1.
United Nations Security Council
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The Security Council held its first session on 17 January 1946. Like the UN as a whole, the Security Council was created following World War II to address the failings of an international organization. The Security Council consists of fifteen members, the great powers that were the victors of World War II—the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, France, Republic of China, and the United States—serve as the bodys five permanent members. These permanent members can veto any substantive Security Council resolution, including those on the admission of new member states or candidates for Secretary-General, the Security Council also has 10 non-permanent members, elected on a regional basis to serve two-year terms. The bodys presidency rotates monthly among its members, Security Council resolutions are typically enforced by UN peacekeepers, military forces voluntarily provided by member states and funded independently of the main UN budget. As of 2016,103,510 peacekeeping soldiers and 16,471 civilians are deployed on 16 peacekeeping operations and 1 special political mission. Following the catastrophic loss of life in World War I, the Paris Peace Conference established the League of Nations to maintain harmony between the nations, the earliest concrete plan for a new world organization began under the aegis of the US State Department in 1939. The term United Nations was first officially used when 26 governments signed this Declaration, by 1 March 1945,21 additional states had signed. The most contentious issue at Dumbarton and in successive talks proved to be the rights of permanent members. At the conference, H. V. Evatt of the Australian delegation pushed to further restrict the power of Security Council permanent members. Due to the fear that rejecting the strong veto would cause the conferences failure, the UN officially came into existence on 24 October 1945 upon ratification of the Charter by the five then-permanent members of the Security Council and by a majority of the other 46 signatories. On 17 January 1946, the Security Council met for the first time at Church House, Westminster, in London, United Kingdom. The Security Council was largely paralysed in its early decades by the Cold War between the US and USSR and their allies, and the Council generally was only able to intervene in unrelated conflicts. Cold War divisions also paralysed the Security Councils Military Staff Committee, the committee continued to exist on paper but largely abandoned its work in the mid-1950s. By the 1970s, the UN budget for social and economic development was far greater than its budget for peacekeeping. After the Cold War, the UN saw an expansion in its peacekeeping duties. Between 1988 and 2000, the number of adopted Security Council resolutions more than doubled, undersecretary-General Brian Urquhart later described the hopes raised by these successes as a false renaissance for the organization, given the more troubled missions that followed. In 1994, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda failed to intervene in the Rwandan Genocide in the face of Security Council indecision, in the late 1990s, UN-authorised international interventions took a wider variety of forms
2.
Western Sahara conflict
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The Western Sahara conflict is an ongoing conflict between the Polisario Front and the Kingdom of Morocco. The conflict is the continuation of the past insurgency by Polisario against the Spanish colonial forces in 1973–75, 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. The conflict escalated after the withdrawal of Spain from the Spanish Sahara in accordance with the Madrid Accords, beginning in 1975, the Polisario Front, backed and supported by Algeria, waged a 16-year-long war for independence against Mauritania and Morocco. In 1977, France intervened, as the conflict reached its peak intensity, in 1979, Mauritania withdrew from the conflict and territories, leading to a stalemate through most of the 1980s. After several more engagements between 1989 and 1991, a agreement was reached between the Polisario Front and the Moroccan government. At present, these borders are largely unchanged, in late 2010, the protests re-erupted in the Gdeim Izik refugee camp in Western Sahara. While the protests were peaceful, they were later marked by clashes between civilians and security forces, resulting in dozens of casualties on both sides. Though sporadic demonstrations continue, the movement had subsided by May 2011. In 1884 Spain claimed a protectorate over the coast from Cape Bojador to Cap Blanc, later, the Spanish extended their area of control. In 1958 Spain merged the separate districts of Saguia el-Hamra. Raids and rebellions by the indigenous Sahrawi population kept the Spanish forces out of much of the Spanish-claimed territory for a long time, ma al-Aynayn died in October 1910, and his son El Hiba succeeded him. El Hibas forces were defeated during a campaign to conquer Marrakesh. The city was rebuilt, and Sahrawi resistance continued for the following twenty years. The rebellious territory was subdued in 1934, after joint Spanish. In 1956 the Ifni War, initiated by the Moroccan Army of Liberation, marked renewed conflict in the region, however, unrest lingered among the regions population, and in 1967 the Harakat Tahrir arose to challenge Spanish rule peacefully. In 1971 a group of young Sahrawi students in the universities of Morocco began organizing what came to be known as The Embryonic Movement for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra, as a result of this ambivalence, the movement eventually relocated to Spanish-controlled Western Sahara to start an armed rebellion. Women in Western Sahara are prominent members of the Polisario Front as soldiers, the Polisario Front was formally constituted on 10 May 1973 in the Mauritanian city of Zouirate, with the express intention of militarily forcing an end to Spanish colonization. Its first Secretary General was El-Ouali Mustapha Sayed, on 20 May he led the Khanga raid, the Polisarios first armed action, in which a Spanish post manned by a team of Tropas Nomadas was overrun and a cache of rifles seized
3.
Spanish Sahara
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Spanish Sahara was the name used for the modern territory of Western Sahara when it was occupied and ruled as a territory by Spain between 1884 and 1975. It had been one of the most recent acquisitions of the Spanish Empire, as well as one of its last remaining holdings, Spain gave up its Saharan possession following Moroccan demands and international pressure, mainly from United Nations resolutions regarding decolonisation. There was internal pressure from the native Sahrawi population and the claims of Morocco, Mauritania also claimed the territory for a number of years based on its history, and then dropped all claims. In 1991 the UN negotiated a ceasefire, and has tried to arrange negotiations, Morocco controls the entire Atlantic coast and most of the landmass, population, and natural resources of Western Sahara. Before and during the Spanish occupation, the territory was inhabited by Saharan Arabs who lived in many oases and they worked mainly in fishing and camel herding. They speak Hassaniya language, a Bedouin Arabic dialect, there is some dispute and ambiguity about whether the territory was under Moroccan royal sovereignty at the time when the Spanish claimed it in 1884. It officially informed the other powers in writing on 14 January 1885 and it began establishing trading posts and a military presence. In July 1885, the king appointed Emilio Bonelli commissioner of the Río de Oro with civil, on 6 April 1887, it was incorporated into the Captaincy General of the Canary Islands for military purposes. At the time, geographers had not mapped the territory and its features were not widely known and their trek is considered the first scientific expedition in that part of the Sahara. In 1886, Spain signed the Treaty of Idjil by which the emirate of Adrar ceded the land of the colony to Spain, the borders of the territory were not clearly defined until treaties between Spain and France in the early 20th century. Spanish Sahara was created from the Spanish territories of Río de Oro and it was not part of the areas known as Spanish Morocco and was administered separately from them. On entering the territory in 1884, Spain was immediately challenged by stiff resistance from the indigenous Sahrawi tribes, a 1904 rebellion led by the powerful Smara-based marabout, Shaykh Ma al-Aynayn, was put down by France in 1910, which ruled neighboring Algeria. This was followed by a wave of uprisings under Ma al-Aynayns sons, grandsons, tribal uprisings meant that Spain found it difficult to control parts of the territorys large hinterland until 1934. After gaining independence in 1956, Morocco laid claim on Spanish Sahara as part of its historic pre-colonial territory, in 1957, the Moroccan Army of Liberation nearly occupied the small territory of Sidi-Ifni, north of Spanish Sahara, during the Ifni War. The Spanish sent a regiment of paratroopers from the nearby Canary Islands and were able to repel the attacks, with the assistance of the French, Spain soon re-established control in the area through Operaciones Teide-Ecoubillon. It tried to suppress resistance politically and it forced some of the previously nomadic inhabitants of Spanish Sahara to settle in certain areas, and the rate of urbanization was increased. In the same year, Spain united the territories of Saguia el Hamra and Río de Oro to form the province of Spanish Sahara, while ceding the provinces of Tarfaya, in the 1960s, Morocco continued to claim Spanish Sahara. It gained agreement by the United Nations to add the territory to the list of territories to be decolonized, in 1969, Spain returned Ifni to Morocco, but continued to retain Spanish Sahara
4.
Greater Morocco
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Current usage most frequently occurs in a critical context accusing Morocco, largely in discussing the disputed Western Sahara, of irredentist claims on neighbouring territories. Irredentists, official and unofficial Moroccan claims on territories viewed by Moroccans as having been some form of Moroccan sovereignty are rhetorically tied back to an accused expansionism. However, Moroccan government claims make no current reference to the greater Morocco concept, in 1963, following the Independence of Algeria, Morocco attacked a strip of its south-western regions, claiming that parts of them were previously under Moroccan sovereignty. After a month of fighting and some hundreds of casualties, the conflict stalemated and this was initially not supported by the Sultan of Morocco. Al-Fassis ambitions gained more support in parliament in the beginning of the sixties, al-Fassis wider claims were effectively abandoned in the later sixties, although Morocco claims Western Sahara and the Spanish plazas de soberanía on its northern coast. Moroccos refusal to accept its post-colonial borders in the case of Western Sahara has put it on a course with the African Union. As a consequence, Morocco is the only African country to step out of the union, because the Polisario Front, on July 11,2002 a group of Moroccan soldiers set up base on the islet. After protests from the Spanish government, led by José María Aznar, on the morning of July 18,2002 Spain launched a full-scale military operation to take over the island
5.
Greater Mauritania
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Greater Mauritania is a term for the Mauritanian irredentist claim to Western Sahara, and possibly other Moorish or Sahrawi-populated areas of the western Sahara desert. The term was first used by Mauritanias first president, Mokhtar Ould Daddah, in 1957, Ould Daddah stated I therefore call on our brothers in the Spanish Sahara to dream of this economic and spiritual Greater Mauritania of which we cannot speak at present. I address to them and I ask you to repeat to them a message of friendship, both areas had been part of the premodern Bilad Chinguetti, the Land of Chinguetti, a religious center in contemporary Mauritania. The claim to the Spanish Sahara was again popularized by the regime in the early 1970s, the idea helped build unity at home, and to hold back Moroccan expansionism. The Mauritanian portion of the territory, corresponding to the half of Río de Oro. The takeover was violently opposed by an indigenous independence movement, the Polisario Front. The ensuing war went badly for Mauritania, and Ould Daddahs government fell in 1978, the country left Tiris al-Gharbiyya the following year, renouncing all claims to any part of Western Sahara, and recognizing the Polisario Front as its peoples legitimate representative. Relations with Rabat deteriorated rapidly, and amid allegations of Moroccan backing for attempted coups and minor armed clashes, Mauritania drew closer to Algeria, the government later established formal relations with the Fronts government-in-exile, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, as a recognized sovereign over the territory. The vision of Greater Mauritania holds little appeal in todays Mauritania, while still recognizing the Sahrawi republic, Mauritania has largely mended relations with Morocco and now generally seeks to stay out of the Western Sahara dispute, which remains unresolved. History of Western Sahara Greater Morocco Irredentism Douglas E. Ashford, Johns Hopkins University, The Irredentist Appeal in Morocco and Mauritania, The Western Political Quarterly, Vol.15, tony Hodges, Western Sahara, The Roots of a Desert War, Lawrence Hill Books. John Mercer, Spanish Sahara, George Allen & Unwid Ltd. Jacob Mundy, how the US and Morocco seized Western Sahara. Zekeria Ould Ahmed Salem, Mauritania, A Saharan Frontier State, Journal of North Africa Studies, Vol.10, anthony G. Pazzanita, Historical Dictionary of Mauritania, 2nd ed, Scarecrow Press. Anthony G. Pazzanita, Historical Dictionary of Western Sahara, 3rd ed, C. R. Pennell, Morocco since 1830. A History, New York University Press, virginia Thompson and Richard Adloff, The Western Saharans. Background to Conflict, Barnes & Noble Books
6.
Polisario Front
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It is an observer member of the Socialist International. The United Nations considers the Polisario Front to be the representative of the Sahrawi people. The Polisario Front is outlawed in the parts of Western Sahara under Moroccan control and they called themselves the Constituent Congress of the Polisario Front. Its first Secretary General was El-Ouali Mustapha Sayed, on 20 May, the new organization attacked El-Khanga, where there was a Spanish post manned by a team of Tropas Nomadas was overrun and rifles seized. At this point, Polisarios manpower included perhaps 800 men and women, with Algerias help, Polisario set up headquarters in Tindouf. Upon Spains withdrawal, and in application of the Madrid Accords in 1976, the Polisario Front proclaimed the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic on 27 February 1976, and waged a guerrilla war against both Morocco and Mauritania. The World Court at The Hague had issued its verdict on the former Spanish colony just weeks before, for the next two years the movement grew tremendously as Sahrawi refugees continued flocking to the camps and Algeria and Libya supplied arms and funding. Within months, its army had expanded to several thousand armed fighters, camels were replaced by modern jeeps, the reorganized army was able to inflict severe damage through guerrilla-style hit-and-run attacks against opposing forces in Western Sahara and in Morocco and Mauritania proper. A comprehensive peace treaty was signed on 5 August 1979, in which the new government recognized Sahrawi rights to Western Sahara, Mauritania withdrew all its forces and would later proceed to formally recognize the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, causing a massive rupture in relations with Morocco. King Hassan II of Morocco immediately claimed the area of Western Sahara evacuated by Mauritania, a cease-fire between the Polisario Front and Morocco, monitored by MINURSO, has been in effect since 6 September 1991, on the promise of a referendum on independence the following year. However, the referendum stalled over disagreements on voter rights, numerous attempts to restart the process seem to have failed. The Polisario has repeatedly threatened to resume if a referendum cannot be held. Pressures on the leadership from the population to resume fighting are apparent. The project was presented to the United Nations Security Council in mid-April 2007 and this led to the negotiations process known as the Manhasset negotiations. Four rounds were held in 2007 and 2008, no progress was made, however, Polisario agreed to add autonomy as per the Moroccan proposal to a referendum ballot, but refused to relinquish the concept of an independence referendum itself, as agreed in 1991 and 1997. Morocco, in its turn, insisted on negotiating the terms of autonomy offered. The Polisario is first and foremost a nationalist organization, whose goal is the independence of Western Sahara. It has stated that ideological disputes should be left for a future democratic Western Sahara to deal with and it views itself as a front encompassing all political trends in Sahrawi society, and not as a political party
7.
Sahrawi National Union Party
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Partido de Unión Nacional Saharaui was a short-lived political party set up by Francoist Spain to rally indigenous support in its rebellious Spanish Sahara colony. The PUNS was created in late 1974 as the Partido Revolucionario Progresivo and it was composed mainly of members of the Djemaa, a tribalist political body set up for similar purposes in the 1950s. Its flag is based on the Spanish flag for the Ifni-Sahara maritime province, PUNS was during its time the only legal party within the territory of Francoist Spain, except the ruling Falange Española. PUNS was allowed to send delegates to the Cortes in Madrid and it had no decision making powers, and was more an instrument of the military governors in Western Sahara. Its leaders and creators, Khellihenna Ould Errachid and Dueh Sidna Naucha, the partys political program was supportive of Spain, and changed according to the rapid evolution of Spanish policy. In first months of its existence, its activity mainly consisted of statements denouncing the Polisario Front. PUNS also advocated independence as a distant goal to be preceded by autonomy within Spain, many members were also present at the Ain Ben Tili and Guelta Zemmur conferences, although not as representatives of the party, but rather of the Djemaa or their tribal groupings. In addition to this, Polisario remained distrustful, and did not accept the demand of PUNS leaders to form a political front while preserving the partys internal structure. El-Ouali instead insisted that the PUNS dissolve itself and that its supporters could join the Polisario Front as regular members, on July 6,1975, the first clashes between PUNS and Polisario membership took place in El Aaiun, with several wounded. The night before, the PUNS offices in Smara were burned by POLISARIO members, as Morocco and Mauritania invaded in November 1975, after the Madrid Accords, Spain abandoned PUNS, and what little remained of the party instantly collapsed. Its membership dispersed, many were away in the refugee exodus to Tindouf, Algeria. Dueh Sidina Naucha went to Spain in 1975, in 1987 he surprisingly reappeared in the Liberated Territories during a UN technical visiting mission. He declared that though not a Polisario member, he is a Sahrawi. Naucha added that after the Green March our 20,000 militants integrated the POLISARIO and he now lives in the Canary Islands. A very small number of activists went to Mauritania, supporting the Ould Daddah governments claims on the territory until its collapse in 1978. Tony Hodges, Western Sahara, The Roots of a Desert War, Lawrence Hill Books Anthony G. Pazzanita and Tony Hodges, Historical Dictionary of Western Sahara, Scarecrow Press
8.
Southern Provinces
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The Southern Provinces or Moroccan Sahara are the terms used by the Moroccan government for Western Sahara. These two official Moroccan denominations explicitly include all of Western Sahara, the Moroccan government favours Southern Provinces for its geographical obviousness, and because of the sensitivity of the word Sahara in Morocco. The Polisario Front controls the remaining fifth, which is isolated from the ocean, mostly empty of any population, dry, the two thirds of Western Sahara that are controlled by Morocco are treated by the government as normal Moroccan territory. Morocco then seized the opportunity and took control of the part of Río de Oro as well. Since a United Nations-sponsored ceasefire agreement in 1991, about two thirds of the territory is administered by Morocco, including all the seacoasts, due to the construction of the Moroccan Wall, the Polisario Front controls most of the remainder, which is almost unpopulated. Polisarios army is considered incapable of covering the vast one-third of Western Sahara, moreover, most of Polisarios army is thought to be concentrated in the Tinduf area inside Algeria, safe from the long arm of Moroccos superior artillery and air force. The cease-fire line corresponds to the route of the weaponized Moroccan Wall, both sides claim the territory of Western Sahara in its entirety. The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic had been recognized by 84 nations, and is a member of the African Union. Moroccan territorial integrity is implicitly recognized by the Arab League with strong reservations from Algeria and Syria, administratively, Morocco divided the territory under its control into administrative units. Flags and coats of arms were created for the three wilayas of Boujdour, Smara and Laayoune, there were further changes in the territories in 1983, with the area becoming four wilayas through the addition of Dakhla. In 1990 Wadi al-Dhahab was added, Morocco has assigned a special satellite TV channel for the Southern Provinces, called Laayoun TV. Following the 1975 Green March, the Moroccan state has sponsored settlement schemes enticing thousands of Moroccans to move into the Moroccan-occupied part of Western Sahara, by 2015, it was estimated that Moroccan settlers made up at least two thirds of the 500,000 inhabitants
9.
Tiris al-Gharbiyya
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Tiris al-Gharbiyya was the name for the area of Western Sahara under Mauritanian control between 1975 and 1979. Mauritania annexed the southern third of the former Spanish colony of Spanish Sahara in 1975 after the Madrid Accords, the latter was the preferred option of the Polisario Front, a Sahrawi organization which turned its guerrilla forces against both countries, having until then fought Spain. Its attacks against Mauritania proved highly effective, in 1978, the one-party government of Moktar Ould Daddah was severely compromised by the failing war effort, and fell to a coup by disgruntled army officers. Mauritania then disengaged from the conflict, surrendering its claims to any part of Western Sahara, the areas occupied by Mauritania were entered by Morocco, which has since claimed ownership over the entire territory, despite continued opposition by Polisario, and its main backer, Algeria. Mauritanian president Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla in 1984 proceeded to recognize the Polisario-backed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic as the sovereign of the area. After his toppling in yet another military coup détat later the same year, Western Tiris was the lower half of Río de Oro, the southern province of the former Spanish Sahara, comprising 88,000 km² with a population of 12,897. It consisted mostly of desert terrain, scarcely populated except by some thousands of Sahrawi nomads. A few minor settlements dotted the coast, and the largest of these and it remains mostly unexplored and unexploited to this day. The exception is the rich Atlantic fishing waters and they were never put to use by Mauritania, but have since been fished by Morocco and foreign ships under Moroccan licenses. The name Tiris refers to a plain of the Sahara. Mauritanias northernmost province is similarly called Tiris Zemmour, where Zemmour refers to a range in central Western Sahara. The Ould Daddah governments claims to the territory was based in the cultural and tribal ties between the Moorish inhabitants of Mauritania, and the tribes of Western Sahara. The government argued they were all part of the same people, but it also recognized that there had never been a Mauritanian state to claim the territory, since Mauritania itself was a modern-day creation of French colonialism. Instead, it recommended a standard self-determination process where Sahrawis were given the choice of merger with Mauritania and/or Morocco, in later years, the Mauritanian government has maintained a policy of strict neutrality between Polisario and Morocco, while retaining its recognition of the SADR. Minor parts of the Mauritanian political opposition will occasionally express interest in the area, other groups support either Polisario or Morocco. Free Zone History of Western Sahara History of Mauritania Regions of Mauritania Southern Provinces
10.
Free Zone (region)
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For Morocco, it is a buffer territory. The area is separated from the rest of the Western Sahara territory by a 2,200 kilometer -long wall. flanked by one of the worlds largest minefields, the border is often referred to as the Berm. The zone was established as a Polisario-held zone in a 1991 cease-fire between the Polisario Front and Morocco, which had agreed upon together as part of the Settlement Plan. Morocco controls the areas west of the Berm, including most of the territorys population, the cease-fire is overseen by the United Nations MINURSO forces, charged with peacekeeping in the area and the organization of a referendum on independence. The status of Western Sahara is hotly disputed between Polisario and Morocco, and this includes the names used to refer to areas under the control of the different sides and this zone serves as a division-of-forces no-mans land. Areas outside this zone are open to activity by the side that controls them, similarly, Polisario call the areas a liberated territory or the free zone, but this is not an official designation. The UN calls it simply east of the Berm, and refers to territories under Moroccan control as west of the Berm, according to the Settlement Plan, the movement of Polisario fighters is restricted similarly to how Moroccan forces face restrictions on their side of the Berm. Each of the five parts has specific restrictions as for the two parties military activities, Buffer Strip, No entry of RMA and FPOL personnel and equipment, No firing of weapons in or over the area. Restricted Areas, No firing of weapons and/or military training exercises, some exceptions apply and some activities are allowed after prior information to or approval by MINURSO. MINURSO need to be informed if the parties intend to conduct military exercises, the population of the territory east of the Wall is estimated to be between 30,000 -40,000 inhabitants. By comparison, it is estimated that 500,000 inhabitants live west of the Wall, following the 1975 Green March, the Moroccan state has sponsored settlement schemes enticing thousands of Moroccans to move into the Moroccan-occupied part. The major settlements on the zone are Tifariti, Bir Lehlou, Agounit, Meharrize, Mijek, Dougaj, access is difficult even for Sahrawis due to the harsh climate of the Sahara, the military conflict and the abundance of land mines. The area is inhabited primarily by Sahrawi nomads, that maintain the traditional camel herding of their ancestors, there is also a small merchant population, who sell goods to travellers. The total size of the Polisarios guerrilla army present in area is unknown. Some sources claim between 3, 000–6,000 men, while others rise the number up to 12,000 and these forces are dug into permanent positions, such as gun emplacements, defensive trenches and underground military bases, as well as conducting mobile patrols of the territory. Minurso reports that there are on average 2–4 such violations in the whole Western Sahara territory each month, in addition to this, there are several more violations related to local commanders on both sides refusing the inspection of their forces by Minurso personnel. As an example, the mission homepage quotes the month of June 2006, despite these minor breaches, there has to date been no serious hostile action from either side since 1991, and both sides of the Berm are considered calm by peacekeeping standards. Annual demonstrations against the Moroccan Wall are staged in the region by Sahrawis and international activists from Spain, Italy and these actions are closely monitored by the UN
11.
Political status of Western Sahara
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Western Sahara, formerly the Spanish colony of Spanish Sahara, is a disputed territory claimed by both the Kingdom of Morocco and the Polisario Front. It is listed by the United Nations, as a territory and is thus included in the United Nations List of Non-Self-Governing Territories. Since the Madrid Accords of 1975, a part of Western Sahara has been administered by Morocco as the Southern Provinces, another section, the Liberated Territories, is administered by the Polisario Front as the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. Mauritania administers temporally the western half of the Ras Nouadhibou Peninsula, a UN-monitored cease-fire has been in effect since September 1991. Overall, the annexation has not garnered as much attention in the community as many other disputed annexations. The UN recognizes neither Moroccan nor SADR sovereignty over Western Sahara, the official position of the Kingdom of Morocco since 1963 is that all of Western Sahara is an integral part of the kingdom. The Moroccan government refers to Western Sahara only as Moroccan Sahara, according to the Moroccan government, in 1958 the Moroccan Army of Liberation fought Spanish colonizers and almost liberated what was then Spanish Sahara. The fathers of many of the Polisario leaders were among the veterans of the Moroccan Southern Army, Morocco is supported in this view by a number of former Polisario founders and leaders. It began as a movement of students who felt torn between the divergent Spanish and Moroccan influences on the country, the Polisario engaged in guerrilla warfare with the Moroccan and Mauritanian forces. It evacuated the Sahrawi population to the Tindouf refugee camps due to Royal Moroccan Air Force bombing of the camps on Sahrawi land with napalm. The Polisario Front has called for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara to be decided through a referendum, the Polisario Front argues that Moroccos position is due to economical interests and political reasons. The Polisario Front proclaimed the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic in Bir Lehlou, claims on Western Sahara had proliferated since the 1960s, fuelled by Mauritanian President Moktar Ould Daddah. In April 1976, Mauritania and Morocco partitioned the country into three parts, Mauritania getting the one, which was named Tiris al-Gharbiyya. Mauritania waged four years of war against Polisario guerrillas, conducting raids on Nouakchott, attacks on the Zouerate mine train, the Moroccan Army immediately took control of the former Mauritanian territory. Mauritania recognized the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic on 27 February 1984, algeria has supported the independence of the whole of Western Sahara since 1975, when Spanish forces and settlers withdrew from the area. It is one of the few countries to do so in the Arab League and it has provided aid to the Polisario Front. Algerias role became indirect, through political and military support for the Polisario Front, algeria recognized the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic on 6 March 1976. On the UN list of territories to be decolonized, when it was still a Spanish colony and it has retained that status due to the persistence of the conflict
12.
Foreign relations of Morocco
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Moroccos relationships vary greatly between African, Arab, and Western states. Morocco has had ties to the West in order to gain economic. France and Spain remain the trade partners, as well as the primary creditors. From the total investments in Morocco, the European Union invests approximately 73. 5%, whereas. Many countries from the Persian Gulf and Maghreb regions are getting involved in large-scale development projects in Morocco. Foreign relations have had a significant impact on economic and social development in Morocco, certain evidence of foreign influence is through the many development projects, loans, investments, and free trade agreements that Morocco has with other countries. An example of recent foreign influence is through loan agreements, Morocco signed three loan agreements with the French Development Agency in 2009, totalling up to 155 million euros. These were for the purpose of reforming the system, rural roads and rehabilitation. Policies associated with foreign relations are determined by the king, King Mohamed VI, Morocco has had a history of monarch rule. For example, the king of Morocco in 1965 suspended parliament and this was in response to the discovery of a plot on the kings life, of which the political party, UNFP, was accused. Foreign relations with western powers became strained as a result of this, portraying Morocco as a democratic state became important if Morocco wished to receive loans and investments by foreign powers. Moroccos current relations with some countries are related to its colonial history, Morocco was secretly partitioned by Spain and France and in 1912 Morocco became a protectorate. After achieving independence in 1956, Morocco still has a relationship with its former colonizers. Spain and France are currently the largest exporting and importing partners to Morocco, French is still popularly spoken and remains the second language in Morocco whilst Spanish is also widespread, particularly in the northern regions. France now is home to more than a million Moroccans legally residing in the country and this is the largest population of Moroccans in a country, followed next by Spain. These former colonizers remain influential in matters, such as development projects, investments, trade. Relations with foreign powers, especially with the West, have also strengthened as Morocco has liberalized its economy. In 1993 there was major privatization and markets were opened up to foreign powers, Morocco now is focusing more on promoting foreign direct investments
13.
Politics of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
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The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic claims the whole Western Sahara, a territory most of which is currently administered by Morocco as the Southern Provinces. SADR control some part of the territory, called the Free Zone and its government seats in Tindouf, Algeria. According to its constitution, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic is a form of one-party state, the Polisario fronts SADR claims to administer a portion to the east of the Moroccan Wall. The Polisarios government-in-exile was seated as member of the Organisation of African Unity in 1984, guerrilla activities continued until a United Nations-monitored cease-fire was implemented September 6,1991 via the mission MINURSO. The mission patrols the separation line between the two territories, Morocco accepted the plan, while Algeria and the Polisario Front rejected it. Algeria proposed a partition of the territory instead, Polisario has accepted the plan, but Morocco has rejected it. The Government of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic is headed by President, the Sahrawi National Council is the legislature of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic government in exile. It has 53 members, elected for a term in 11 constituencies. The Sahrawi population in the camps in Algeria as well as in the Free Zone participates in elections to the institutions of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. The most recent election for the Sahrawi National Council took place between 17 February and 19 February 2008, the foreign relations of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic are conducted by the Polisario Front, which maintains a network of representation offices and embassies in foreign countries. It has conducted diplomatic relations with states and international organisations since its inception in 1973, in 1966, United Nations General Assembly Resolution 22/29 affirmed for the first time the Sahrawi right on self-determination. Foreign relations of Morocco#Western Sahara Legal status of Western Sahara Janos, Besenyo
14.
Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs
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The Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs is an advisory committee to the Moroccan government on the Western Sahara. It was devised by King of Morocco, Hassan II in the 1970s and it was re-established by his son, Mohammed VI in early 2006, after a new autonomy plan was devised to replace the United Nations Baker Plan. The autonomy plan is opposed by the Polisario Front, which demands that the United Nations resolutions calling for a referendum be implemented. The CORCAS is intended as a body for proposals related to what Morocco calls its Southern Provinces. The Council is also intended to facilitate dialogue with the Sahrawi in the camps of Tindouf. The 141 members of CORCAS are Moroccan and Sahrawi political and traditional notables, representatives for women and youth groups, the members are appointed by the Moroccan government and support the Moroccan claims on Western Sahara. Of these members 14 are women, notably, the father of the late Polisario Front leader Mohamed Abdelaziz is a member of the CORCAS. There are nine vice-presidents, Khaddad El Moussaoui, Hassan Derham, Abdelaziz Abba, Omar Bouida, Ali Salem Chegaf, Othmane Ila, Hassana Cherif, Breika Zerouali, the mandate of the Council expired on March 25,2010, never renewed. The CORCAS leadership travels extensively and is featured in the Moroccan press. Its chairman, Khalihenna Ould Errachid, regularly attends meetings in foreign forums, such as the UN, among others, the CORCAS President has met with the President of the Peoples Republic of China, the former French foreign minister, and various other international officials. Many civilians were launched into space from helicopters or buried alive simply for being Sahrawis, in his opinion, the countrys actions in the Western Sahara were alienating Sahrawis, and thus could push more youth towards what he defined as separatism
15.
Ifni War
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The city of Sidi Ifni was incorporated into the Spanish colonial empire in 1860. In 1946, the various coastal and inland colonies were consolidated as Spanish West Africa. Sultan Mohammed V encouraged efforts to re-capture the land and personally funded anti-Spanish conspirators, Moroccan insurgents, violent demonstrations against Spanish rule erupted in Ifni on April 10,1957, followed by civil strife and widespread killings of those loyal to Spain. In response, Generalissimo Franco dispatched two battalions of the Spanish Legion, Spains elite fighting force, to El Aaiún in June, Spanish military mobilization resulted in the Moroccan army converging near Ifni. On October 23,1957, two villages on the outskirts of Sidi Ifni, Goulimine and Bou Izarguen, were occupied by 1,500 Moroccan soldiers, the encirclement of Ifni was the beginning of the Ifni War. Two more Legionary battalions reached the Spanish Sahara before the opening of hostilities, on 21 November, Spanish intelligence in Ifni reported that attacks were imminent by Moroccans operating out of Tafraout. Two days later, Spanish lines of communication were cut, although the Moroccan drive into Sidi Ifni was easily repulsed, two nearby Spanish outposts were abandoned in the face of enemy attacks and many others remained under heavy siege. At Tiluin,60 Tiradores de Ifni, struggled to hold off a force of several hundred Moroccans, on November 25, a relief attempt was authorized. Five CASA2.111 bombers, bombed enemy positions, while a number of CASA352 transports dropped a force of 75 paratroopers into the outpost. On 3 December, soldiers of the Spanish Legions 6th battalion arrived, breaking the siege, all military and civilian personnel were then evacuated overland to Sidi Ifni. The relief of Telata was less successful, leaving Sidi Ifni on 24 November aboard several old trucks, a platoon of the Spanish Legion paratroop battalion under Captain Ortiz de Zárate made slow progress through difficult terrain. This problem was compounded by frequent Moroccan ambushes, which by the day had left several men wounded and forced the Spaniards off the road. On 26 November, food ran out, the Spanish, low on ammunition, resumed their advance, only to dig in again in the face of repeated enemy attacks. Rations were dropped by air, but Spanish casualties continued to mount, one of the dead was Captain Ortiz de Zárate. On 2 December, a column of infantry, among them the erstwhile defenders of Telata, broke through the Moroccan lines, the survivors of the paratroop detachment reached Sidi Ifni once more on 5 December. The company had suffered two dead and fourteen wounded, initial Moroccan attacks had been generally successful. In the space of two weeks, the Moroccans and their allies had asserted control over most of Ifni. Simultaneous attacks had been launched throughout Spanish Sahara, overrunning garrisons and ambushing convoys, consequently, Moroccan units, resupplied and greatly reinforced, tried to surround and besiege Sidi Ifni, hoping to incite a popular uprising
16.
Gdeim Izik protest camp
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While protests were initially peaceful, they were later marked by clashes between Sahrawi civilians and Moroccan security forces. Some referred to the protests as the Third Sahrawi Intifada, following the First, the number of protesters increased rapidly in the first weeks from a few hundred khaimas to several thousand coming from other towns of Western Sahara and southern Morocco. By the first week of November, the Gdeim Izik protest camps population was estimated at around 5,000, on October 24, a vehicle trying to enter the camp was fired upon by Moroccan Army forces. As a result, 14-year-old Nayem Elgarhi died and other passengers were injured, according to the Moroccan Interior ministry, a bullet was fired from the vehicle forcing the security forces to return fire, with a final toll of one dead and three injured. However, according to the Polisario front, there were no weapons in the vehicle, elgarhis family denounced the boys secret burial, demanding a trial for the officers who shot him. On the early morning of November 8, the protest camp was dismantled by Moroccan police forces, according to the Moroccan Interior Ministry, no firearms were used and the civilians on the camp were deployed as human shields. Confronting them was a group of protesters that used stones, knives. The riots later expanded to El Aaiun and other towns like Smara, in El Aaiun, protesters took to the streets in the morning, as there were no communications with the protest camp and they had no information about their relatives and friends in the camp. In the afternoon, with the return of the forces deployed in Gdeim Izik, finally, the African Union called upon Moroccos government to refrain from the use of force, and follow the path of discussion as the only productive means to resolve the crisis. European Union, On November 25, the European Parliament approved a resolution about the events in Western Sahara, United Nations, On 17 November, the United Nations Security Council condemned the violence during the dismantlement of the camp. Finally, the commission reminded the violation of the Right of Information, the Cuban parliament rejected the Moroccan aggression and demanded the United Nations Security Council exercise its influence to stop the actions. France, French Foreign Affairs minister, Bernard Kouchner, qualified on 9 November the events on Western Sahara as very serious and he also regretted the expulsion from Morocco of French communist deputy Jean-Paul Lecoq, who was trying to reach El Aaiún. It is not permissible that a representative of the nation had been expelled from the territory of a friendly country he added. Ireland, Irish Foreign Affairs minister, Micheál Martin, expressed on 9 November deep concern about reports concerning the Sahrawi protest camp. He regretted the deaths, violence and the reaction of the Moroccan security forces to what had been a peaceful protest on the part of Saharawi activists. Finally, he called both sides to act responsibly and avoid deterioration of the situation, italy, On 9 November, Italian Foreign Affairs minister, Franco Frattini, said that we are extremely concerned about the death and injuries of several individuals during the clashes. Panama, The Foreign Relations ministry of Panama expressed their concerns about the regrettable acts of violence. It also called the parts to respect human rights, avoid escalation of violence, according to the Polisario Front,36 Sahrawis were killed,723 wounded, and 163 were arrested
17.
2011 Western Saharan protests
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They were related to the Gdeim Izik protest camp in Western Sahara established the previous fall, which had resulted in violence between Sahrawi activists and Moroccan security forces and supporters. No significant protests were reported beyond May 2011, though international media coverage of Western Sahara is incomplete at best, there is renewed calls for peaceful protests from the Polisario Front. While protests were peaceful, they were later marked by clashes between civilians and security forces. On 25 February 2011, clashes were reported in Dakhla, the second largest city of Western Sahara, the next day, hundreds of protesters gathered on the city center, protesting against police inaction on the previous night. They attacked government buildings, banks and shops using stones and gas cylinders, the music festival was then suspended. On the night, riots started again without police presence, on Friday, police were deployed in the streets to prevent new protests. Official Moroccan press agency reported that two civilians were intentionally run over by a four-wheel drive vehicle driven by protesters, and that 14 people were injured. According to a Radio France International reporter, at least 100 people were injured, the Moroccan security forces intervened then and dispersed the demonstration. According to the Polisario, between 13 and 68 people were injured during the intervention of the Police, including three people carrying Spanish citizenship, the group also claimed that though police and intelligence officers kept a close watch on the vigil, protesters were nonviolent and no clashes erupted. These groups also claimed other protests were being held in solidarity with Laayounes activists in more cities. However, these reports have not been independently verified, a sit-in at the family home of a Sahrawi boy allegedly killed by Moroccan police was dispersed on 19 May, with 30 protesters left injured by security officers, pro-Sahrawi media reported. A handful of activists in Essmara also started a sit-in and hunger strike to protest the suspension of their wages for visiting Polisario-administered refugee camps in the Algerian Sahara and it will work in Western Sahara too
18.
Sahrawi refugee camps
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With most of the original refugees still living in the camps, the situation is among the most protracted in the world. The limited opportunities for self-reliance in the desert environment have forced the refugees to rely on international humanitarian assistance for their survival. However, the Tindouf camps differ from the majority of camps in the level of self-organization. Most affairs and camp life organization is run by the refugees themselves, the camps are divided into five wilayas named after towns in Western Sahara, Laayoune, Awserd, Smara, Dakhla and more recently Cape Bojador. In addition comes the smaller satellite camp February 27, surrounding the school for women. The encampments are spread out over a large area. While Laayoune, Smara, Awserd, February 27 and Rabouni all lie within an hours drive of the Algerian city of Tindouf, the camps are also the headquarters of the 6th military region of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic. The refugee camps are governed by Polisario, being part of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. SADRs government in exile and administration are located in the Rabouni camp, the Tindouf camps are divided into administrative sub-units electing their own officials to represent the neighbourhoods in political decision-making. Each of the four wilayas are divided into six or seven daïras, local committees distribute basic goods, water and food, while daïra authorities made up by the representatives of the hays organize schools, cultural activities and medical services. Some argue that this results in a form of democracy on the level of camp administration. Women are active on several levels of administration, and UNHCR has appraised their importance in camp administration, according to Polisario, Algeria does not intervene in their organization, treating the area as effectively under Sahrawi self-rule, though statements by former Polisario responsibles contradict that. While the Algerian military has a significant presence in the city of Tindouf. Camp residents are subject to the constitution and laws of SADR, a local justice system, with courts and prisons, is administered by Polisario. Local qadis have jurisdiction over personal status and family law issues, while teaching materials are still scarce, the literacy rate has increased from about 5% at the formation of the camps to 90% in 1995. Childrens education is obligatory, and several thousands have received university educations in Algeria, Cuba, one former camp resident claimed to have been forcefully sent as a child to an indoctrination camp in Cuba, where he was taught ot use firearms. The camps have 27 clinics, a hospital and four regional hospitals. Men perform military service in the forces of the SADR
19.
Green March
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Nevertheless, the events quickly escalated into a fully waged war between Morocco and the militias of the Polisario, the Western Sahara War, which would last for 16 years. Morocco later gained control over the former Spanish Sahara, which it continues to hold, Morocco, to the north of the Spanish Sahara, had long claimed that the territory was historically an integral part of Morocco. Mauritania to the south argued similarly that the territory was in fact Mauritanian, Morocco intended to vindicate its claims by demanding a verdict from the International Court of Justice, which was issued on 16 October 1975. Instead, the court argued, the population were the owners of the land. This meant that regardless of political solution was found to the question of sovereignty. Complicating matters, a UN visiting mission had concluded on 15 October, the day before the ICJ verdict was released, within hours of the ICJ verdicts release, he announced the organizing of a green march to Spanish Sahara, to reunite it with the Motherland. The Green March was a popular march of enormous proportions. On 6 November 1975 approximately 350,000 unarmed Moroccans converged on the city of Tarfaya in southern Morocco, as the marchers reached the border, the Spanish Armed Forces were ordered not to fire to avoid bloodshed. The Spanish troops also cleared some previously mined zones, according to Morocco, the exercise of sovereignty by the Moroccan state was characterized by official pledges of allegiance to the sultan. The Moroccan government was of the opinion that this allegiance existed during several centuries before the Spanish occupation and that it was a legal and political tie. The sultan Hassan I, for example, had carried out two expeditions in 1886 in order to put an end to foreign incursions in this territory and to officially invest several caids and cadis. In its presentation to the ICJ, the Moroccan side also mentioned the levy of taxes as an instance of the exercise of sovereignty. Even taking account of the structure of that State, they do not show that Morocco displayed any effective and exclusive State activity in Western Sahara. The Green March caught Spain in a moment of political crisis, the dictator General Franco, who had been leading the country for almost 40 years, was dying. Only the year before, the Portuguese government had been toppled by the Portuguese armed forces after becoming bogged down in wars in Angola. Under pressure from Morocco, Spain also agreed that no representatives of the population would be present in the negotiations that resulted in the 14 November Madrid Accords. This was a treaty which divided Spanish Sahara between Mauritania and Morocco, Spain received a 35% concession in the phosphate mines of Bou Craa and offshore fishing rights that were not respected by Morocco. Morocco and Mauritania then formally annexed the parts they had been allotted in the Accords
20.
Demographics of Western Sahara
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All data about demographic information regarding Western Sahara is extremely error prone, regardless of source. Following the 1975 Green March, the Moroccan state has sponsored settlement schemes enticing thousands of Moroccans to move into the Moroccan-occupied part of Western Sahara, by 2015, it was estimated that Moroccan settlers made up at least two thirds of the 500,000 inhabitants. The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated, modern Standard Arabic and Spanish, the former colonial language, are the official languages of the Polisario Front, based in Tindouf, Algeria. Hassaniya, an Arabic dialect, is the language spoken in Western Sahara. There is also a significant presence of Berber language speakers in the parts of the territory of Western Sahara. Hassaniya, primarily spoken at home, is dominated by the Moroccan dialect spoken in the streets, workplace and this is because the great majority of the population consists of Moroccans who settled in Western Sahara. French is also used by the Moroccan administration. The Moroccan constitution stipulates two official languages for the Kingdom of Morocco, including Western Sahara, Berber and Arabic, Spanish is used to document Sahrawi poetry and oral traditions and has also be used in Sahrawi literature. A group of Sahrawi poets known as Generación de la Amistad saharaui produce Sahrawi literature in Spanish, sunni Islam is the major religion in Western Sahara. Sunni Muslims constitute about 99. 9% of the population, prior to 1975 there were over 20,000 Roman Catholics in Western Sahara but as of 2007 there were only around 100. 69.66 deaths/1,000 live births total population,54.32 yearsmale,52 yearsfemale,56.73 years 4, the major bulk of Saharawis became refugees during the war between the Polisario Front and Morocco. The south-western desert region near Tindouf offered a potential safe region, Algeria, in its rivalry with Morocco, offered the Sahrawis a safe place to settle and actively supported the Algerian made guerrilla-movement of the POLISARIO. The next Saharawi exodus, although on a scale, took place in 1979 when Mauritania withdrew from the conflict. Exact figures cannot be provided for the numbers that fled the territory in two waves, but the estimations are between 1/3 and 2/3 of the total population at that time. The current size of the population in the camps is believed to be around 165,000. Used by the Algerian government, this figure is the most widely quoted by NGOs and is used by the UNHCR. In the 2004 WFP meeting in Rome, the number of refugees was officially recognized at 158,000, legal status of Western Sahara Demographics of Morocco
21.
Moroccan Western Sahara Wall
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The Moroccan Wall of Western Sahara is an approximately 2,700 km long structure, mostly a sand wall, running through Western Sahara and the southeastern portion of Morocco. It separates the Moroccan occupied, and controlled, areas and the Polisario-controlled areas that lies along its eastern and southern border. According to maps from the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara or the UNHCR, the fortifications lie in uninhabited or very sparsely inhabited territory. They consist of sand and stone walls or berms about 3 m in height, with bunkers, the barrier minebelt that runs along the structure is thought to be the longest continuous minefield in the world. The following is one observers description of the Berm, In all, the main line of fortifications extends for about 2,500 km. A section extends about 200 km into southeastern Morocco Significant lines of fortifications also lie deep within the Moroccan-controlled area and their exact number and location are a source of some confusion for overseas commentators. All major settlements, the capital El Aaiún, and the mine at Bou Craa lie far into the Moroccan-held side. The fortifications were built by Moroccan forces starting in 1981. Effectively, after the completion of the wall, Morocco has controlled the bulk of Western Sahara territory that lies to the north and west of it, the Polisario-founded Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic controls the mostly uninhabited Free Zone, which comprises all areas to the east of the barrier. Units from the United Nations mission MINURSO separate the two sides, and enforce regulations on their troops. In the summer of 2005, the Moroccan Army accelerated the expulsion of illegal immigrants detained in northern Morocco to the side of the wall. The Polisario Front and the MINURSO rescued several dozen lost in the desert, by October, the Polisario had received 22 immigrants in Mehaires,46 in Tifariti and 97 in Bir Lehlu. They were from African countries, except a group of 48 who were from Bangladesh, Western attention to the wall, and to the Moroccan annexation of the Western Sahara in general, has been minimal, apart from Spain. In Africa, the annexation of Western Sahara by Morocco has attracted more attention. Algeria supports the Polisario Front in its long-running desert war to oppose Moroccan control of the disputed area, the Organization of African Unity/African Union and United Nations have proposed negotiated solutions, though the African Unions stance on Western Sahara led to Moroccos exit from the organisation. Since 2008, a demonstration called The Thousand Column is held annually in the desert against the barrier by international human rights activists, in the 2009 edition, a teenage Sahrawi refugee named Ibrahim Hussein Leibeit lost half of his right leg in a landmine explosion. The incident happened when Ibrahim and dozens of young Sahrawis crossed the line into a minefield while aiming to throw stones to the side of the wall. The wall was built in six stages, and the area behind the wall was expanded from an area near Morocco in the north to most of the western
22.
Human rights in Western Sahara
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The Government of Morocco sees Western Sahara as its Southern Provinces. The Moroccan government considers the Polisario Front as a separatist movement given the alleged Moroccan origins of some of its leaders, the United States, the European Union, the African Union and the United Nations do not recognize the sovereignty of Morocco over Western Sahara. Neither claim has met with support abroad, the USA, EU, AU and UN refused to include the Polisario Front on their lists of terrorist organizations. Human rights are repressed in the Moroccan-controlled territories of Western Sahara, according to Amnesty International in 2003, while the situation has improved since the early 1990s, the political liberalization in Morocco has not had the same effect on Western Sahara according to Amnesty International in 2004. When it comes to having a pro-independence position, there are allegations of police abuse and torture by Polisario-organisations. and suspected dissidents are harassed. The United States State Department reported in 2000 that there were arbitrary arrests of Sahrawis, prisoners of conscience were kept in squalid conditions according to Polisario-groups. Some Sahrawis also complain of discrimination in favor of Moroccan settlers. The Moroccan response to the demonstrations of 2005 was very aggressive, in a criticised mass trial in December 2005,14 leading Sahrawi activists were sentenced to prison sentences, many more had previously been detained. Most of these prisoners were released by royal decree in the spring of 2006. According to the US State Departments 2006 report on Morocco The law generally provides for freedom of speech, the government generally respected these rights in practice, as long as Islam, the monarchy, and territorial integrity were not criticized. Throughout the year several publications tested the boundaries of press freedom, foreign journalists and visiting missions have been prevented from visiting the territory and in some instances deported from it. Sahrawi human rights organizations have been refused permission to operate in Morocco, the Sahrawi branch of the Moroccan Forum for Truth and Justice was dissolved in 2003, and its members arrested. They were later released in the royal amnesties of 2006, or before that, Morocco has responded by blockading Internet access to these sites in Morocco and in Western Sahara, prompting accusations of Internet censorship. These websites, promoting independence for Western Sahara, have been censored since the beginning of December it reports. In 2010 around 520 Sahrawi civilians remained disappeared by Moroccan forces, according to human rights groups, since then, there have been no further releases of disappeared prisoners. Amnesty International stated in a 1999 report that, in May 2005, the remains of 43 Sahrawi disappeared were exhumed from secret prisons on the south of Morocco. They were detained in Western Sahara & southern Morocco in the 1970s & 1980s, many civilians were launched into space from helicopters or buried alive simply for being Sahrawis. Also, the testimonies of witnesses have not been published yet, in March 2010, a new grave was found by Bou Craa workers on a phosphate mine with 7 corpses, supposedly Sahrawi nomads killed by Moroccan forces during the mid-1970s
23.
Western Sahara Autonomy Proposal
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The Western Sahara Autonomy Proposal is an initiative, proposed by Morocco in 2006 as a possible solution to the Western Sahara conflict. In 2006 the Moroccan Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs proposed a plan for the autonomy of Western Sahara, the plan was presented to the UN Security Council in April 2007, and has received the backing of the USA and France. This initiative constitutes the main ground for the Moroccan proposal at Manhasset negotiations, the proposal was following the two failed proposals of Baker Plan, which insisted on independence referendum to Western Sahara after five years of autonomy - the plan was rejected by Morocco. A proposal was published by Polisario to the UN on 10 April 2007. The UN Security unanimously voted the Resolution 1754 on 30 April 2007 calling for talks of both parties, appreciating the proposal of Morocco and taking note of Polaisarios proposal, the portions of Western Sahara was a Spanish Colony till 1975 as the last colonial province in Africa. Mauritania withdrew in 1979, and Morocco eventually secured control of most of the territory, including all the major cities, Polisario was formed in 1973 to fight for the rights of Sahawari Arab African People. Polisario attacked Moroccan positions many times and have retaliated, continued war was waged between Polisario and Morocco over prominence in the region backed by Algeria for Polisario and US, France and Saudi Arabia for Morocco. Morocco started building a wall to reduce the attacks and military activity. During November to December 1987 a United Nations peace mission arrived at the location to assess the military and they sought a face-to-face meeting with Polisario and Morocco to arrive at a ceasefire and initiate proceedings for a referendum. They had different meetings with Morocco, Algeria and Polisario and place a resolution which was passed unopposed, during the time, Algeria, which had been a long time ally of Polisario, held secret meetings with Morocco at foreign ministry level. By May 1988, both the countries announced that diplomatic relations between the countries would be restored, during July 1988, Moroccan King Hassan expressed his support for a referendum, but declined to name it an independent state, but a special administrative region. He also denied meeting with Polasario, in spite of UNs continued effort, the denial introduced fresh attack in Moroccan positions by Polasario. King Hassan agreed to meet representatives from SAWR, during 1989, Algeria claimed that it would continue to support SAWR amidst growing concern of Algeria breaking links with SAWR. King Hassans elongated delay frustrated SAWR and they started an attack, during the first week of October 1989, Polasario started attacks on Moroccan positions in Guelta-Zemmour, which left the Moroccan troops 25 kilometers inside the defense. The group also claimed that they have secured the 1st Light Security Group of the 4th and 5th Rapid Intervention Force of Morocco and they also attacked Moroccan positions in the North towards Hauza on October 11. Following the attacks King Hassan called off the meeting with SAWR representatives. The fighting continued till 1 September 1991 when a UN mission brokered peace a ceasefire in the region, there have been various proposals by both the parties in the United Nations. James A. Baker, an American diplomat in the worked out a couple of settlement plans
24.
Arabic
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Arabic is a Central Semitic language that was first spoken in Iron Age northwestern Arabia and is now the lingua franca of the Arab world. Arabic is also the language of 1.7 billion Muslims. It is one of six languages of the United Nations. The modern written language is derived from the language of the Quran and it is widely taught in schools and universities, and is used to varying degrees in workplaces, government, and the media. The two formal varieties are grouped together as Literary Arabic, which is the language of 26 states. Modern Standard Arabic largely follows the standards of Quranic Arabic. Much of the new vocabulary is used to denote concepts that have arisen in the post-Quranic era, Arabic has influenced many languages around the globe throughout its history. During the Middle Ages, Literary Arabic was a vehicle of culture in Europe, especially in science, mathematics. As a result, many European languages have borrowed many words from it. Many words of Arabic origin are found in ancient languages like Latin. Balkan languages, including Greek, have acquired a significant number of Arabic words through contact with Ottoman Turkish. Arabic has also borrowed words from languages including Greek and Persian in medieval times. Arabic is a Central Semitic language, closely related to the Northwest Semitic languages, the Ancient South Arabian languages, the Semitic languages changed a great deal between Proto-Semitic and the establishment of the Central Semitic languages, particularly in grammar. Innovations of the Central Semitic languages—all maintained in Arabic—include, The conversion of the suffix-conjugated stative formation into a past tense, the conversion of the prefix-conjugated preterite-tense formation into a present tense. The elimination of other prefix-conjugated mood/aspect forms in favor of new moods formed by endings attached to the prefix-conjugation forms, the development of an internal passive. These features are evidence of descent from a hypothetical ancestor. In the southwest, various Central Semitic languages both belonging to and outside of the Ancient South Arabian family were spoken and it is also believed that the ancestors of the Modern South Arabian languages were also spoken in southern Arabia at this time. To the north, in the oases of northern Hijaz, Dadanitic and Taymanitic held some prestige as inscriptional languages, in Najd and parts of western Arabia, a language known to scholars as Thamudic C is attested
25.
French language
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French is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages, French has evolved from Gallo-Romance, the spoken Latin in Gaul, and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues doïl—languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, French was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to Frances past overseas expansion, there are numerous French-based creole languages, a French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French. French is a language in 29 countries, most of which are members of la francophonie. As of 2015, 40% of the population is in Europe, 35% in sub-Saharan Africa, 15% in North Africa and the Middle East, 8% in the Americas. French is the fourth-most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union, 1/5 of Europeans who do not have French as a mother tongue speak French as a second language. As a result of French and Belgian colonialism from the 17th and 18th century onward, French was introduced to new territories in the Americas, Africa, most second-language speakers reside in Francophone Africa, in particular Gabon, Algeria, Mauritius, Senegal and Ivory Coast. In 2015, French was estimated to have 77 to 110 million native speakers, approximately 274 million people are able to speak the language. The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie estimates 700 million by 2050, in 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked French the third most useful language for business, after English and Standard Mandarin Chinese. Under the Constitution of France, French has been the language of the Republic since 1992. France mandates the use of French in official government publications, public education except in specific cases, French is one of the four official languages of Switzerland and is spoken in the western part of Switzerland called Romandie, of which Geneva is the largest city. French is the language of about 23% of the Swiss population. French is also a language of Luxembourg, Monaco, and Aosta Valley, while French dialects remain spoken by minorities on the Channel Islands. A plurality of the worlds French-speaking population lives in Africa and this number does not include the people living in non-Francophone African countries who have learned French as a foreign language. Due to the rise of French in Africa, the total French-speaking population worldwide is expected to reach 700 million people in 2050, French is the fastest growing language on the continent. French is mostly a language in Africa, but it has become a first language in some urban areas, such as the region of Abidjan, Ivory Coast and in Libreville. There is not a single African French, but multiple forms that diverged through contact with various indigenous African languages, sub-Saharan Africa is the region where the French language is most likely to expand, because of the expansion of education and rapid population growth
26.
Spanish language
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Spanish —also called Castilian —is a Romance language that originated in the Castile region of Spain, with hundreds of millions of native speakers around the world. It is usually considered the worlds second-most spoken native language after Mandarin Chinese and it is one of the few languages to use inverted question and exclamation marks. Spanish is a part of the Ibero-Romance group of languages, which evolved from several dialects of Vulgar Latin in Iberia after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century. Beginning in the early 16th century, Spanish was taken to the colonies of the Spanish Empire, most notably to the Americas, as well as territories in Africa, Oceania, around 75% of modern Spanish is derived from Latin. Greek has also contributed substantially to Spanish vocabulary, especially through Latin, Spanish vocabulary has been in contact from an early date with Arabic, having developed during the Al-Andalus era in the Iberian Peninsula. With around 8% of its vocabulary being Arabic in origin, this language is the second most important influence after Latin and it has also been influenced by Basque as well as by neighboring Ibero-Romance languages. It also adopted words from languages such as Gothic language from the Visigoths in which many Spanish names and surnames have a Visigothic origin. Spanish is one of the six languages of the United Nations. It is the language in the world by the number of people who speak it as a mother tongue, after Mandarin Chinese. It is estimated more than 437 million people speak Spanish as a native language. Spanish is the official or national language in Spain, Equatorial Guinea, speakers in the Americas total some 418 million. In the European Union, Spanish is the tongue of 8% of the population. Spanish is the most popular second language learned in the United States, in 2011 it was estimated by the American Community Survey that of the 55 million Hispanic United States residents who are five years of age and over,38 million speak Spanish at home. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 uses the term castellano to define the language of the whole Spanish State in contrast to las demás lenguas españolas. Article III reads as follows, El castellano es la lengua española oficial del Estado, las demás lenguas españolas serán también oficiales en las respectivas Comunidades Autónomas. Castilian is the official Spanish language of the State, the other Spanish languages as well shall be official in their respective Autonomous Communities. The Spanish Royal Academy, on the hand, currently uses the term español in its publications. Two etymologies for español have been suggested, the Spanish Royal Academy Dictionary derives the term from the Provençal word espaignol, and that in turn from the Medieval Latin word Hispaniolus, from—or pertaining to—Hispania
27.
United Nations peacekeeping
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It is distinguished from both peacebuilding, peacemaking, and peace enforcement. Peacekeepers monitor and observe peace processes in post-conflict areas and assist ex-combatants in implementing the agreements they may have signed. Such assistance comes in forms, including confidence-building measures, power-sharing arrangements, electoral support, strengthening the rule of law. Accordingly, UN peacekeepers can include soldiers, police officers, the United Nations Charter gives the United Nations Security Council the power and responsibility to take collective action to maintain international peace and security. For this reason, the community usually looks to the Security Council to authorize peacekeeping operations through Chapter VI authorizations. Most of these operations are established and implemented by the United Nations itself, in these cases, peacekeepers remain members of their respective armed forces, and do not constitute an independent UN army, as the UN does not have such a force. Hervé Ladsous has served as the head of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations since 2 September 2011, dPKOs highest level doctrine document, entitled United Nations Peacekeeping Operations, Principles and Guidelines was issued in 2008. Peacekeeping forces are contributed by member states on a voluntary basis, as of 31 December 2013, the total size of the peacekeeping force is 98,200 police, troops, and military experts. European nations contribute nearly 6,000 units to this total, pakistan, India, and Bangladesh are among the largest individual contributors with around 8,000 units each. African nations contributed nearly half the total, almost 44,000 units, every peacekeeping mission is authorized by the Security Council. Once a peace treaty has been negotiated, the parties involved might ask the United Nations for a force to oversee various elements of the agreed upon plan. If the Security Council approves the creation of a mission, then the Department of Peacekeeping Operations begins planning for the necessary elements, at this point, the senior leadership team is selected. The department will then seek contributions from member nations, since the UN has no standing force or supplies, it must form ad hoc coalitions for every task undertaken. Doing so results in both the possibility of failure to form a force, and a general slowdown in procurement once the operation is in the field. You had to make a request for everything you needed, for instance, soldiers everywhere have to eat and drink. In a push system, food and water for the number of soldiers deployed is automatically supplied, in a pull system, you have to ask for those rations, and no common sense seems to ever apply. While the peacekeeping force is being assembled, a variety of activities are being undertaken by UN staff. The exact size and strength of the force must be agreed to by the government of the nation whose territory the conflict is on, the Rules of Engagement must be developed and approved by both the parties involved and the Security Council
28.
Western Sahara
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Its surface area amounts to 266,000 square kilometres. It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, the population is estimated at just over 500,000, of which nearly 40% live in Laayoune, the largest city in Western Sahara. Occupied by Spain until the late 20th century, Western Sahara has been on the United Nations list of non-self-governing territories since 1963 after a Moroccan demand and it is the most populous territory on that list, and by far the largest in area. In 1965, the UN General Assembly adopted its first resolution on Western Sahara, one year later, a new resolution was passed by the General Assembly requesting that a referendum be held by Spain on self-determination. In 1975, Spain relinquished the control of the territory to a joint administration by Morocco. A war erupted between those countries and a Sahrawi nationalist movement, the Polisario Front, which proclaimed the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic with a government in exile in Tindouf, Algeria. Mauritania withdrew its claims in 1979, and Morocco eventually secured de facto control of most of the territory, including all the major cities and natural resources. The United Nations considers the Polisario Front to be the representative of the Sahrawi people. As of 2017, no member state of the United Nations has ever recognized Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara. However, a number of countries have expressed their support for a recognition of the Moroccan annexation of the territory as an autonomous part of the Kingdom. Overall, the annexation has not garnered as much attention in the community as many other disputed annexations. Internationally, countries such as Russia have taken a generally ambiguous and neutral position on each sides claims, both Morocco and Polisario have sought to boost their claims by accumulating formal recognition, essentially from African, Asian, and Latin American states in the developing world. The Polisario Front has won recognition for SADR from 37 states. Morocco has won recognition or support for its position from several African governments and from most of the Muslim world, in both instances, recognitions have, over the past two decades, been extended and withdrawn according to changing international trends. Western Sahara is located in Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean and it also borders Algeria to the northeast. The land is some of 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 600 metres 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 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
29.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 690
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The Mission was to implement the Settlement Plan for a referendum of self-determination for the people of Western Sahara. It also decided that the period will begin no later than sixteen weeks after the General Assembly approves the budget of MINURSO. In May 1991, the General Assembly approved the budget, a ceasefire came into effect on 6 September 1991, and MINURSO was deployed thereafter. History of Western Sahara List of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 601 to 700 Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic Text of the Resolution at undocs. org
30.
Morocco
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Morocco, officially known as the Kingdom of Morocco, is a sovereign country located in the Maghreb region of North Africa. Geographically, Morocco is characterized by a mountainous interior, large tracts of desert. Morocco has a population of over 33.8 million and an area of 446,550 km2 and its capital is Rabat, and the largest city is Casablanca. Other major cities include Marrakesh, Tangier, Tetouan, Salé, Fes, Agadir, Meknes, Oujda, Kenitra, a historically prominent regional power, Morocco has a history of independence not shared by its neighbours. Marinid and Saadi dynasties continued the struggle against foreign domination, the Alaouite dynasty, the current ruling dynasty, seized power in 1666. In 1912 Morocco was divided into French and Spanish protectorates, with a zone in Tangier. Moroccan culture is a blend of Arab, indigenous Berber, Sub-Saharan African, Morocco claims the non-self-governing territory of Western Sahara as its Southern Provinces. Morocco annexed the territory in 1975, leading to a war with indigenous forces until a cease-fire in 1991. Peace processes have thus far failed to break the political deadlock, Morocco is a constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament. The King of Morocco holds vast executive and legislative powers, especially over the military, foreign policy, the king can issue decrees called dahirs which have the force of law. He can also dissolve the parliament after consulting the Prime Minister, Moroccos predominant religion is Islam, and the official languages are Arabic and Tamazight. The Moroccan dialect, referred to as Darija, and French are also widely spoken, Morocco is a member of the Arab League, the Union for the Mediterranean, and the African Union. It has the fifth largest economy of Africa, the full Arabic name al-Mamlakah al-Maghribiyyah translates to Kingdom of the West, although the West in Arabic is الغرب Al-Gharb. The basis of Moroccos English name is Marrakesh, its capital under the Almoravid dynasty, the origin of the name Marrakesh is disputed, but is most likely from the Berber words amur akush or Land of God. The modern Berber name for Marrakesh is Mṛṛakc, in Turkish, Morocco is known as Fas, a name derived from its ancient capital of Fes. The English name Morocco is an anglicisation of the Spanish Marruecos, the area of present-day Morocco has been inhabited since Paleolithic times, sometime between 190,000 and 90,000 BC. During the Upper Paleolithic, the Maghreb was more fertile than it is today, twenty-two thousand years ago, the Aterian was succeeded by the Iberomaurusian culture, which shared similarities with Iberian cultures. Skeletal similarities have been suggested between the Iberomaurusian Mechta-Afalou burials and European Cro-Magnon remains, the Iberomaurusian was succeeded by the Beaker culture in Morocco
31.
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
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SADR was proclaimed by the Polisario Front on February 27,1976, in Bir Lehlou, Western Sahara, a former communist liberation force which has since reformed its ideological and political views. The SADR government controls about 20–25% of the territory it claims and it calls the territories under its control the Liberated Territories or the Free Zone. Morocco controls and administers the rest of the territory and calls these lands its Southern Provinces. The SADR government considers the Moroccan-held territory to be occupied territory, the claimed capital of the SADR is El-Aaiún, while the temporary capital has been moved from Bir Lehlou to Tifariti. The Sahrawi Republic maintains diplomatic relations with 40 UN states, and is a member of the African Union. On 26 February 1976, Spain informed the United Nations that as of date it had terminated its presence in Western Sahara and relinquished its responsibilities. Neither Morocco nor Mauritania gained international recognition, and war ensued with the independence-seeking Polisario Front, on February 27,2008, the provisional capital was formally moved to Tifariti. Day-to-day business, however, is conducted in the Tindouf refugee camps in Algeria, the broad guidelines laid down for an eventual Western Saharan state in the constitution include eventual multi-party democracy with a market economy. The constitution also defines Sahrawis as a Muslim, African and Arab people, the Constitution also declares a commitment to the principles of human rights and to the concept of a Greater Maghreb, as a regional variant of Pan-Arabism. The SADRs government structure consists of a Council of Ministers, a judicial branch, since its inception in 1976, the various constitutional revisions have transformed the republic from an ad hoc managerial structure into something approaching an actual governing apparatus. Its various ministries are responsible for a variety of services and functions, the judiciary, complete with trial courts, appeals courts and a supreme court, operates in the same areas. As a government-in-exile, many branches of government do not fully function, among other things, it has added a ban on the death penalty to the constitution, and brought down the government in 1999 through a vote of no-confidence. The composition of the Sahrawi National Council is as follows, The SADR acted as a government administration in the Sahrawi refugee camps located in the Tindouf Province of western Algeria. The government of the SADR claims sovereignty over all of the Western Sahara territory, several foreign aid agencies, including the UN High Commission for Refugees, and nongovernmental organizations are continually active in the camps. As of 2016, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic has been recognized by 85 states, of these,37 have since frozen or withdrawn recognition for a number of reasons. A total of 40 UN states maintain diplomatic relations with the SADR, Sahrawi embassies exist in 18 states. Although it is not recognised by the United Nations, the SADR has held membership of the African Union since 1982. The SADR participates as guest on meetings of the Non-Aligned Movement or the New Asian–African Strategic Partnership, on the other hand, Moroccos claim to Western Sahara is supported by the Arab League
32.
Referendum
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A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to vote on a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new law, in some countries it is synonymous with a plebiscite or a vote on a ballot question. Some definitions of plebiscite suggest that it is a type of vote to change the constitution or government of a country, however, some other countries define it differently. For example, Australia defines referendum as a vote to change the constitution, the addition of the verb sum to a gerundive, denotes the idea of necessity or compulsion, that which must be done, rather than that which is fit for doing). This determines the form of the plural in English, which according to English grammar should be referendums, the use of referenda as a plural form in English is thus insupportable according to the rules of both Latin and English grammar alike. The Latin plural gerundive referenda, meaning things to be referred, compare also, Agenda those matters which must be driven forward, from ago, to drive, Memorandum, that matter which must be remembered, from memoro, to call to mind, etc. The name and use of the referendum is thought to have originated in the Swiss canton of Graubünden as early as the 16th century. Today, a referendum can also often be referred to as a plebiscite, for example, Australia defines referendum as a vote to change the constitution, and plebiscite as a vote that does not affect the constitution. In contrast, Ireland has only held one plebiscite, which was the vote to adopt its constitution. Of that which has most definitely already occurred and this is in line with Eamon De Valeras oft stated belief that the people do not have the right to do wrong which in this context means to reject his new Eire constitution. The term referendum covers a variety of different meanings, a referendum can be binding or advisory. In some countries, different names are used for two types of referendum. From a political-philosophical perspective, referendums are an expression of direct democracy, however, in the modern world, most referendums need to be understood within the context of representative democracy. Australia ranked second with dozens of referendums, a referendum usually offers the electorate a choice of accepting or rejecting a proposal, but this is not necessarily the case. In Switzerland, for example, multiple choice referendums are common and this question can be resolved by applying voting systems designed for single winner elections to a multiple-choice referendum. Swiss referendums get around this problem by offering a separate vote on each of the options as well as an additional decision about which of the multiple options should be preferred. In the Swedish case, in both referendums the winning option was chosen by the Single Member Plurality system, in other words, the winning option was deemed to be that supported by a plurality, rather than an absolute majority, of voters. In the 1977, Australian referendum, the winner was chosen by the system of preferential instant-runoff voting, the 1992 New Zealand poll, was counted under the two-round system, as were polls in Newfoundland and Guam, for example
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