Western Sahara and the Sahel: Sovereignty and Self-determination is the Key

The legal nature of the question of Western Sahara and the development of the conflict

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By : Mohamed Brahim

The issue of Western Sahara, according to international law, is an issue of decolonization and not a problem of “territorial integrity”.

 Since 1961, the United Nations has considered Western Sahara to be a “Non-Self-Governing Territory” where the right to self-determination law applies, in accordance with Article 73 of the United Nations Charter and Resolution 1514 of the General Assembly.  Since 1972, the United Nations, in its Recommendation 29836/A/RES, respected the right of the people of  Western Sahara  (then known as the Spanish Sahara) to self-determination. Today, Western Sahara is still registered among the “non-self-governing territories” awaiting decolonization.

The International Court of Justice considers that it is a decolonization, unrelated to the territorial integrity of Morocco. In its advisory opinion of 16 October 1975, the International Court of Justice rejected Moroccan and Mauritanian claims regarding allegations of sovereignty before the Spanish colonization in 1884. The Court concluded that Western Sahara was not a TERRA NULLIUS (a sort of a “no man’s land) because Spain entered into an agreement in the late 19th century with the free and independent tribes of the Territory.

The European Court of Justice has also confirmed that Western Sahara is not part of Morocco and that there are no ties between the people of Western Sahara and the Moroccan kingdom. It also confirmed that Europe has no right to exploit the natural resources without the consultation and consent of the people of Western Sahara and its legal representative, the POLISARIO Front.

Factors blocking the UN endeavor to decolonize Western Sahara

The dilemma of resolving the Western Sahara issue does not lie in the disagreement over  voting regulations nor the absence of negotiation. The only reason that obstructs the solution is that Morocco, by illegally annexing Western Sahara, deters the achievement of international cooperation of any sort.   This violates the entire United Nations Charter and renders the UN peacekeeping mission “MINURSO”  devoid of any purpose. The whole issue does not need  any more negotiations with the POLISARIO Front, or  even Algeria as an observer.

It is not true that a referendum on self-determination is no longer applicable in the Western Sahara because of the disagreement over who should vote. Rather, Morocco and its allies want to change Resolution 1541 to their own advantage by eliminating the option of independence (which they rejected years ago). To say that the referendum cannot be held due to disagreements over who votes is simply a lie. Morocco accepted the United Nations identification process in the year 2000 to elect an executive government for self-rule within a plan for “self-rule” known as the “Framework Agreement,” or the first “Baker Plan.”  In addition, in the second “Baker Plan”, which was accepted by the Polisario, the Moroccan settlers residing in the territory can vote in the final referendum. Therefore, the dispute over voter regulations is not a problem. The problem is that Morocco and its allies want to rule out the option of independence from all negotiations, thus  denying the essence of Resolution 1541, which includes the option of independence.

The Sahara and the Sahel, Resources and Unrest:

The Sahara is no longer synonymous of an arid region, as enormous discoveries have been made in both the Sahara and  the Sahel. The Sahel region is rich in energy materials, from oil to gas to uranium, and thus, the whole region has become a new arena for strategic, political and economic interests, arousing the ambitions of various powers. In positioning in the region, strategies of surrounding and counter-surrounding would help determine the geopolitical stakes.

In addition to its natural and mineral resources, the Sahel region is of great importance because of its geographical location: it connects North and Central Africa, represents a clear strip from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea, and controls the continent’s trade routes. 

 There are enormous natural resources in the region, such as diamonds and copper, as well as uranium and cobalt, which are used in heavy and large industries. There is a huge reserve of gold, iron, zinc and marble, which some countries have not yet benefited from, such as Chad. The iron reserve in Mauritania is estimated at 100 million tons.  There are also huge deposits of copper, its reserves are estimated at 27.3 million tons of high-quality. The uranium reserve in Niger is estimated at 280 thousand tons. The African Sahel region also presents great water reserves. For example, the Niger River is the third longest in Africa after the Nile and the Congo. It is about 4,160 kms long and its area exceeds 2 million km2. There is also the Senegal River, the sixth in length and the fifth in area. 

 Moreover, the Sahel countries have economic resources of a strategic nature, such as oil and natural gas, especially in Sudan and Chad, both of which have huge oil reserves. There are also contemporary studies and reports that prove that the world’s energy future lies in this region, especially with regard to solar energy, since this region benefit from the sun all year long.

The European and Foreign Connection in the Sahel and the Sahara:

The French — and European — interest in the region explains its pivotal overlap with North and West Africa all the way up to the Red Sea. The stability of the coast and the Sahara consolidates French and European interests in energy sources and uranium:  Mauritania represents a significant reserve of iron that is crucial for the steel industry in Europe, and Niger comes second in the production of uranium with a percentage of 8.7% of global production, thus covering 12% of the European Union’s needs, in addition to the important stock of oil that remains largely to be exploited, especially that the Middle East countries will run out of oil in the near future and will not be able to compete with African oil and gas production.

   The current unrest, which began in Mali, then Burkina Faso, and continues in Niger and Nigeria, is related to tribal organizations, organized crime, and international and regional interventions. Every time a militia appears, its goal is either to seize power in the country and occupy its own region, or cooperate with a foreign power in order to form an organization through which it might work against another party, inside the country if necessary! As previously mentioned, this increases the complexity of the scene due to the multiplicity of movements , the abundance of weapons, and the abundance of false targets.

Although China usually does not deploy militarily but rather commercially, the United States established a military command for Africa (AFRICOM). This was of great benefit, as the phenomenon of violence and terrorism grew and spread across the Sahel countries and beyond and around them. There has been much talk about the Russian presence in the Sahel countries. In practice, with the exception of Mauritania, the national armies in the Sahel countries are no longer what they were. The armies formed by the French, the British, and finally the Americans were weakened by coups, tribal and ethnic factionalism. Therefore, militias are created by, alongside or against the army, other tribes or ethnicities to defend their own interests.

Morocco eying both the Sahara and the Sahel:

 Lately, observers have witnessed an increasing Moroccan interest in the Sahel and the Sahara region, within the framework of the Kingdom of Morocco’s main foreign policy aimed at strengthening its role in the African continent in general, and the Sahel and Sahara region in particular. One of the indicators is Morocco’s invitation to the foreign ministers of the countries of the Sahel and Sahara region (Mali - Chad - Niger - Burkina Faso) on December 23rd, 2023, and organizing a high-level ministerial meeting with the participation of the foreign ministers of these countries.

There is no doubt that the current Moroccan movements in the Sahel and Sahara region aim at changing the positions of these countries to support the Moroccan proposal to settle the dispute over the Western Sahara, accommodating its own interests. Employing the Moroccan economic approach would change the neutral position adopted by a country like Mali towards the Sahara issue. The State of Niger has not yet opened a consulate in the Moroccan-occupied Sahara, despite its support for the Moroccan position in this regard. This contrasts with both Burkina Faso and Chad, which opened consulates in the port of Dakhla, in the occupied part of Western Sahara. What confirms this are Morocco’s efforts to facilitate their access to the Atlantic Ocean. It includes constructing roads linking these countries to the large port of Dakhla, controlled by Morocco. The support of these countries for Morocco’s position on the Sahara issue is one of the Kingdom’s key goals, in addition to setting foot in the Sahel and Sahara regions.

Sovereignty and self-determination: A feasible way to achieve peace and stability in Western Sahara and the Sahel:

Political independence cannot be dissociated from economic sovereignty. Without economic independence, political sovereignty is condemned to remain theoretical.  The right of permanent sovereignty of peoples and nations over their wealth and natural resources must be exercised in the interest of national development and the well-being of the population.

Indeed, the right to self-determination and sovereignty over natural resources is a recognized right but rarely applied in all its dimensions. It has a strong international dimension, hence the need to firmly commit to a democratic, just and equitable international (economic and political) order which would allow the implementation of all human rights, including the right to to self-determination.

It is wrong to consider that the POLISARIO Front is aiming for a "separation" from Morocco, because the Territory has never legally belonged to Morocco and the people of Western Sahara never paid allegiance to the dynasties that reigned over Morocco throughout the centuries. 

Therefore, it is consistent and harmonious to play against [?] a Sahrawi authority that was established legitimately, and to demand that a referendum be held to complete the liberation of the land occupied by Morocco and finish the decolonization process in accordance with Resolutions 1514 and 1541 issued by the United Nations General Assembly, and through this it is possible The population has the choice, through a free and fair referendum, whether to achieve internationally recognized independence or to integrate with another country.

Recognizing the people of Western Sahara’s right to independence and completing te decolonization process is the only feasible way to defuse tensions, even armed conflicts, and find solutions in complex situations.

Stability in Western Sahara means stability in North Africa, the Sahel and the Sahara. The whole region is linked together and the fate of its peoples lies in the hand of the international powers to let them be and to allow them to take back their sovereignty over their land and its resources, through democratic governance and the respect of international law and the UN Charter.

Placed by Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey

Author Mohamed Brahim