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.
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.
The Arab Maghreb Union (AMU) is a political union and economic union trade agreement aiming for economic and future political unity among Arab countries that are located primarily in the Maghreb in North Africa. Its members are the nations of Algeria,Libya,Mauritania,Morocco and Tunisia. The Union has been unable to achieve tangible progress on its goals due to deep economic and political disagreements between Morocco and Algeria regarding,among others,the issue of Western Sahara. No high-level meetings have taken place since 3 July 2008,and commentators regard the Union as largely dormant.
Ahmad Allam-Mi is a Chadian diplomat who has been Secretary-General of the Economic Community of Central African States since 2013. He was the Foreign Minister of Chad from 2005 to 2008,and he was Chad's Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 2008 to 2013.
Dah Ould Abdi is a Mauritanian diplomat who was Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation from 2001 to 2002.
Mauritania,officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania,is a sovereign country in Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west,Western Sahara to the north and northwest,Algeria to the northeast,Mali to the east and southeast,and Senegal to the southwest. By land area,Mauritania is the 11th-largest country in Africa and the 28th-largest in the world,and 90% of its territory is situated in the Sahara. Most of its population of approximately 4.3 million lives in the temperate south of the country,with roughly one-third concentrated in the capital and largest city,Nouakchott,located on the Atlantic coast.
Atul Khare is a career international diplomat and civil servant who currently serves as Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations in UN Department of Operational Support and previously as Under Secretary General in United Nations Department of Field Support and Assistant Secretary General for UN Peacekeeping Operations.
The United Nations Educational,Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education,arts,sciences and culture. It has 194 member states and 12 associate members,as well as partners in the non-governmental,intergovernmental and private sector. Headquartered in Paris,France,UNESCO has 53 regional field offices and 199 national commissions.
Ruchira Kamboj is an Indian Foreign Service officer of the 1987 batch,who currently serves as India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations since August 2022. She has previously served as High Commissioner of India to South Africa,First female Indian Ambassador to Bhutan and Ambassador/Permanent Representative of India to UNESCO,Paris. She was the All India women's topper of the 1987 Civil Services batch and the topper of the 1987 Foreign Service batch.
The 2020–2024 Western Saharan clashes,also called the Guerguerat crisis,Moroccan military intervention in Guerguerat or Second Western Sahara War,is an armed conflict between the Kingdom of Morocco and the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR),represented at the United Nations by the Polisario Front,in the disputed region of Western Sahara. It was the latest escalation of an unresolved conflict over the region,which is largely occupied by Morocco,but 20–25% is administered by the SADR. The violence ended a ceasefire between the opposing sides that had held for 29 years in anticipation of a referendum of self-determination that would have settled the dispute. Despite the establishment of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara in 1991,the referendum was never held.
CisséMint Cheikh Ould Boide is a Mauritanian designated as Mauritania’s Ambassador to the United States in March 2021. Former permanent representative to the United Nations Educational,Scientific and Cultural Organisation UNESCO in Paris and former Minister of Culture,Youth and Sports in Mauritania.
