitions as well as one of the last remaining holdings of the Spanish Empire, which had once extended from the Americas to the Spanish East Indies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green March</span> 1975 military event

The Green March was a strategic mass demonstration in November 1975, coordinated by the Moroccan government and military, to force Spain to hand over the disputed, autonomous semi-metropolitan province of Spanish Sahara to Morocco. The Spanish government was preparing to abandon the territory as part of the decolonization of Africa, just as it had granted independence to Equatorial Guinea in 1968. The native inhabitants, the Sahrawi people, aspired to form an independent state. The demonstration of some 350,000 Moroccans advanced several kilometers into the Western Sahara territory. Morocco later gained control of most of the former Spanish Sahara, which it continues to hold.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madrid Accords</span> 1975 treaty between Spain, Morocco, and Mauritania to end Spanish presence in the Sahara

The Madrid Accords, formally the Declaration of Principles on Western Sahara, was a treaty between Spain, Morocco, and Mauritania setting out six principles which would end the Spanish presence in the territory of Spanish Sahara and arrange a temporary administration in the area pending a referendum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Provinces</span> Term used by Morocco for Western Sahara

The Southern Provinces or Moroccan Sahara are the terms used by the Moroccan government to refer to the occupied territory of Western Sahara. These designations encompass the entirety of Western Sahara, which spans three of Morocco's 12 top-level administrative regions. The term "Southern Provinces" is frequently used on Moroccan state television.

<i>Advisory opinion on Western Sahara</i> 1975 ICJ advisory body on Western Sahara

The International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on Western Sahara was a 1975 advisory, non-binding opinion by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) of two questions presented to it by the UN General Assembly under Resolution 3292 regarding the disputed territory of Western Sahara. Morocco had approached the UN to adjudicate its and Mauritania's claims over the territory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tiris al-Gharbiyya</span> Area of Western Sahara

Tiris al-Gharbiyya was the name for the area of Western Sahara under Mauritanian control between 1975 and 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Sahara conflict</span> Armed conflict between Morocco and the Polisario Front

The Western Sahara conflict is an ongoing conflict between the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic/Polisario Front and the Kingdom of Morocco. The conflict originated from an insurgency by the Polisario Front against Spanish colonial forces from 1973 to 1975 and the subsequent Western Sahara War against Morocco between 1975 and 1991. Today the conflict is dominated by unarmed civil campaigns of the Polisario Front and their self-proclaimed SADR state to gain fully recognized independence for Western Sahara.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Politics of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic</span>

The politics of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic refers to politics of the Polisario Front's proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, a country in North Africa with limited recognition by other states, controlling parts of the Western Sahara region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Sahara War</span> 1975–1991 armed conflict between Morocco and the Polisario Front

The Western Sahara War was an armed struggle between the Sahrawi indigenous Polisario Front and Morocco from 1975 to 1991, being the most significant phase of the Western Sahara conflict. The conflict erupted after the withdrawal of Spain from the Spanish Sahara in accordance with the Madrid Accords, by which it transferred administrative control of the territory to Morocco and Mauritania, but not sovereignty. In late 1975, the Moroccan government organized the Green March of some 350,000 Moroccan citizens, escorted by around 20,000 troops, who entered Western Sahara, trying to establish a Moroccan presence. While at first met with just minor resistance by the Polisario Front, Morocco later engaged a long period of guerrilla warfare with the Sahrawi nationalists. During the late 1970s, the Polisario Front, desiring to establish an independent state in the territory, attempted to fight both Mauritania and Morocco. In 1979, Mauritania withdrew from the conflict after signing a peace treaty with the Polisario Front. The war continued in low intensity throughout the 1980s, though Morocco made several attempts to take the upper hand in 1989–1991. A cease-fire agreement was finally reached between the Polisario Front and Morocco in September 1991. Some sources put the final death toll between 10,000 and 20,000 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1970s in Morocco</span>

In the 1970s in Morocco, after two coup attempts in 1971 and 1972, the patriotism engendered by Morocco's participation in the Middle East conflict and by the events in Western Sahara contributed to Hassan's popularity and strengthened his hand politically despite serious domestic turmoil. The king had dispatched Moroccan troops to the Sinai front after the outbreak of Arab-Israeli War in October 1973. Although they arrived too late to engage in hostilities, the action won Morocco goodwill among other Arab states. Shortly thereafter, the attention of the government turned to the annexation of then Spanish Sahara from Spain, an issue on which all major domestic parties agreed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sahrawi nationality law</span>

Sahrawi nationality law is the law of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic's (SADR) governing nationality and citizenship. The SADR is a partially recognized state which claims sovereignty over the entire territory of Western Sahara, but only administers part of it. The SADR also administers Sahrawi refugee camps.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Mauritania (1960–1978)</span>

Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is an Arab Maghreb country in West Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, by Morocco in the north, by Algeria in the northeast, by Mali in the east and southeast, and by Senegal in the southwest. It is named after the ancient Berber Kingdom of Mauretania, which later became a province of the Roman Empire, even though the modern Mauritania covers a territory far to the south of the old Berber kingdom that had no relation with it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Annexation</span> Concept in political science

Annexation, in international law, is the forcible acquisition and assertion of legal title over one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. In current international law, it is generally held to be an illegal act. Annexation is a unilateral act where territory is seized and held by one state, as distinct from the complete conquest of another country, and differs from cession, in which territory is given or sold through treaty.

The Western Sahara peace process refers to the international efforts to resolve the Western Sahara conflict. The conflict has failed so far to result in permanent peace between Morocco and the Polisario Front. The standing issues of the peace process include Sahrawi refugees, and human rights in Western Sahara.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sahrawi nationalism</span> Ideology supporting indigenous rule of Western Sahara

Sahrawi nationalism is a political ideology that seeks self-determination of the Sahrawi people, the indigenous population of Western Sahara. It has historically been represented by the Polisario Front. It came as a reaction against Spanish colonialist policies imposed from 1958 on, and subsequently in reaction to the Mauritanian and Moroccan invasions of 1975.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morocco–Western Sahara border</span> International border

The Morocco–Western Sahara border is 444 kilometres (276 mi) in length and runs from Atlantic Ocean in the west, to the tripoint with Algeria in the east. The border has existed purely in a de jure sense since Morocco's annexation of Western Sahara in 1976–1979.

References

  1. ADRIANA KALICKA-MIKOŁAJCZYK, The international legal status of Western Sahara, Trimestral, vol. 18, no. 4, 2020
  2. 1 2 3 Greenwood, C.; Lee, K. (2019). International Law Reports. International Law Reports. Cambridge University Press. p. 370. ISBN   978-1-108-47358-3 . Retrieved 2022-03-08.
  3. 1 2 3 French, D. (2013). Statehood and Self-Determination: Reconciling Tradition and Modernity in International Law. Cambridge University Press. pp. 259–260. ISBN   978-1-107-02933-0 . Retrieved 2022-03-08.
  4. Simon, Sven (2014). "Western Sahara". Self-Determination and Secession in International Law. OUP Oxford. p. 262. ISBN   978-0-19-100691-3 . Retrieved 2022-03-08. To sum up the legal status: Western Sahara is not a part of Morocco and Morocco has no legal title or claim to the territory. Since the annexation is illegal, it is null and void, and Morocco is therefore, legally speaking, an occupying power. Morocco has an obligation to respect the right of the people of Western Sahara according to the law of occupation and to end its illegal annexation and occupation of Western Sahara.
  5. Mundy, Jacob (2006). "Neutrality or complicity? The United States and the 1975 Moroccan takeover of the Spanish Sahara". The Journal of North African Studies. 11 (3). Informa UK Limited: 275–306. doi:10.1080/13629380600803001. ISSN   1362-9387. S2CID   145455013.
  6. "Israel recognizes Moroccan sovereignty over Sahara". HESPRESS English - Morocco News. 2023-07-17. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
  7. János, Besenyő (2009). Western Sahara (PDF). Pécs: Publikon Publishers. ISBN   978-963-88332-0-4.
  8. Tomás Bárbulo, "La historia prohibida del Sáhara Español," Destino, Imago mundi, Volume 21, 2002, Page 292
  9. "Algeria Claims Spanish Sahara Is Being Invaded". The Monroe News-Star. 1 January 1976. Retrieved 19 October 2016 via Newspapers.com.
  10. "The annexation of Goa" . Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  11. "Spain's forgotten African war of 1957". elnacional.
  12. "The central ceremony of the Malvinas war 36th anniversary is held in Ushuaia". MercoPress.