Foreign relations of Western Sahara

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The Western Sahara conflict

Western Sahara

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Sahrawi Republic

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Western Sahara is the former Spanish colony of Spanish Sahara claimed and mostly administered by the Kingdom of Morocco since Spain abandoned the territory in 1975-76, but sovereignty is unresolved and the United Nations (UN) is attempting to hold a referendum on the issue through the mission United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO.) Part of the territory is controlled by the nationalist group the Polisario Front as the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). A UN-administered cease-fire has been in effect since September, 1991.

Contents

[edit] Positions of the parties

[edit] United Nations

The United Nations views Western Sahara as a case of incomplete decolonization[1], until the Sahrawi people are able to use their right of self-determination in the form of a referendum. This makes Western Sahara one of the last major remaining colonies in the world; it is on the United Nations' list of non-self-governing territories.

[edit] African Union

The African Union (formerly the Organization of African Unity) has given the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic full recognition[2], and accepted it as a member (which has led Morocco to leave the union[3], becoming the only African state outside of it.)

[edit] Kingdom of Morocco

The position of the Kingdom of Morocco is that all of Western Sahara is an integral part of the Kingdom. The Moroccan government refers to Western Sahara only as the "Sahara," "Moroccan Sahara," "Saharan provinces," or the "Southern Provinces." It often refers to a International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on Western Sahara of 1975 by the UN's International Court of Justice in the Hague (Netherlands) as grounds for this claim. The Court had ruled that there had been ties of allegiance between the people of Western Sahara and the Sultan of Morocco but no ties of territorial sovereignty. Thus the Court stated that those legal ties don’t affect the principle of self determination of the peoples of the territory.[4] The Polisario Front are considered a non-state actor and a separatist group, and the SADR a puppet state for Algeria to fight a proxy war with Morocco.

[edit] Polisario Front

The position of the Polisario Front and other supporters of independence is that Western Sahara is an occupied territory, the rightful government of which is the exiled Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.[5] The UN also considers Western Sahara an occupied territory, and a territory which should be decolonized, since the legal administrator of the territory still is Spain. Although the Sahrawi republic is not recognised as a member state in the UN, Polisario is recognized as the legal representative of the Sahrawi people.

[edit] Recognition

The SADR is recognized by 44 states. Non-recognition of the Sahrawi republic does not imply non-recognition of the Polisario Front: several governments acknowledge Polisario as the legitimate representative of the Sahrawi people, but not its exile government as a state. Several states have withdrawn their recognition of the SADR; the SADR's position is that once it is recognized, it cannot be said to no longer exist as long as the status quo remains. Although Morocco claims that no recognition is required, Moroccan sovereignty over the territory is explicitly supported, but not formally recognized, by the Arab League[6] [7] and by 25 states.

[edit] States recognizing the SADR

Countries maintaining diplomatic relations with the SADR ██ area claimed by the SADR ██ diplomatic relations and Sahrawi embassy ██ diplomatic relations ██ diplomatic relations canceled or suspended
Enlarge
Countries maintaining diplomatic relations with the SADR ██ area claimed by the SADR ██ diplomatic relations and Sahrawi embassy ██ diplomatic relations ██ diplomatic relations canceled or suspended

The following is a list of state governments that have formally recognized Western Sahara as a sovereign nation, with the exiled Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic as its legitimate government.

After recognizing an independent Western Sahara, some states have since retracted their recognitions. Others have chosen a milder option, to suspend recognition pending the outcome of the referendum on self-determination. If the results are in favor of independence, these governments will then resume their contacts, while a government who has withdrawn recognition (or never recognized Western Sahara), will not necessarily do so.

This list is based on several sources, and it may be incomplete. Currently, it contains 83 states, and of these

  • Forty-four recognize the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. Twelve of them are home to Sahrawi embassies.
  • Fourteen have recognized the SADR but then suspended relations.
  • Twenty-four have recognized the SADR but then withdrawn recognition.
State Date of recognition Notes
Madagascar February 28, 1976 Froze recognition June 4, 2005
Burundi March 1, 1976 Suspended recognition May 5, 2006[8]
Algeria March 6, 1976 Embassy[9].
Angola March 11, 1976 Embassy.
Benin March 11, 1976 Recognition withdrawn March 21, 1997
Mozambique March 13, 1976 Embassy.
Guinea-Bissau March 15, 1976 Relations suspended April 2, 1997; Relations resumed and embassy re-opened September 26, 2000.
North Korea March 16, 1976
Togo March 17, 1976 Withdrawn June, 1997 [10]
Rwanda April 1, 1976
South Yemen (PDRY and PRSY) February 2, 1977 Diplomatic recognition likely withdrawn by the government of the unified Republic of Yemen owing to its support to Morocco's territorial integrity[11] including its "southern provinces."
Seychelles October 25, 1977
Republic of Congo June 3, 1978 Withdrawn September 13, 1996
São Tomé and Príncipe June 22, 1978 Withdrawn October 23, 1996
Panama June 23, 1978 Embassy [12]
Equatorial Guinea November 3, 1978 Withdrawn May 1980
Tanzania November 9, 1978 Embassy established June, 2005.[13]
Ethiopia February 24, 1979 Embassy [14]
Viet Nam March 2, 1979
Cambodia April 10, 1979 Withdrawn August 14, 2006[15]
Laos May 9, 1979
Afghanistan May 23, 1979 Withdrawn July 12, 2002
Cape Verde July 4, 1979
Grenada August 20, 1979
Ghana August 24, 1979 Suspended May 2001
Guyana September 1, 1979
Dominica September 1, 1979 Suspended
Saint Lucia September 1, 1979 Withdrawn March 1989
Jamaica September 4, 1979
Uganda September 6, 1979
Nicaragua September 6, 1979 Suspended July 21, 2000
Mexico September 8, 1979[16] Embassy.[17]
Lesotho October 9, 1979[18][19]
Zambia October 12, 1979
Cuba January 20, 1980 Embassy.[17]
Iran February 27, 1980[1][20]
Sierra Leone March 27, 1980 Suspended c. 2002-2003
Syria April 15, 1980 Cancelled in 2001 [21]
Libya April 15, 1980 [22] [2]
Swaziland April 28, 1980 Withdrawn June 1997
Botswana May 14, 1980
Zimbabwe July 3, 1980[3]
Chad July 4, 1980 Withdrawn May 9, 1997 (Apparently re-started and then cancelled again March 18, 2006)[23]
Mali July 4, 1980
Costa Rica October 30, 1980 Suspended April 2000
Vanuatu November 27, 1980 Withdrawn November 2000
Papua New Guinea August 12, 1981
Tuvalu August 12, 1981 Withdrawn September 15, 2000
Kiribati August 12, 1981 Withdrawn September 15, 2000
Nauru August 12, 1981 Withdrawn September 15, 2000
Solomon Islands August 12, 1981 Withdrawn January, 1989
Mauritius July 1, 1982
Venezuela August 3, 1982 Embassy.[17]
Suriname August 11, 1982
Bolivia December 14, 1982
Ecuador November 14, 1983 Withdrawn June 19, 2004; Relations resumed February 8, 2006.[24] [4]
Mauritania February 27, 1984[25]
Burkina Faso March 4, 1984 Withdrawn June 5, 1996
Peru August 16, 1984 Suspended relations, October, 1996
Nigeria November 12, 1984 Embassy.[26][5][6]
Yugoslavia (SFRY) November 28, 1984 [27] Withdrawn by Serbia and Montenegro, October 28, 2004.
Colombia February 27, 1985 Suspended December, 2000.
Liberia July 31, 1985 Withdrawn September, 1997
India October 1, 1985[28] Withdrawn June 26, 2000
Guatemala April 10, 1986 Suspended April, 1998. In 2002, denied ever recognizing SADR.[29]
Dominican Republic June 24, 1986 Suspended on May 23, 2002
Trinidad and Tobago November 1, 1986
Belize November 18, 1986[7]
St. Kitts and Nevis February 25, 1987
Antigua and Barbuda February 27, 1987
Albania December 29, 1987[27] Withdrawn November 9, 2004
Barbados February 27, 1988
El Salvador July 31, 1989 Withdrawn April, 1997
Honduras November 8, 1989 Suspended January 2000
Namibia June 2, 1990[8][9]
Malawi November 16, 1994 Withdrawn June 2001
Paraguay February 9, 2000 Suspended June 25, 2000
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines February 14, 2002[30]
Timor-Leste May 20, 2002[10] First country to establish relations with East Timor.
South Africa September 15, 2004 Embassy.[31][11]
Kenya June 25, 2005[32] Embassy.[33] Recognition suspended October 20, 2006 [34]
Uruguay December 28, 2005[35] [36]
Haiti November 23, 2006 Embassy.[12][13]

[edit] List of states supporting Moroccan claims on Western Sahara

No state has recognized the sovereignty of Morocco over Western Sahara, which the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan also stressed in his last report on Western Sahara to the Security Council:

"The Security Council would not be able to invite parties to negotiate about Western Saharan autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty, for such wording would imply recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, which was out of the question as long as no States Member of the United Nations had recognized that sovereignty".[37]

Some UN member states have expressed support of "Morocco's territorial integrity", which can be interpreted as support of its claims over Western Sahara. However, this can also be an expression against separatism within the internationally-recognized borders of Morocco. This list is based on several sources and may be incomplete:

  1. Argentina [38]
  2. Botswana [39]
  3. Cameroon [40]
  4. The Central Africa Republic [41][14]
  5. Chile[42][15] *Chile has given contradictory comments regarding the Sahara. Chile's Senate speaker Sergio Romero has said that Chile does not recognize Western Sahara's independence [16][42], but Chile's Ministry of Foreign Relations website includes Western Sahara as an independent country with which Chile has no diplomatic relations.
  6. The People's Republic of China [43]
  7. Colombia[44]
  8. Côte d'Ivoire[45]
  9. Egypt[46]
  10. Equatorial Guinea[47]
  11. Gabon[48]
  12. Guinea[49]
  13. Indonesia[50]
  14. Iraq[51]
  15. Kuwait[52]
  16. Libya[53]
  17. Madagascar[54]
  18. Malawi[17]
  19. Peru[55]
  20. Senegal[56]
  21. Serbia[57]
  22. Swaziland[18]
  23. Sudan[58]
  24. Vanuatu[59]
  25. Yemen[11]

[edit] Other states

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  • Hodges, Tony. Western Sahara: Roots of a Desert War, Lawrence Hill & Company, 1983, ISBN 0-88208-152-9, p. 308
  • Hodges, Tony, and Pazzanita, Anthony. Historical Dictionary of Western Sahara, 2 ed., Scarecrow Press, 1994, ISBN 0-8018-2661-5, pp. 378-379.
  1. ^ United Nations Fourth Committee (2002). Non-Self-Governing Territories listed by GA in 2002 (English). United Nations. Retrieved on 2006-08-20.
  2. ^ African Union. A. U. Member States (English, French) (Flash animation). African Union. Retrieved on 2006-08-20.
  3. ^ Political Alliances Within the UN. Eye on the UN. Retrieved on 2006-07-15.
  4. ^ International Court of Justice (1975-10-16). SUMMARY: Western Sahara, Avisory Opinion - 16 October 1975 (English). International Court of Justice. Retrieved on 2006-08-20.
  5. ^ a b Saeed Taji Farouky. "The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic: Deserted in Western Sahara", Qantara.de, 2006-03-21. Retrieved on 2006-07-15. (in English, German)
  6. ^ Arabicnews.com. "Arab League withdraws inaccurate Moroccan maps", Arabicnews.com, 1998-12-17. Retrieved on 2006-07-15. (in English)
  7. ^ Arabicnews.com. "Arab League supports Morocco's territorial integrity", Arabicnews.com, 1999-01-08. Retrieved on 2006-07-15. (in English)
  8. ^ Maghreb Arane Presse. "Burundi freezes recognition of so-called Sahrawi republic", Maghreb Arane Presse, 2006-05-10. Retrieved on 2006-08-10. (in English)
  9. ^ Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. Embassy of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic in Algeria (Arabic, Spanish). Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. Retrieved on 2006-08-20.
  10. ^ African News Dimension. "Togo confirms withdrawal of recognition of SADR", African News Dimension, 2006-06-30. Retrieved on 2006-08-20. (in English)
  11. ^ a b Africast.com. "Yemen supports Morocco's efforts to protect territorial integrity", Africast.com, 2000-07-12. Retrieved on 2006-08-20. (in English)
  12. ^ Haddi Larosi. Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic embassy in Panama (English, Spanish). Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. Retrieved on 2006-08-20.
  13. ^ Sahara Press Service (2005-06-28). Tanzania satisfied about the future establishment of the Saharawi Republic’s Embassy in Dar Es Salam. Press release. Retrieved on 2006-08-20.
  14. ^ Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (2005-07-04). Embassies of Ethiopia (English). Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Retrieved on 2006-08-20.
  15. ^ Morocco Times. "Cambodia withdraws recognition of Sahrawi Republic", Morocco Times, 2006-08-14. Retrieved on 2006-08-20. (in English)
  16. ^ United Mexican States. Conflicto en el Sahara Occidental (Spanish) (PDF). United Mexican States. Retrieved on 2006-08-20.
  17. ^ a b c Haddi Larosi. Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic embassy in Venezuela (Spanish). Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. Retrieved on 2006-08-20.
  18. ^ "Statement by the Honourable Motsoahae Thomas Thabane Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Lesotho at the 56th Session of the United Nations General Assembly", 2001-11-15. Retrieved on 2005-07-15.
  19. ^ Africa works "seriously for the decolonisation of Western Sahara", declares Mohlabi Kenneth Tsekoa. Sahara Presse Service (2004-07-08). Retrieved on 2006-07-15.
  20. ^ "Iran recognises "the Saharawi Republic and see the solution within the UN framework", Declares Iran’s Ambassador to Algiers", Sahara Presse Service, 2006-02-17. Retrieved on 2006-07-15.
  21. ^ http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/011124/2001112422.html. Arabic News (2001). Retrieved on 2006-10-26.
  22. ^ Maghrib Relations. Country-data.com (1987). Retrieved on 2006-07-15.
  23. ^ "Chad withdraws recognition of Sahrawi Republic", MoroccoTimes.com, 2006-03-17. Retrieved on 2006-07-15.
  24. ^ "Ecuador and the Saharawi Republic declare the re-establishment of diplomatic relations", Sahara Presse Service, 2006-02-08. Retrieved on 2006-07-15.
  25. ^ The Haidalla Regime. Retrieved on 2006-07-15.
  26. ^ "Arrival of the President of the Republic to Abuja to take part to the African Union's Summit", Sahara Presse Service, 2005-01-30. Retrieved on 2006-07-15.
  27. ^ a b Case study # 24. Inventory of Conflict & Environment (ICE) (December 1997). Retrieved on 2006-07-15.
  28. ^ Foreign Consulates in India. Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. Retrieved on 2006-07-15.
  29. ^ "Guatemala denies recognition of so-called Sahrawi republic", Arabicnews.com, 2002-07-30. Retrieved on 2006-07-15.
  30. ^ Western Sahara - Sahara Occidental Joint Statement (2002-02-15). Retrieved on 2006-07-15.
  31. ^ "The Guardian : South Africa's recognition of 'SADR' harms own interests", Arabicnews.com, 2004-09-24. Retrieved on 2006-07-15.
  32. ^ "Rabat deplores Kenya's recognition of 'Sahrawi Republic', recalls its ambassador in Nairobi", Arabicnews.com, 2005-06-27. Retrieved on 2006-07-15.
  33. ^ Kenya-W Sahara ties anger Rabat. Al Jazeera (2005-06-25). Retrieved on 2006-07-15.
  34. ^ Kenya severs diplomatic ties with Sahrawi Republic. Kenya Times (2006-10-22).
  35. ^ "The Oriental Republic of Uruguay announces its official recognition of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic", Sahara Presse Service, 2005-12-26. Retrieved on 2006-07-15.
  36. ^ "Uruguay recognises Western Sahara", Al Jazeera, 2005-12-29. Retrieved on 2006-07-15.
  37. ^ Report of the Secretary-General on the situation concerning Western Sahara (PDF) (2006-04-19). Retrieved on 2006-07-15.
  38. ^ "Argentina renews backing to Morocco's territorial integrity", Arabicnews.com, 2003-04-15. Retrieved on 2006-07-15.
  39. ^ "Morocco, Botswana establish diplomatic relations", Arabicnews.com, 2005-06-28. Retrieved on 2006-07-15.
  40. ^ "King Visit to Cameroon, a major event, ambassador", Arabicnews.com, 2004-06-17. Retrieved on 2006-07-15.
  41. ^ "Central Africa backs Morocco's sovereignty over Sahara", Arabicnews.com, 2000-02-29. Retrieved on 2006-07-15.
  42. ^ a b "Chile reiterates its position in favour of Moroccan territorial integrity", MoroccoTimes.com, 2005-06-02. Retrieved on 2006-07-15.
  43. ^ "China renews backing to Morocco's territorial integrity", Arabicnews.com, 2000-11-08. Retrieved on 2006-07-15.
  44. ^ "Columbian Senate reaffirms support to Morocco territorial integrity", MoroccoTimes.com, 2005-03-23. Retrieved on 2006-07-15.
  45. ^ "Ivory Coast reiterates firm support to political solution to Sahara dispute, Minister", Arabicnews.com, 2004-03-16. Retrieved on 2006-07-15.
  46. ^ "Egypt renews backing to Morocco's territorial integrity", Arabicnews.com, 1999-03-15. Retrieved on 2006-07-15.
  47. ^ "Equatorial Guinea renews backing to Morocco's territorial integrity", Arabicnews.com, 2002-05-14. Retrieved on 2006-07-15.
  48. ^ "Gabon renews support to Morocco's territorial integrity", Africast.com, 2000-09-13. Retrieved on 2006-07-15.
  49. ^ "Bilateral cooperation: Guinea reaffirms support to Moroccan territorial integrity", MoroccoTimes.com, 2005-07-21. Retrieved on 2006-07-15.
  50. ^ "Indonesian MP delegation holds intensive talks with Moroccan officials", Arabicnews.com, 2001-01-25. Retrieved on 2006-07-15.
  51. ^ "Morocco-Iraqi agreements on oil supply upheld, ambassador", 2005-06-09. Retrieved on 2006-07-15.
  52. ^ "Kuwait reiterates support to Morocco's territorial integrity", Arabicnews.com, 2002-05-25. Retrieved on 2006-07-15.
  53. ^ "Sahara historically established as Moroccan territory, Libyan senior official", Arabicnews.com, 1999-06-30. Retrieved on 2006-07-15.
  54. ^ "Madagascar freezes recognition of so-called Sahrawi Republic", Arabicnews.com, 2005-04-07. Retrieved on 2006-07-15.
  55. ^ "Peru fully supports Morocco's territorial integrity", 2003-10-02. Retrieved on 2006-07-15.
  56. ^ "Senegal renews firm support to Moroccan territorial integrity", Africast.com, 2000-05-29. Retrieved on 2006-07-15.
  57. ^ "Serbia-Montenegro withdraws recognition of Sahara Republic", 2004-10-28. Retrieved on 2006-07-15.
  58. ^ "Sudan supports Moroccan sovereignty over Southern Provinces", MoroccoTimes.com, 2005-12-26. Retrieved on 2006-07-15.
  59. ^ "Morocco and Vanuatu to start diplomatic relations", Arabicnews.com, 2000-12-15. Retrieved on 2006-07-15.

[edit] External links

[edit] Tables of states recognizing the SADR

[edit] Others

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