By Leila Biola Olukoga
Introduction
When looking at a map of northern Africa, there are many distinguishable countries to point to. Egypt, Algeria, and Morocco are all countries with rich and illustrious histories that make them what they are today. However, to the far left of all these nations is an area of land with the third smallest population size in the continent.
The Western Sahara, typically referred to as a territory to the north of Mauritania and west of Morocco, has a population of less than 600,000 citizens. These citizens, known as the Sahrawis, have a deep-rooted presence in western Africa that can be attributed to its untold, unique history.
In this essay, I aim to discuss Western Sahara’s history as well as its role in African politics in modern society, specifically in Morocco.
Western Sahara’s History and Its Scope
Before the desertification of the Western Sahara in 2500 BCE, little was known about the territory other than rock engravings in the southern region. However, by the 4th century BCE, recorded trade between the Sahrawi people and European nations spanned across the Mediterranean.
Phoenicians, Romans, and Amazigh peoples had all come in contact and traded with Sahrawis for salt and gold. As a result of the growing trading industry, the Amazighs grew to take control over the Western Sahara for over 300 years. Though the Portuguese discovered the Western Sahara in 1996, the Spanish later found and colonized the territory in the mid-19th century due to its geographical proximity and trading network.
The Spanish went on to maintain control over the Western Sahara up until the 20th century when Morocco and Mauritania annexed the territory in 1975. The Green March, which was the peaceful influx of over 350,000 Moroccans into Western Sahara territory, represented the dire interest of the state of Morocco to own this territory. What preceded was a year-long dispute between Morocco and Mauritania over which country could territorially claim the Western Sahara region.
Following a year of territorial disputes between Morocco and Mauritania came the creation of the Polisario Front, a Sahrawi nationalist organization aimed at recognizing the Western Sahara as an independent sovereign state. The Polisario Front formed the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) and has since been recognized as the only legitimate representative for the Sahrawi people by the United Nations.
In 1979, Mauritania signed a peace treaty with the Polisario Front to withdraw itself from the territory as well as recognize SADR as a sovereign state. Morocco then annexed the previously occupied territory from Mauritania and had escalated conflicts between itself and the Western Sahara up until 1991, when Morocco claimed over two-thirds of Western Sahara land.
Since 1991, conflicts between the Kingdom of Morocco and the SADR in the Western Sahara have persisted.
Modern-Day Territorial Disputes
The Guerguerat Crisis of 2020 draws attention to the long-lasting conflict between the Kingdom of Morocco and the SADR. The crisis, which is still occurring today, is a series of attacks from both the SADR and Moroccan militaries as a result of boiling territorial disputes.
Tensions between the two nations have only escalated since the Abraham Accords of 2020, when Israel and the United States contractually acknowledged Morocco’s claims to the Western Sahara. This publicization of Morocco’s territory ownership has only exacerbated circumstances for the Sahrawis.
The SADR, which is a recognized sovereign state by the African Union, has made limited progress in its acquisition of the entirety of the Western Sahara. The UN, which has sought to find resolutions to the disputes since the 1990s, has found inconclusive results.
With almost 80% of Western Sahara under Moroccan control, efforts at Sahrawi’s self-determination to the entirety of the territory are being significantly diminished. This begs the question: Why does Morocco persistently aim to control the Western Sahara?
The Western Sahara is home to the world’s highest-quality phosphate reserves. As a result of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, the European Union has exponentially increased its imports of “Moroccan” phosphorus. These imports account for over 50% of Europe’s phosphorus imports. Bou Craa, one of the biggest phosphorus mines in the Western Sahara, aids Morocco in possessing close to 77% of the world’s phosphorus reserves.
Morocco’s ownership of these high-quality, overabundant phosphate reserves accounted for over 8.9 million Moroccan Dirhams in 2021. This booming phosphate industry, which can be partly attributed to Western Sahara, has provided Morocco with an evergrowing economy as well as trading opportunities with the rest of the world.
Western Sahara’s convenient location provides Sahrawis and Moroccans with better access to rich fishing banks and enough renewable energy to power the entire western region of Africa. Moreover, Morocco’s claims to the Western Sahara expand its country’s size and proximity to neighboring countries such as northern Mauritania.
Morocco’s claims to the Western Sahara provide ample opportunities for natural resources, territorial expansion, and economic development. Despite these seemingly positive reasons for territorial expansion, the rights and self-determination of the Sahrawi are consistently overlooked and increasingly restricted as a result of these moves.
Conclusion
The Western Sahara has remained a highly controversial and polarizing dispute for Sahrawis, Moroccans, and larger global powers.
Sahrawi’s determination to possess the entirety of the Western Sahara has been met with both violent and civil protests from the Moroccan Kingdom. With over 60% of the territory belonging to the Kingdom, Morocco’s goal of seizing the full territory is coming closer to fruition with Morocco’s growing economy and political alliances.
With the UN’s delayed and negligible process of reviewing the circumstances of the dispute, any attempts made by the SADR at obtaining full sovereignty over the Western Sahara seem further from being achieved.
