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Legal Issues

In 1963, while still under Spanish control, the Western Sahara was officially recognized as a Non-Self-Governing Territory (NSGT) by the General Assembly under the UN Charter – a legal status it retains to this day.

 

The General Assembly in Resolution 1514 (XV) decided that in order to complete the process of decolonization, all NSGTs must progress to a “full measure of self‐government” by: (a) emergence as a sovereign independent State; (b) free association with an independent State; or (c) integration with an independent State.

 

During Spanish colonial role no such process of decolonization took place for Western Sahara. While Spain committed to organizing a referendum in 1972, no referendum was held. Instead, it offered Western Sahara to two neighboring countries, Morocco and Mauritania, under the so-called Madrid Accords of 14 November 1975.

 

The Saharawi people were thus denied the opportunity to exercise their right to self-determination, a founding principle of the UN and the Organization of African Unity (OAU)/African Union (AU). As a result, the people of Western Sahara created the Frente POLISARIO to fight against colonialism

 

In October 1975, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) confirmed the legal right of the Saharawi to  a process of self-determination, which was to include the free and genuine expression of the will of the peoples of the Territory, and found no ties of territorial sovereignty between Western Sahara and either Morocco or Mauritania.

Legal Opinions and Decisions


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2002 UN (Hans Corell) Legal Opinion on Western Sahara
UN Hans-Corell-opinion.pdf
Adobe Acrobat Document 123.4 KB
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AU Legal Opinion on Western Sahara.pdf
Adobe Acrobat Document 12.3 MB
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1975 International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on Western Sahara
ICJ Advisory Opinion.pdf
Adobe Acrobat Document 8.5 MB
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PRESS RELEASE
THE UN PEACE PROCESS IN WESTERN SAHARA IS AT A CRITICAL JUNCTURE AND THE FRENTE POLISARIO IS LEFT WITH NO OPTION BUT TO RECONSIDER ITS ENGAGEMENT IN THE PROCESS.
Frente POLISARIO PRESS RELEASE 30-10-19
Adobe Acrobat Document 141.7 KB
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(Press Release) 30 April 2019: TO END THE STATUS QUO, UN SECURITY COUNCIL MUST UNEQUIVOCALLY SUPPORT THE SELF-DETERMINATION OF THE SAHRAWI PEOPLE 


Politico Brussels Playbook: Western Sahara Representatives Slam EU Over Morocco Talks - 31 August 2017: Letter to EU from Western Sahara Civil Society Groups (Read here)


Project Syndicate: Decolonizing Western Sahara 15 August 2017: Op-ed by Frente POLISARIO MINURSO Coordinator Emhamed Khadad (Read here)


(Statement) 12 June 2017: Statement by Frente POLISARIO Representative to the UN Ahmed Boukhari to the UN Special Committee on Decolonisation (C24) (Read here)


(SPS) 30 April 2017: Polisario Front welcomes recent UN Security Council Meeting (Read here)

(SPS) 25 March 2017: AU calls on international community to support its efforts to overcome current impasse in Western Sahara (click to read)


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