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Home , Amgala, Bir Lehlou, Dougaj, Gdeim Izik protest camp, Guerguerat, Mijek

REPORTS Western A thematic report from the Norwegian Refugee Council, 2014

OCCUPIED COUNTRY, ­DISPLACED PEOPLE ›› 2 >BACKGROUND OCCUPIED COUNTRY, DISPLACED PEOPLE Western Sahara – ’s last colony More than 80 former colonies have diminished over the past few years is it to have right on your side if gained independence since the UN and is very unpredictable. Malnu- you do not get justice? While the Sahrawis wait for their rights to be respected, the international com- was founded, a process which has trition and anaemia are widespread affected more than one billion people, and the education sector is disinte- Western Sahara is clearly neglected munity has chosen to look the other way. The Sahrawis have learned through and in which the UN itself has played grating. For the by the international community. a crucial and driving role. the struggle is twofold: they have to Humanitarian assistance is decreas- bitter experience that without the help of powerful friends, it is of little use to meet the refugees’ immediate needs ing year by year, there is little media have justice on your side. Richard Skretteberg For most of us the decolonisation of at the same time as carrying out attention, and minimal will on the Editor Africa belongs to the history books, nation-building in exile. The refu- part of the international community and is viewed as one of the UN’s gees fear that dependence on aid to find a solution along the lines that Ever since invaded this thinly popu- crimination. There is now an increased The partition of the country is the result of greatest successes. And yet the original from a politically divided EU and an the UN has outlined. These things are lated desert country in 1975, in defiance of UN danger of renewed conflict. a 16 year war which broke out after Moroccan population of Western Sahara has not under-financed UN may be used to all connected. Media, donor coun- resolutions, the international community has invasion. Morocco built up its military defences yet been allowed to exercise its dem- force the Sahrawis to abandon tries and development aid organi- been unable to push through a solution to the MOROCCO REJECTS UN SOLUTION Western in order to cut off Polisario’s guerrilla forces. ocratic right to decide its own future. their struggle for an independent zations lose interest when a refugee conflict. A new round of UN-led talks began Sahara is a divided country. Those living in the The liberation movement, based in refugee camps Western Sahara is therefore still seen Western Sahara. situation has been long-lasting – and in 2007 between Morocco and Polisario, but refugee camps are cut off from contact with their in , continued its armed resistance until by the UN as a colony, and the the reason for its duration is most there is little optimism in terms of finding a relatives in the occupied territory. Morocco has the UN succeeded in brokering a ceasefire subjugation of its people under the The UN has defined Western Sahara often a conscious policy on the part solution through those talks that both parties built a 2,200 kilometre-long wall that divides between the two sides in 1991. Agreement was present occupying power of Morocco as a decolonisation question and in of the actors who wield power. can accept. the country in two. It is almost impossible to reached on a detailed plan, which also gave draft is much harsher than it was under the 1975 the International Court of Jus- It is urgent for the Sahrawis that the conflict get over the wall, which is flanked by one of timelines for Morocco’s withdrawal from old Spanish colonists up until 1975. tice in The Hague rejected Moroc- The UN Security Council, The UN is resolved. For nearly four decades the majori- the world’s largest minefields. The area west of Western Sahara and for the return of refugees. co’s alleged “historical claim” on General Assembly and thereby all the ty of the Sahrawi population has lived in refu- the wall, with its great natural resources and In September 1991 the UN Security Council For nearly 40 years more than half of Western Sahara. The world’s states have expressed their gee camps on an open, wind-swept Algerian well-stocked fishing waters, is controlled by deployed the MINURSO force (”UN Mission the Sahrawis, the original population has recognised Western Sahara and support in principle for the Sahrawis’ desert plain, while the Sahrawis under occupa- Morocco. The eastern side, a mostly unproduc- for the Referendum in Western Sahara) to the of Western Sahara, have lived in four accepted it as a member country, right to determine their own future, tion have had enough of repression and dis- tive strip of desert, is under Polisario control. country. Its mandate was to implement the ›› isolated refugee camps in Algeria. having defined the question of but they need to follow up this sup- Their homeland is divided along a Western Sahara as the right to self- port in practice. It must increase its Moroccan-built wall, and electronic determination. In the times in humanitarian assistance and actively Dakhla , Algeria. surveillance, land mines and soldiers which we live it is more important engage to have Western Sahara will put a stop whatever the wall itself than ever to defend the principles of placed higher up on the internation- fails to. Families have been separated international law. The tracks of the al, political and humanitarian agen- for decades, and new generations UN are clear, but at the same time it da. Morocco should be put under grow up in the camps without ever is power that prevails. What use is it far greater pressure. The occupying having seen their homeland. In the to have the support of the UN and country is without doubt dragging occupied territories there are now the AU when powerful countries its feet in the hope that the refugee more than Sahrawis. such as , the US and communities will simply break up are either indifferent or actively and disperse. But despite great efforts by the refu- oppose the Sahrawis legitimate gees themselves, they are completely rights? For decades the refugees of This report is an updated version dependent on international aid. Western Sahara have been asking of the NRC publication «Occupied However, this aid has constantly themselves this question: What use Country, Displaced People» (2008).

CONTENTS EDITORIAL: Occupied country, The changing face of the UN’s tracks fade into The Sahrawis’ right to displaced people 2 refugee camps 6 the sand 12 self-determination 16

BACKGROUND: Western Sahara – THE REFUGEES: Fish, phosphates and RECOMMENDATIONS OF Africa’s last colony 3 Nightfall over Western Sahara 9 international business 14 THE NORWEGIAN REFUGEE COUNCIL 18 The Sahrawis: historical POLITICS: The game : Imprisoned origins of a people 6 of the great powers 10 for their views 14

EDITOR: Richard Skretteberg EDITORIAL TEAM: Ronny Hansen, Vikram Odedra Kollmanskog, CONTRIBUTORS: Per Kristian Cappelen Nielsen, Eli Wærum Rognerud, Eirik Hjort Kirkerud TRANSLATION: Jane Thompson ADDRESS: Norwegian Refugee Council, P.O.box 6758, St. Olavs plass, 0130 Oslo, Norway DESIGN & LAYOUT: Cox Oslo FRONT PAGE: From a parade in the refugee camp in Algeria. Photo: Norwegian Refugee Council/Ronny Hansen BACK PAGE: The 2200 kilometres long Moroccan military wall through Western Sahara. Moroccan army camp in the centre of the picture. Photo: Jean Lamore

PRINTING: Gamlebyen Grafiske Edition: 3,500 ISBN: 978-82-7411-235-3 Photo: Berserk Productions WESTERN SAHARA>BACKGROUND WESTERN SAHARA>BACKGROUND

in cooperation with the parties. Photo: Eirik Hjort Kirkerud Illustration: Eirik Hjort Kirkerud The first steps were to identify qualified voters 16° 14° 12° 10° 8° so as to later organise a referendum in early WESTERN SAHARA 1992, when the Sahrawis were to choose between 30° 30° Tiznit MOROCCO integration into Morocco and full independence. Sidi Ifni Lanzarote This is where the problems started. Instead Canary Islands A R I La Palma (Spain) E of taking just a few weeks, the UN operation G Tenerife Fuerteventura Tan Tan a L Santa Cruz Oued Drâ would take all of eight years to identify the de Tenerife A 28° Las Palmas Zag Gomera

Tindouf El Aaiun qualified voters. The process was continuously Hierro Subkhat Tah Gran Canaria As-Sakn Ausserd Mahbes Rabouni Jdiriya Smara hampered by Morocco, which made use of the Al Ga'da El Aaiun Hauza Farciya ATLANTIC OCEAN amra Oue l H Dakhla delay to move increasing numbers of Moroccan d A‘s Saquia A Smara

t t settlers into Western Sahara, contrary to inter- a h K Boukra l Boujdour A Meharis 26° d 26° national law. When MINURSO finally complet- Aridal e u ed the registration process in 2000, Morocco O refused to accept the eventual list of qualified Bir Moghrein Guelta Zemmour Zbayra voters. Chalwa Sebkhet Oumm ed Drous Telli Not even the appointment of the former US Subkhat Oum Drega Aghzoumal 24° Tagarzimat 24° Secretary of State as the UN Sec- Bir Anzarane Dakhla Baggari Aargub Subkhat retary- General’s Personal Envoy to Western Tanwakka Imlily Sahara helped expedite the process. During the LEGEND Subkhat Subkhat Doumas Sebkhet Town, village Tidsit Ijill Zouerate seven years that Baker worked towards reaching Ausserd Capital Agailas Aguanit Saharawi exile Government an agreement between the two sides, he pre- 22° Saharawi Refugee Camp 22° sented several proposals for a solution. The last, International boundary Bir Gandouz Techla which he put forward in 2003, proposed that Guerguerat Zug Road Bou Lanuar Moroccan military wall Nouadhibou Sebkha de Wadi (Dried out river bed) all who had been resident in Chinchane La Guera Dry salt lake

Western Sahara since 1999 would be able to vote MAURITANIA Atar 0 50 100 150 200 km in the referendum. To the surprise of many, 20° 0 50 100 mi 20° Polisario, which had already made numerous 16 8 compromises, accepted the proposal, knowing ° 14° 12° 10° ° Eirik Hjort Kirkerud © 2008 well that they could lose a referendum under The tea ritual is important in the Sahrawis’ culture and their daily lives. these new conditions. However, it was rejected by Morocco. (1975) affirm that the Sahrawis have interna- would allow independence as one of the alter- plan to be a “serious and credible” proposal. international organizations and the press cov- tries. It is because of the occupation of Western In 2004, Baker gave up and resigned as the UN tional law on their side. Notwithstanding this, natives. As a “new” proposed solution, it put While the search for a political solution ered the Sahrawi activists being subjected to Sahara that attempts to establish a Secretary- General’s Personal Envoy, believing they have never been allowed to exercise their forward a plan in 2007 which would entail the drags on, the refugees live under extreme cli- summary arrests, torture, house searches and Union have repeatedly foundered. it to be impossible to find a solution acceptable right to self-determination. Instead, Morocco annexation of Western Sahara as an integrated mate conditions in the Algerian desert. Almost widespread surveillance by the Moroccan police.4 to both parties. The result of years of the UN’s can continue its occupation without any great part of Morocco, but with a degree of autonomy. all the food they eat bears the logo of an inter- The second wave of demonstrations and har- INCREASING ”Many believe work – a list of qualified Sahrawi voters – is detriment to itself, despite this not being rec- The UN has not reacted to the fact that national aid organisation. Over the past years, assment began in the spring of 2005. that the Moroccan annexation of Western filed away in heavy steel boxes somewhere in ognised by a single country in the world. The Morocco is thereby flying in the face of the the aid has constantly dwindled and its supply In 2010, the biggest protest wave so far took Sahara is developing into an established fact,” Geneva. Sahrawis’ own state, on the other hand, the agreements it signed with Polisario in the 1990s has become more unpredictable. This total place in Western Sahara as more than 10,000 says Jacob Mundy, assistant professor of Peace Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) has and of international law, which clearly affirms dependence makes the refugees extremely vul- Sahrawis gathered in a protest camp outside and Conflict Studies, Colgate University, who INSISTENCE ON INTEGRATION The Sahrawis have been recognised by over 80 countries since the Sahrawis’ right to self-determination. On nerable to failing and inadequate assistance. the capital. More than two years later, the has published a book on the Western Sahara been promised a referendum which will decide 19761. Unlike Morocco, SADR is also a member the other hand, two of the permanent members According to Polisario, which manages the organisers behind the camp were convicted by conflict. their own future. Over 100 UN resolutions and of the African Union (AU). of the UN Security Council, the USA and camps, 165,000 are living in a Moroccan military court to sentences rang- “But what many overlook is that at the the International Court of Justice in The Hague Morocco refuses to accept a referendum which France, in 2007 pronounced the Moroccan Algeria. New generations have grown up with- ing from 20 years to lifetime. same time, is increasing,” out ever having seen their homeland, and an Today the ceasefire in Western Sahara con- he states in an interview with the NRC. entire people are divided from one another by tinues, but it is tenuous. The patience of the pop- Mundy points out that the marginalisation of the Moroccan occupation, the wall and the ulation in the occupied territories has reached the Sahrawis in the occupied territory, and the landmines. breaking point, and Polisario threatens to take isolation of the refugee population, have only WESTERN SAHARA: FACTS up arms again if their right to choose independ- strengthened their desire for independence. A BARRIER TO DEVELOPMENT The first large ence is not respected. He is of the view that the 1991 agreement with ■■ Official name: Sahrawi Arab Democratic ■■ Population:2 Area controlled by Morocco: ■■ Refugees: Approximately 160,000 are Sahrawi demonstrations within the occupied The Moroccan occupation is a barrier to devel- Morocco now appears meaningless to many Republic (SADR). Recognised by approx. approximately 400,000, of which refugees in camps in Algeria3, 26,000 in territories of Western Sahara took place in 1999, opment, stability and security in this region on Sahrawis, and that there is a limit to how long 80 countries 250-300,000 Moroccan settlers and Mauritania. and represented a new turn in the Sahrawi the threshold of . Algeria, Morocco’s arch Polisario can continue to take a moderate line ■■ Capital: El Aaiún () 100-150.000 Sahrawis. In addition there ■■ : The population is Sunni Muslim, resistance movement. enemy, is Polisario’s main supporter. The absence without losing credibility with the Sahrawis. The ■■ Geography: Area 266,000 km2. Bordered are some 160.000 Moroccan soldiers but the majority have a liberal religious Now it was no longer only Polisario and the of cooperation and peace between Morocco and credibility of the UN as a conflict negotiator by Morocco to the north, Mauritania to and police. outlook. refugees in Algeria who were the Sahrawis’ heroic Algeria makes political and economic integration stands and falls upon its ability to find a solu- the south and Algeria to the northeast. ■■ Area controlled by Polisario: approxi- ■■ Natural resources: Large deposits of high freedom fighters. The front line of the conflict in impossible, and prevents effective tion before the outbreak of renewed open ■■ Climate: Very hot in June/July mately 30,000 . quality phosphate, large fish stocks off the had moved to the occupied territories. Both anti-terrorist cooperation between the two coun- conflict, Mundy believes. ■ (+50-60°C), as low as 0°C in January. coast, possible deposits of oil and gas.

4 NRC REPORTS Western Sahara NRC REPORTS Western Sahara 5 WESTERN SAHARA>POPULATION ALGERIA>REFUGEE CAMPS Photo: Norwegian RefugeePhoto: Norwegian Council/Ronny Hansen The changi ng face of the refugee camps

A dwindling amount of other sources of income. Some have set up small The children in the shops in the camps, or engage in commercial humanitarian aid is being refugee camps have activities in Mauritania or the town of Tind- few toys and must ouf a few kilometres away. Others receive given by the international entertain themselves. money through Spanish child-sponsoring schemes. Teachers have begun to leave their

community to the refugees Photo: Berserk Productions classrooms, no longer able to afford to teach. There are two reasons for the decline in humani- in Algeria. This has resulted tarian assistance, according to the World Food 7 El Aaiun, the capital of occupied Western Sahara. in chronically malnour- Programme (WFP) . The first is so-called donor fatigue: few organisations are motivated to give ished children and a gen- aid to the same refugee population for three The Sahrawis: decades in succession. By 2013, the major eration of youth who want donors announced a cut of upto 70% of its historical origins of a people bilateral aid to the refugees.8 to get out of the camps. The second reason is the dispute as to how The history of the Sahrawis stretches back to the 12th century, many refugees actually live in the camps. when Arab tribes from Yemen migrated into the region. They Up until the 1990s, a cash economy had yet to ­Population figures have always been a sensitive reach this outpost in the Sahara desert. But a subject for both sides in the Western Sahara mixed with the local Berber population and African groups from few years after the enforcement of the ceasefire ­conflict. Polisario claims that 165 000 refugees south of the Sahara. in 1991, the four began live in the camps. However, in 2005 WFP and slowly to change. parts of the world. The refugees themselves decreasing amount of food on Senia’s family UNHCR reduced the aid to cover the “90 000 The nomadic population of Western Sahara guistically closer to classical , but also ”Before, everyone lived the same way and take care of aid distribution, and are in dinner table, and it’s of poorer quality. most vulnerable refugees” without defining what has historically been organised into tribes, of has many loanwords from Berber. The Spanish did voluntary community work as part of the charge of all administration, education ”We only get half the amount of food we “most vulnerable” means, or how they had come which the largest were Reguibat, Ait Lahsen, colonial heritage has also led to the use of struggle for liberation. But now that the aid and health services. used to”, says Senia. up with that figure. After an extensive flood in Izarguien and Ouled Delim. Politically these many loanwords from Spanish. has decreased and the cash economy has taken During the early part of Senia’s childhood, the UNHCR and the the refugees camps in January 2006, the figure tribes were organised through a council called Women’s participation in society is, in an over within the camps, the community spirit is Sahrawis were still at war with Morocco. The have done a thorough study of the nutrition was raised to 125,000, and in June 2007 this Ait Arbain. This organisational setup roughly Arab context, relatively robust. As a histori- diminishing and the differences are increasing,” refugees were happy to work without pay, levels in the refugee camps, revealing worri- change was confirmed by UNHCR. Be that as covers the geographic area that today is cally nomadic population, women have held says Senia. running the camps, working in hospitals and some levels of malnutrition. The study, includ- it may, the UN continues to have problems in Western Sahara, and is being used to legitimise property rights, and control over household Senia Abderahman is 25 years old and a refu- in the military. With volunteer teachers and a ing test subjects from 2049 households, shows securing enough aid for the refugee camps. Western Sahara’s history as a national entity. and livestock. This is also reflected in today’s gee. She grew up in the Smara refugee camp, literacy rate of over 90%, the refugee camps that 7.6 percent of children are acutely mal- Sahrawi culture differs from Moroccan exile community, where to a large extent it is the one of four camps in an open, dry desert became a unique, educated community on the nourished, 16.7 percent are underweight, and WANTING TO GET OUT OF THE CAMPS The dwin- and Algerian, but less so from Mauritanian. women who run the camps on the local level. landscape in the south-western corner of Algeria. African continent. 25.2 suffer from stunting.6 dling aid situation and political stagnation have Language, music, dress and family structures The Sahrawis are, like their neighbours, Like all Sahrawi refugee children, Senia had ”At that time my family got all we needed The lack of aid has a marked effect on the day resulted in a whole generation of youth who show great similarities with those of Mauritania Muslim. Nevertheless they distinguish them- to leave the camp to continue her education through aid,” says Senia, listing all the differ- to day life of the camps. Refugees who previ- dream of getting away from the camps. Many and western Africa, and serve to underline selves by their liberal and relaxed interpreta- beyond primary school. She has scarcely seen ent food and consumer goods they received. ously received all they needed from foreign of those who leave end up as tomato pickers or their differences to Morocco and North Africa. tion of . The Sahrawis do not have a her family since 1999. She attended lower sec- donor organisations must now make up for the construction workers in Spain. Hassaniya, the local dialect of Arabic spo- tradition of , religion is considered a ondary school in northern Algeria, and then CHRONICALLY MALNOURISHED The situation for shortfall with what little they earn. The economy The President of the Sahrawi Republic, ken in Western Sahara and Mauritania, is private matter to be practised at home, and has completed secondary school and university refugees is far worse now. Despite frequent pleas that was formerly based on voluntary commu- Mohammed Abdelaziz, has described this youth distinctly different from Maghreb Arabic as little influence on daily life and politics. ■ studies in Norway and the US. The Sahrawi for more humanitarian aid by the UN High nity work is therefore crumbling. Many of those emigration as «the most serious and catastrophic spoken in North Africa. The dialect is lin- refugee camps are still considered very well Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to the who used to work as volunteers for the com- threat that our society faces». organised, compared with camps in other international community, there is an ever munity have been forced to look around for “Youth emigration is a matter of great con- ››

CHRONOLOGY OF THE LAST 40 YEARS OF CONFLICT

1973: The Libera- 1974: Spain gives Summer 1975: The UN sends 1975: Morocco opposes UN plans 16 October 1975: The Kingdom of Morocco, but «the Court has 6 November 1975: King Hassan II of Morocco disregards 27 February 1976: Polisario tion Movement, in to many years of a delegation to the region in for a referendum, maintaining that International Court of found no legal ties of such a nature as might the Hague declaration and initiates the so-called «green establishes the Sahrawi Arab Front Polisario, is pressure by the UN preparation for the referendum. the region was part of Morocco Justice issues a clear dec- affect the application of resolution 1514 (XV) march». Moroccan military forces and 350,000 Moroc- Democratic Republic, which is later formed in Spanish for the country’s The delegation visits every one long before colonial times. laration on Western Saha- on decolonisation of Western Sahara, and, in can civilians invade Western Sahara, while Mauritanian recognised by over 80 countries, Sahara to evict the decolonisation, of the communities in Spanish Morocco succeeds in postponing the ra: Morocco’s claim on particular, of the application of the principle forces invade simultaneously from the south. When the and is now a full member of the Spanish colonial and agrees to hold Sahara and reports back that referendum by asking the UN to Western Sahara is rejected. of self-determination through the free and Moroccan Air Force drops bombs with white phosphorus African Union. power. a referendum. the Sahrawis unanimously call seek advice from the Internation- There were indeed certain genuine expression of the will of the peoples and napalm over communities in Western Sahara, the for the colony’s independence. al Court of Justice in the Hague. ties between the people of of the territory».5 majority of the Sahrawi population takes refuge over ›› Western Sahara and the the border in Algeria. 6 NRC REPORTS Western Sahara NRC REPORTS Western Sahara 7 ALGERIA>REFUGEE CAMPS PERSPECTIVE>DISPLACEMENT

cern, because it serves the policy pursued by Morocco, the aim of which is to empty these territories of their inhabitants and to strip Nightfall over Western Sahara the people’s insurrection of its active power”, says President Abdelaziz9. This statement Photo: Heidi Haugen probably refers equally to the exodus of Sahra- wi youth from the occupied territories as from Night has just fallen. My grandmother, Asisa, and I are sitting on the soft, cold the refugee camps. Given the scarcity of resources, Polisario can sand dunes of the Algerian desert, looking up at the starry sky. do little to offer young people meaningful jobs BY SENIA ABDERAHMAN (25), STUDENT AND REFUGEE or higher education within the camps.

SOCIAL DIVISIONS According to Senia, some- She points her hand towards the sky and starts cars could be used as transport, as this would My grandmother is an example to me of great thing which occupies many people in the camps to tell me the names of the various stars. Even make them much too visible a target for courage and of the justice of the Sahrawis’ is the social changes which are now springing up though she is completely blind, she can still Moroccan bomber aircraft. They could only struggle. With half her family killed, and after along with the cash economy. She maintains sense what once she could see. She normally travel at night, hiding during the day among thirty years of living in refugee camps, she still that the greatest difference between families is talks of her dreams for our homeland; trees and rocks to rest. “Lala and I had to take hopes to be able to return to her homeland. whether they have managed to send a family tonight, however, she tells me a different story turns looking out for aircraft while the others “The Moroccans may have weapons, guns and member to Spain or not. – the thing that changed her life forever. slept,” grandmother recalls. planes, but we Sahrawis have patience and deter- “In addition to most people actually being mination,” is what grandmother always says. poorer, many have begun to feel poorer,” she Like many other women at the time when she Lala, my mother, was twelve, but the eldest of says. “Not only are children malnourished and was young, she married at the age of twelve, the children. Brahim, the youngest, was only We, the young people of Western Sahara, have living in extreme poverty, but they have really but had no children until she was twenty. Her eight months old. They ran out of food and not experienced war for ourselves, or the inva- become aware of the affluence in Europe. It failure to have a child within one year of mar- water after three days, as they had only been able sion of our country by Morocco. But we well wasn’t like that before.” Like many other Sah- riage was a great worry to her family. However, to bring a small number of possessions with know how it has affected all of us. I myself was rawi students, Senia planned to return to a her husband was an understanding man, and them. Now they had to live on what they could born in one of these camps. While I am stud- free and independent Western Sahara after did not use this as a reason for divorce. She used find in the barren desert. Soon after, Brahim ying abroad, my family of seven are all still completing her health studies. to start the day very early, milking the cows. died of dehydration and only two days later the living in the same tent. The family has lived ”I pray to God that Western Sahara is “Everything was green, and the air was so fresh,” other two little boys were killed by a landmine. here in this temporary way for year after year. independent by the time I complete my she says, comparing the place she is from to the “Half the family was gone. It was an utter catas- Sometimes the temperature rises above 50 ­studies. If it isn’t, I will go back to the camps arid refugee camp where she has lived for the trophe, and now it was just myself and my three degrees C, and there isn’t much you can do with anyway. It’s important for me to use my past thirty years. surviving children fleeing through the desert.” yourself, except wait – wait for the interna- knowledge and skills for the good of my says grandmother. tional community to act. ­people,” Senia said when interviewed by One day in January 1976, something extraor- NRC in 2008. Now, six years later, she is dinary happened. Asisa had already heard that The next day, as they continued eastwards, a Unlike many other young Sahrawis, a number returning to the refugee camps, with a the Moroccan army had attacked that area and plane dropped a bomb right in front of them. of my dreams have been fulfilled. I was the first completed masters degree. The Western driven people from their homes, but no one in The bomb blinded my grandmother, but they Sahrawi to be chosen to study in Norway, and Sahara conflict is still not solved. ■ the family had fully understood the gravity of continued walking. With a smile and with tears then I received scholarships to college and the situation before it hit them. Moroccan troops in her eyes she says: “The day after, two men university studies in the US and Norway. Of stormed into their little village. Her husband from Polisario came in a truck and took us to the foreigners I speak to, very few have heard of ran off immediately to fight for his people, and the camps.” the Sahrawi refugees. The camps have been Asisa, with her three daughters and three sons, there for so long, but in such a distant, deserted had to cross the desert to seek refuge in Algeria. A month after they arrived at the refugee camps place that I think only a tiny number of people in Algeria, Asisa received a message that her in the world have ever heard our story,” Senia They had to travel on foot; neither nor husband had been killed in combat. concludes. ■

Senia Abderahman (25) has grown up in the refugee camps.

CHRONOLOGY OF THE LAST 40 YEARS OF CONFLICT

1979: Mauritania withdraws from Western Sahara and 1981-1987: To stop the attacks by 1991: The UN Security Council and 2000: The referendum 2004: James Baker 2007: The UN 2010: Largest 2014: The only thing the two parties abandons its territorial claim. Morocco quickly takes Polisario, Morocco (with the help of the parties agree on a referendum for has still not been held. resigns as Personal Security Council demonstrations have so far agreed upon is to continue over that part of Western Sahara which had been Israel and the USA11) builds a 2,200 the people of Western Sahara. The Morocco refuses to Envoy, believing it to requests the parties in the occupied negotiations. Polisario wants a refer- under Mauritanian control. The UN General Assembly km long wall across Western Sahara, UN MINURSO mission is stationed accept the lists of eligi- be impossible to find a to meet once again to territory since endum with independence as one of the reacts by stating that it «deeply deplores the aggra- flanked by one of the world’s largest mine- in Western Sahara with a view to ble voters produced by solution acceptable to find a solution, and ceasefire. options. Morocco opposes this and offers vation of the situation resulting from the continued fields. Today, the fortification stretches holding the referendum in the first the UN. both parties. their first direct talks limited autonomy under Moroccan occupation …», and urges Morocco «to terminate the right across the whole of Western Sahara half of 1992 in seven years com- control. occupation of the Territory of Western Sahara».10 and divides the country in two. mence.

8 NRC REPORTS Western Sahara NRC REPORTS Western Sahara 9 POLITICS>THE GAME OF THE GREAT POWERS POLITICS>THE GAME OF THE GREAT POWERS

Morocco has a very good relationship with France and traditionally has had close links with Spain. Money and weapons have come from the US and Saudi

Arabia, so it is of little help that the African Union sides with Western Sahara. Photo: Erik Hagen Morocco – popular with the West despite occupation and injustice

“Had we prevented the , we would in the US to find support for the Sahrawis to SPAIN’S LEGACY During the last few years of have destroyed our relationship with Morocco,” have their referendum, but without success. East Timor’s struggle for liberation from said then US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, He also maintains that the Bush administration Indonesian occupation, Portugal, its old colo- referring to Morocco’s entry into Western preferred stability for the Moroccan monarchy nial power, played a leading role in supporting Sahara in1975. over self-determination for the Sahrawis. «I the liberation of the East Timorese. Spain plays wondered what had happened to the Bush no such role towards the Sahrawis, indeed quite The Moroccan invasion took place in the midst administration’s support for », the reverse. of the Cold War. Declassified documents of stated Bolton. meetings in the White House bear witness to Since Spain withdrew from the territory in the US’s clear awareness of Morocco’s entry When in April 2007 Morocco put forward a 1975, most Spanish governments have done into Western Sahara12. proposal to include Western Sahara as part of their utmost to maintain good neighbour- Morocco, the American State Department chose hood relations with Morocco. The logic seems Given its strategic location on the Straits of to describe it as “a constructive contribution to to be that only through good cooperation Gibraltar, on the doorstep of Europe, Morocco finding a solution to the conflict”. At the same with its southern neighbour can Spain hope to holds a strong hand of cards in relation to its time the US has made agreements with the prevent a wave of drugs and immigrants Strong bonds between Morocco and France have protected the occupier against necessary pressure. allies. It knows that the EU wants close coop- Kingdom for the supply of armaments to the flooding in over its vulnerable border. Moreo- eration to help solve problems related to immi- tune of several billion dollars. No real change ver Spain has territorial disputes with Morocco, gration and drugs, and it has therefore succeeded was observed from the Obama administration. both in relation to the two small Spanish friendly to the Saharawi cause, such as the last countries to recognise the Sahrawi Republic in making itself an important partner of the enclaves on Morocco’s northern coast, Ceuta Scandinavian countries, have until now failed was actually South Africa, which recognised the AU ASKING EU TO West. Morocco also uses the Arab League to However, it is not the US which is Morocco’s and Melilla, and to any possible oil discoveries to outweigh the pro-Moroccan lobby. Republic as a result of Morocco reneging, since garner support for its occupation of Western closest ally, but France. Each time the case of in the waters off the Canary Islands. 2004, on its promise to accept a referendum for SUPPORT PEACE Sahara, and it appears to be a close ally in the Western Sahara has come up for discussion in AFRICAN SUPPORT Morocco has significant the Sahrawis. Eighty-four countries in Africa, In 2013, the EU agreed to enter into US’s so-called “War on Terror”. the UN Security Council or the EU, France One of the most powerful interest groups in support from among the Arab states too. Latin America and Asia have at some point since a fisheries agreement with Morocco, has lobbied for Morocco’s interests. France Spanish foreign policy and in the Western Among them is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 1976 recognised the Republic of Western Sahara through which the EU will pay Morocco AGAINST SELF-DETERMINATION In his auto­ has, for example, succeeded in preventing the Sahara case is the Spanish fishing industry, and which strongly supports Morocco both as a sovereign state. 160 million Euros for fishing licences biography , the former US Ambas- condemnation by the Security Council of the in 2013 Spain succeeded in pushing through a politically and economically. For a long time offshore Western Sahara. sador to the UN, testifies that the US’s relation- human rights infringements committed by controversial fishing agreement between the EU Morocco also played a key role as a driving Today Morocco is the only country in Africa In a rare incident, the Pan-African ship with Morocco has remained fundamentally Morocco. When the UN Secretary General and Morocco. Under this agreement, Morocco force for dialogue in the conflict between Israel which is not a member of the AU. It withdrew Parliament put pressure on the European unchanged since 197513. From 1997 to 2000, asked for the mandate of the MINURSO force is paid 160 million Euros in return for EU and the Palestinians. This meant that coun- in protest from the AU’s forerunner, the OAU, Parliament to respect the “territorial together with UN Special Envoy James Baker, to be extended to include human rights moni- fishing fleets being allowed to fish in waters tries with interests in the Middle East wished when Western Sahara was accepted as a full integrity” of its member state. Such Bolton worked to find a solution to the question toring in the country, France opposed this. under Moroccan control, including in the to keep relations with the Moroccan monarch member in 1984. agreement did “undermine the efforts of Western Sahara. Despite his background as a France is Morocco’s foremost trading partner waters of Western Sahara. Almost all the fish- on a good footing. The African Union (AU) deployed by the UN and the AU to Conservative and close friend of George W. and provider of development aid, and for ing quotas are granted to Spain. The Spanish for its part maintains its demand for liberation Mauritania, Western Sahara’s neighbouring find a peaceful and lasting solution Bush’s administration, he was harshly critical of many years France’s political elite has had public’s widespread support for the Sahrawis of the Western Sahara and recognises the Sahrawi country to the south, assumes a relatively neutral to the conflict”, stated the President US policy in the case of Western Sahara. close ties to Morocco. and the Western Sahara liberation movement, Republic as a sovereign state and a full member stance in the conflict, and therefore maintains of the Pan-African parliament to his the , therefore has difficulty in of the Union. Many of the member countries good relations with both the Polisario liberation European counterpart.16 “They accepted Morocco’s line that independ- In 2001 the American energy company Kerr influencing central government policy on have recognised the Sahrawi Republic, also movement and with Morocco. Around 20-30,000 ence for the Western Sahara – which nearly McGee and the French oil company TotalFinaElf Morocco. known as the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Sahrawi refugees live in Mauritania15, and many everyone thought the Sahrawis would choose entered into contracts with Morocco on oil Republic (SADR). of the refugees from Algeria travel to Mauritania in a genuinely free and fair referendum- would exploration off the coast of Western Sahara. Given the French and Spanish support for for a few months a year to find work. Here authorities. Moreover the Sahrawis and destabilize Morocco and risk a takeover by However, in January 2002 the UN Secretariat Morocco, the EU has become completely inca- The Republic entertains close links with the refugees living both in the camps and in Europe Mauritanians speak the same dialect of extreme Islamicists.” writes Bolton14. clearly stated that it was illegal to extract oil pable of action in terms of putting political three major powers on the African continent, also get to meet their relatives from the occupied Arabic (Hassaniya) and many are members Bolton says he engaged in a number of efforts from the occupied territory. pressure on the occupier. Governments South Africa, Nigeria and Algeria. One of the territories, beyond the reach of the Moroccan of the same tribes. ■

10 NRC REPORTS Western Sahara NRC REPORTS Western Sahara 11 UN>FAILED EXPECTATIONS UN’s tracks fade into the sand

The former military chief of the UN mission in Western wegian government has over several years MINURSO TIME TO GET TOUGH After many years of dia- called for MINURSO’s mandate to be broad- ■■ Mission for a Referendum in Western Sahara. (Mission des Nations Sahara believes the UN must stand firmer on the claim logue between the parties, with a frustrated ened. Even the UK and the US have demand- Unies pour l’organisation d’un referéndum au Sahara Occidental) and isolated population in the Algerian desert, ed such inclusion prior to Security Council ■■ Established by the UN Security Council in 1991. for a referendum on independence. But some permanent and 60 million dollars in annual costs to the decisions. But the initiative has been stopped ■■ Consists of over 490 Personnel (civilian and military). members of the Security Council have not wanted to MINURSO mission, the Major General thinks by France. So the mission stands back as a ■■ Operates on both sides of the wall. that the UN has spent far too long trying to “silent witness to grave abuses of human ■■ Has as its mandate, inter alia, to monitor the ceasefire, organise the referendum, push too hard for this, he says. find a solution. The chief problem, he main- rights”, according to Amnesty17. oversee the exchange of prisoners and the later reduction of Moroccan troops. tains, lies in the choice having been made to ■■ Read more at: www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/minurso. adhere to Chapter VI of the UN Charter on a Despite the ceasefire, the Sahrawis maintain that As long as Morocco opposes the referendum, says Mosgaard in an interview with peaceful solution acceptable to both parties. the UN presence has been a fiasco. For many the UN process finds itself up a blind alley. the NRC. of them, it was unacceptable to lay down their Even seven years of James Baker serving as the “It is high time the UN got tough and spoke weapons at all back in 1991 in favour of a ref- UN’s Special Envoy were not enough to obtain a REALPOLITIK The Danish Major-General was out more clearly. If the UN does not deviate erendum. Now they see that Polisario’s strategy solution which respected the rights of Sahrawis. Force Commander of MINURSO from 2005- from Chapter VI, another 30 years will go by may have been a failure and that the UN is not Despite previous agreements to hold a refer- 2007. He now holds a senior position in the of maintaining the status quo”, says Mosgaard. in a position to push ahead for a solution. The endum which would include the possibility Danish military, and has some clear opinions Sahrawis are merciless in their criticism: “UN of independence, Morocco now declines to on the failed UN process. He believes that If the Security Council goes a step further and stands for United Nothing,” they say in the accept these. So it is back to square one. A “commercial thinking and classic realpolitik” are makes use of Chapter VII, it mandates the use refugee camps in Algeria. decades long UN-led process has failed to the major reasons why a solution on Western of force by UN member states to create peace. lead to any political breakthrough at all. Sahara has never been arrived at. This is the course taken when it is seen that a Mosgaard is nevertheless certain that another peaceful solution to a conflict is not forth- war will not provide a solution, and that neither Kurt Mosgaard, the former UN Force Com- “Some of the permanent members of the coming, and the situation is a threat to inter- Polisario nor Morocco could emerge as victors. mander of its mission in Western Sahara, Security Council have had links with one of national peace and security. When Iraq occupied MINURSO, believes the UN must react. He says the parties concerned, which has meant they Kuwait in 1990, and the UN went to the mili- “On the contrary, another war could lead to the UN needs to be clearer in its demands, and didn’t want to apply too much pressure. I am tary defence of the country, the Security Council unrest throughout North . It would that it is high time for the referendum on inde- a very strong supporter of the UN, but I also invoked Chapter VII, and since 1990 well over cost many lives on both sides, and cause new pendence for Western Sahara to be held. He is think it has some weaknesses. The UN must 100 resolutions have been adopted in accord- waves of refugees. Morocco would be severely thereby critical of Morocco’s rejection of a ref- have a position, and one shouldn’t always opt ance with Chapter VII. However, the Security affected economically, and there would always erendum. for the easiest solution,” says Mosgaard. Council has been unwilling to do the same when be the risk that a war would involve the neigh- it comes to Morocco’s occupation of Western bouring countries. Every day without war is a “The UN should state that the referendum on The Dane himself has shown an ability to act. Sahara since 1975. good day,” says Mosgaard. ■ Western Sahara must encompass the possibility When he was Force Commander for MINURSO, of independence. Of course the referendum he gave the order that the Moroccan flag over “UNITED NOTHING” The main task of the Photo: Eirik Hjort Kirkerud must include this alternative. You only need the UN building should be lowered for good. MINURSO force was to oversee the ceasefire. a normal level of insight to understand this,” The flag had caused great irritation to many This part of the agreements between Polisario Sahrawis and UN staff, but none of his prede- and Morocco has been a great success. Mosgaard cessors up to that point had dared to take it says that despite everything the two parties HIGH COMMISSIONER AS TRAVEL OPERATOR NORWAY SUPPORTS THE UN down. This small but very symbolic act was to cooperate well with the UN on this part of the Since 2004 the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR, Norwegian policy in the matter of Western Sahara has always make him most unpopular in Moroccan circles. agreement. has been carrying out a programme for increased contact between been to «support the UN General Secretary’s efforts to achieve Sahrawis in the refugee camps and those in the occupied territories. a political solution», and that «Norway does not recognise the “The matter is simple. The UN is clear that “At the same time, some will perhaps say that The main part of the programme consists of charter flights which Moroccan annexation of Western Sahara»18. When Norway sat Western Sahara is a territory whose status is the ceasefire only postpones the problem, as

Photo: Ingrid Pedersen shuttle between the two places. In this way Sahrawis from the on the Security Council from 2001-2002 it played an active still unclear. So it is unacceptable that a it was, after all, only meant to be an interim refugee camps are given the opportunity to visit their relatives part in defending the rights of Sahrawis. And since the end of Moroccan flag should fly above the UN solution while awaiting a permanent political in the occupied territories for a few days, and vice versa. the 1990s the Norwegian MFA has supported humanitarian aid building in Western Sahara. It goes directly solution.” The programme has been very popular with the Sahrawis. Several projects in the refugee camps, as well as landmine clearance in against our mandate. I don’t know how this thousand people have taken part in the visit programme – while the Polisario-controlled parts of Western Sahara. can have continued for 16 years without On the other hand, MINURSO has no mandate still many more are on the waiting list to take part. The pro- But apart from this, Norway has taken few political initiatives anyone having taken action”, he says. to intervene or to report on human rights vio- gramme is very costly and at times has come close to being ter- to work for a solution to the conflict. Norwegian support to the lations in Western Sahara. For several years minated due to lack of funds. UN is unreserved and unchanged, despite the UN’s inability to He says that the flag issue is one of many instanc- Polisario has been calling for MINURSO to have put pressure on Morocco to respect international law. es of the UN saying one thing in New York, the right and the duty to protect the civilian Ex- MINURSO force commander but often playing a different role in practice. population against such violations. The Nor- Kurt Mosgaard.

12 NRC REPORTS Western Sahara NRC REPORTS Western Sahara 13 FOREIGN CAPITAL>STRENGTHENS THE OCCUPATION HUMAN RIGHTS>GRAVE VIOLATIONS

The biggest demonstrations Fish, phosphates and in Western Sahara took place international business in 2010 Foreign companies are playing an increasingly important role in the . They provide employment to Moroccan ­settlers and income to the authorities of the occupying power.

Morocco’s tremendous focus on the fishing NORWEGIAN MFA ADVISES AGAINST Several of industry in Western Sahara has upset the the companies brush aside the ethical dilem- ­population composition in the occupied mas of this business activity. One of the ship- ­territories. Some estimate that as many as ping companies which transport phosphate 120,000 fishermen live along the coast of from Western Sahara is partially Norwegian- Western Sahara19. If this is correct, there may owned Gearbulk. be many more Moroccan fishermen than local “Although doing business with the Moroccan Sahrawis left in the occupied territories. occupying power is not to be recommended, There is, in short, a massive fishing industry it isn’t prohibited either,” says Kristian Jebsen, developing in Western Sahara. The Russian chairman of the board of Gearbulk22. The government has a large trawl fleet in the waters company says it has not considered the ethical offshore the territory, while Morocco is itself or moral aspects of carrying this freight, since building a fleet of fishing vessels formerly fish- there are others who buy and sell phosphate. The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture described in 2013 the poor conditions in Moroccan jails. ing in Scandinavian waters.20 In December “We only transport it,” says Jebsen23. Here from the main prison in the Western Sahara capital. 2013, the EU signed yet another fisheries part- The Norwegian authorities advise Norwegian nership agreement with Morocco, paying the businesses against operating in Western Sahara. Moroccan government 160 million Euros for The same stance is also evident in the man- licences to operate in Western Sahara waters. agement of the Norwegian Government’s The deal is considered in violation of interna- sovereign wealth fund, which has opted to tional law by some EU states, and even by the sell shares from several companies involved Imprisone d for their views former UN legal advisor, but was forced in Western Sahara, including the American through by French and Spanish commercial oil company Kerr-McGee in 2005. The com- Morocco clamps down the primary cause of all other human rights many Sahrawis experience discrimination by jails. Many of them had been missing since 1975, interests. pany was about to carry out oil exploration violations in the country, and this is why the their Moroccan neighbours. This daily discrimi- and the authorities until then had denied all In addition, hundreds of shipping off the coast of Western Sahara on behalf of hard on Sahrawis who Moroccan violations are mainly directed at nation means that the Sahrawis have gradually knowledge of them. Except for this one instance, companies transport fish and phosphate the Moroccan national authorities. those who demand that this right be respect- become economically marginalised in their own Moroccan authorities have shown no willingness to the international market. Morocco’s “Morocco has for a number of years demand self-determination ed. Violations against youth who are active in country. Many find that poor Moroccans who to solve the many hundred cases of disappear- illegal export of phosphate brings in an income occupied Western Sahara despite strong UN demonstrations are particularly common.27 have recently moved to Western Sahara to try ance. Some of the disappeared turned up in mass of around hundreds of millions of US dollars condemnation. The [Advisory] Council or independence. UN Special Rapporteur on Torture visited the their luck there have enjoyed greater economic graves, executed, in Western Sahara in 201332. every year21. In recent years, the phosphate found that Kerr-McGee through its explora- territory in 2012 and reported that “torture success than themselves. Sahrawis who are exported from Western Sahara has an estimat- tion activities most likely will enable Moroc- It has never been easy to work for human rights and ill-treatment were used to extract confes- politically active are often fired from their places Following in 2010 ed value of around 400 million US dollars – or co to exploit petroleum resources in the in Western Sahara. Since 2000 all the independ- sions and that protestors were subjected to of work, have their wages cut or are refused and increasing pro-democracy and human more than ten times what the international area. The Council regarded this as ‘a partic- ent human rights organisations in the occupied excessive use of force by Moroccan law- schooling. Sometimes the Moroccan police stir rights demonstrations in Morocco itself, the community donates through multilateral ularly serious violation of fundamental ethi- territories have either had to cease operating enforcement officials”. He also underlined that up violence between Moroccans and Sahrawis. Moroccan government installed the National humanitarian aid to the refugees annually. cal norms’ e.g. because it may strengthen as a result of a court judgment, or have been the treatment that Sahrawis received by offi- Increased tension between the two groups has Council for Human Rights (CNDH) in 2011. Morocco’s sovereignty claims and thus con- denied registration. The networks of Sahrawi cials during demonstrations “amount to tor- on one recent occasion led to deaths.31 This governmental body has been tasked to tribute to undermining the UN peace pro- human rights activists must therefore operate t u r e ”. 28 Still, police impunity “remains a prob- investigate claims on human rights violations cess”, was the statement issued by the Nor- illegally. They document how Sahrawi voices lem”. While the Moroccan government report- Although the violations are less widespread than and issue recommendations on reparation sett- wegian Ministry of Finance at the time24. are brutally silenced through arrests, extensive ed no complaints against the police, the local when the war was raging between 1975 and lements, but Sahrawi human rights groups Several oil companies are still active in surveillance, violent dispersal of demonstrations Sahrawis continuously communicate about 1991, they are still being extensively committed. claim that it fails greatly to adequately address the oil exploration in Western Sahara, the and constant house searches. These violations such charges.29 In 2013, 24 Sahrawi human Some violations committed in the seventies and many cases in Western Sahara.33 The 2013 dis- most heavily involved being French oil are also well documented in an internal rights activists were convicted to up to life- eighties have left a lasting mark on the Sahrawi covery of the Sahrawi mass graves harbouring company Total – in violation of the UN report by the UN High Commissioner time in jail in a Moroccan military court, to community. At that time one of the most widely eight bodies brought CNDH in even further legal opinion.25 ■ for Human Rights.26 the concern of the UN Secretary General and used means of oppression was abduction, and discredit by Saharawis, as the institution had several UN institutions. The group had been there are still around 500 Sahrawis listed as “dis- previously concluded that four of the eight had The main conclusion of the report by the sitting for 27 months in jail awaiting appeared” following arrest by the Moroccan died in prison, while the remaining were not Fish oil from Western Sahara end up High Commissioner is that the non-fulfilment their sentence.30 police or military. In September 1991 King Has- even included in CNDH’s list of victims of for- in Omega 3 capsules all over the world. of the Sahrawis’ right to self-determination is In addition to violations by the authorities, san released 350 Sahrawi prisoners from secret ced disappearance 34. ■ Photo: M. Knutsen Bjørke/Future in our hands

14 NRC REPORTS Western Sahara NRC REPORTS Western Sahara 15 INTERNATIONAL LAW>A MATTER OF INTERNATIONAL LAW>A MATTER OF DECOLONIZATION The Sahrawis’ right to self-det ermination Photo: Norwegian RefugeePhoto: Norwegian Council/ Richard Skretteberg The rights of refugees and of the must be understood within the wider SYSTEMATIC HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS As the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights context of international law. Western Sahara is one of few remaining decolonization stated in its 2006 report49, the difficult general human rights situation for refugees and the questions which are governed, inter alia, by provisions of the UN Charter. Sahrawi people is linked to the failure to respect the fundamental right of self-determination. In 1963, the country was included in the Unit- nent place in international law, enshrined in of peoples” must be heard.42 This is normally For example, it is explicitly prohibited by the ed Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Terri- common Article 1 of the 1966 International interpreted as requiring a census or referendum Moroccan authorities to question Morocco’s tories35, and a number of General Assembly Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) of some sort.43 In this process independence control of Western Sahara. Such a restriction of Resolutions have confirmed that the Declaration and the 1966 International Covenant on Eco- must be an alternative for people who are sub- freedom of speech, particularly in view of the on the Granting of Independence to Colonial nomic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and ject to alien occupation or other subjugation.44 people’s fundamental right to self-determination, Countries and Peoples is applicable in this case.36 is considered a peremptory norm in interna- “People” is not synonymous with “population”, does not come under any of the permitted For Non-Self-Governing Territories and their tional customary law. Morocco is a party to all and the Moroccan settlers do not necessarily restrictions in ICCPR Article 19. Furthermore, interim administrators, the principle applies that the major human rights conventions. Examples have a right to participate in the self-determi- the Moroccan authorities do not respect the right the interests of the population must be abso- of violations of the right to self-determination nation process. to form associations and assemble to express lutely paramount.37 The International Court of are foreign military occupation or annexation, opinions on the matter. Demonstrators’ and Justice in the Hague (ICJ) has also confirmed and other forms of colonial or neo-colonial INTERNATIONAL LAW AND NATURAL RESOURCES activists’ rights to life and not to be subjected to that the conflict is a decolonization question exploitation. In a more indirect fashion, pop- By virtue of the right to self-determination, all torture or other inhuman and degrading treat- and a matter of the right to self-determination.38 ulation transfers also constitute a breach of this peoples also possess the right to advance their ment are still violated, there are unresolved The Moroccan invasion was also a violation of right.40 Morocco’s conduct in relation to Western own economic, cultural and social development, questions regarding the “disappeared”, and there the ban on the use of force in the UN Charter Sahara is as an obvious violation. including the freedom to govern their own are continuous violations of the right to a fair Article 2, and the de facto Moroccan control of natural resources.45 It is also stated in the 1982 trial. Reports and comments from the High Western Sahara lacks both legality and legitimacy. People who are subject to a colonial power or Convention on the Law of the Sea that coastal Commissioner for Human Rights, the Human to similar alien subjugation, clearly have this states have sovereign rights over natural resources Rights Commission, the Committee Against The Sahrawi refugees and the population of the right.41 In other words, the Sahrawi people them- on the continental shelf outside their own land Torture, Amnesty International, Human Rights occupied territory have certain inherent rights selves have the right to decide their international territory. Morocco has no sovereignty over Watch, the US State Department and several which cannot be compromised in negotiations political status without pressure or interference. Western Sahara, and therefore no right to explore other institutions and organizations confirm and Realpolitik. The right to self-determination The right to self-determination involves the right and exploit its resources. Article 73 of the UN the systematic pattern of human rights viola- is a fundamental human right.39 It has a promi- to a particular process – “the freely expressed will Charter stipulates that the economic exploitation tions. As the UN High Commissioner for of resources in non-self-governing territories Human Rights also concluded, fundamental may only take place with the consent of the local changes in Morocco’s legislation and legisla- population and must be in accordance with their tive practice are needed for the country to economic interests. To or engage with comply with its international obligations. Morocco’s illegal exploration and exploitation of Western Saharan resources can be considered REFUGEES The humanitarian situation of the a violation of international law and a contri- refugees in particular is becoming more and bution to consolidate the illegal occupation. more precarious. The ICESCR has special (The duty of non-recognition dealt with below, arrangements allowing developing countries to is particularly relevant in this connection). prioritise their own citizens to a certain degree, This was made clear in the advisory opinion but the 1951 Refugee Convention contains some from the UN Legal Advisor46 and was also a minimum social and economic standards for strong factor in a recommendation from the refugees. Algeria, as an asylum country, must

Photo: Norwegian Refugee Council/Richard Skretteberg Photo: Norwegian Refugee Norwegian Government’s sovereign wealth meet its obligations according to the basic human fund’s ethical council to withdraw investments rights conventions and the 1951 Refugee Con- in Kerr-McGee.47 International Humanitarian vention, to which it is a party. Member states Law / Laws of War also has similar rules: The of human rights conventions are under an occupying power can only use property to the obligation to respect and promote the rights extent that it is necessary for the administra- of all people within their territory, including tion of the occupied territory and to cover the refugees and asylum seekers. Algeria, however, needs of the soldiers; never to cover the occu- is of the view that they have no responsibility pying state’s own needs or to improve own for the refugees, due to the fact that they are economy (which must be held separate from organised by a government in exile, SADR, led A small number of Sahrawi nomads still live in the Polisario controlled areas of Western Sahara. the economy of the occupied territory.)48 by Polisario. Algeria’s stance has no support and goat herding forms the basis of the livelihood of the Sahrawi nomads.

16 NRC REPORTS Western Sahara NRC REPORTS Western Sahara 17 INTERNATIONAL LAW>A MATTER OF DECOLONIZATION ENDNOTES

Photo: Berserk Productions 1 local people http://www.greenpeace.org/sweden/se/rap- 37 from international law and human rights bod- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_relations_of_the_ UN Charter Article 73. Morocco is not considered Sahrawi_Arab_Democratic_Republic porter-och-dokument/exporting-exploitation/ «Administrative Power» for Western Sahara, but ies, and the country must protect everyone on Morocco needs to respect such obligations as a mini- 21 its territory. Polisario explains the restriction 2 Numbers are very difficult to ascertain. Morocco makes no For international legal aspects of the resource exploita- mum. Cf the analogy drawn in UN opinion distinction between Moroccan settlers and Sahrawis. The tion in Western Sahara, see UN opinion S/2002/161, S/2002/161, Letter dated 29.02.2002 from the UN and temporary suspension of human rights number of military troops is kept secret. MINURSO is Letter dated 29.02.2002 from the UN Legal Counsel, Legal Counsel, addressed to the President of the Secu- provisions by reference to the extraordinary unwilling to give numbers. addressed to the President of the Security Council, rity Council, http://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws. http://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws. asp?m=S/2002/161 nature of the situation – that rights cannot 3 WFP Executive board WFP/EB.2/2004/4-B/4doc, asp?m=S/2002/161 5 May 2004 38 Western Sahara ,Advisory Opinion, I.C.J. Reports properly be protected until Western Sahara 22  Norwegian TV2 news programme 3 September 2007. 1975, 16 October 1975, paragraph 68 has full independence.50 4 See e.g. the report of the Office of the United Nations 23  High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Sep- Norwegian TV NRK2 «Spekter», 7 November 2007. 39 See e.g. SIRES11675 of 28.04.2006. “OHCHR tember 2006. www.arso.org/OHCHRrep2006en.htm ­Mission to Western Sahara and the Refugee Camps in ALL COUNTRIES HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY The 24 Norwegian Ministry of Finance, Press Release, 6 June 8 September 2006” (OHCHR report). international community and individual coun- 5 Read the advisory opinion at http://www.vest-sahara. 2005, http://www.regjeringen.no/nb/dokumentarkiv/ http://www.gees.org/documentos/Documen-01475.pdf no/files/pdf/icj_opinion.pdf Regjeringen-Bondevik-II/fin/Nyheter-og-pressemelding- tries have a responsibility to resolve the conflict er/2005/company_excluded_from_the_government. 40 International Humanitarian Law / Laws of War is also in Western Sahara and to protect the rights of 6 UNHCR/WFP, Nutrition Survey, Western Sahara Refu- html?id=256359 relevant: Morocco is in breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention Article 49 – that is, the occupant cannot gee Camps, Tindouf, Algeria, 2013, http://vest-sahara. 25  the refugees. As the High Commissioner for no/files/dated/2013-11-24/2012_nutrition_survey_ Western Sahara Resource Watch, September 2013. deport or transfer parts of its population to the occu- report_final_eng.pdf Totally Wrong, http://www.wsrw.org/files/dated/2013- pied territory. Human Rights states, the international com- 09-01/totally_wrong.pdf munity must take all necessary steps to ensure 7 41 This follows from preparatory work to the Convention, “Sahrawi plight must not be forgotten, warns WFP 26  that the right to self-determination is respected. chief”, press release by the World Food Programme United Nations, Office of the United Nations High later UN Resolutions, and statements by the Conven- (WFP), 13 November 2006, http://www.wfp.org/news/ Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). 2006. tion’s Commission for Human Rights. It is also clear Common Article 1 of ICCPR and ICESCR news-release/sahrawi-plight-must-not-be-forgotten- Report of the Office of the United Nations High Com- in the ICJ opinion on Western Sahara paragraph 59: warns-wfp-chief missioner for Human Rights Mission to Western Saha- ”[I]ts [the principle of self-determination as a right oblige all member states to promote the reali- The Moroccan conveyor belt for phosphates from the occupied Western Sahara is more than ra and the Refugee Camps in Tindouf : 15/23 May and of peoples] application for the purpose of bringing all sation of the right to self-determination and 100 km long and thereby the world’s longest. 8 UNHCR, Update on UNHCR’s operations in the Mid- 19 June 2006. Geneva: OHCHR, 8 September 2006. colonial situations to a speedy end…” dle East and North Africa, 24.09.2013, http://www. http://www.arso.org/OHCHRrep2006en.htm respect that right, in accordance with the pro- 42 The ICJ opinion on Western Sahara paragraph 68 unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home/opendocPDFViewer. 27  visions of the UN Charter.51 Since the obligations non-recognition of gross violations of inter- Sahrawis their right to self-determination, is html?docid=52429c3b9 E.g. Amnesty International, 16 May 2013, Morocco/ quoted above. Western Sahara: Investigate alleged torture of six we have dealt with, are peremptory norms and national law. This duty arguably goes beyond not a way of respecting this obligation in good 43  9 Klassekampen, Norway, 24 December 2007, «De unge detained Sahrawis, http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/ E.g. Cassese Self-Determination of Peoples. A Legal apply erga omnes (that is, in relation to all; not active complicity, extending also to silent or faith. Policies that must be considered to sup- flytter ut». moroccowestern-sahara-investigate-alleged-torture-six- Reappraisal, 1995. According to the ICJ opinion detained-sahrawis-2013-05-16 just between parties), all states must do what passive assistance by acquiescence.52 The ICJ has port or recognise the Moroccan presence in ­paragraph 71 the General Assembly has a certain 10 Resolution 34/37 of 1979 ­discretion regarding form and process. is in their power to make the parties respect also confirmed a duty of non-recognition.53 Western Sahara would be a direct breach of 28 Report of the Special Rapporteur on torture and other 11  cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, 44  them. According to the Articles on State The lack of political will that has made it pos- the obligation. ■ « Le Maroc avait recruté des militaires israéliens et Inter alia Cassese op.cit. but also mentioned in UN américains pour concevoir “le mur de sable” au Sahara Juan E. Méndez, 28 February 2013, Mission to report S/2003/565. Responsibility, individual states have a duty of sible for Morocco to continue denying the Occidental », Le Point (France), 14 January 2008. Morocco http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/ HRCouncil/RegularSession/ 45 ICCPR and ICESCR common Article 1 (2), General 12 “How the US and Morocco seized the ” Session22/A-HRC-22-53-Add-2_en.pdf Assembly resolution 1803 (XVI), 1962, Declaration on permanent sovereignty over natural resources. Jacob Mundy in Le Monde Diplomatique, January 29  2006, http://mondediplo.com/2006/01/12asahara US Department of State, 2012 Human Rights Reports: Western Sahara, 19 April 2013, http://www.state. 46 UN opinion S/2002/161, Letter dated 29.02.2002 13 Bolton, John (2006) Surrender Is Not an Option: gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2012/nea/204390.htm from the UN Legal Counsel, addressed to the President of the Security Council, http://www.un.org/Docs/jour- Defending America at the United Nations, Threshold 30  Editions. See relevant excerpts here: http://w-sahara. Report of the Secretary-General on the situation con- nal/asp/ws.asp?m=S/2002/161 RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE NORWEGIAN REFUGEE COUNCIL blogspot.com/2007/11/john-bolton-on-western sahara. cerning Western Sahara, 8 April 2013, http://www. html un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc. 47 Norwegian Ministry of Finance, Press Release, 6 June asp?symbol=S/2013/220 2005, http://www.regjeringen.no/nb/dokumentarkiv/ To the government of Morocco: example through a strengthening of the International Humanitarian Law in the 14 Bolton, John (2006) Surrender Is Not an Option: Regjeringen-Bondevik-II/fin/Nyheter-og-pressemelding- 31. Report of the Secretary-General on the situation con- ■ Defending America at the United Nations, Threshold er/2005/company_excluded_from_the_government. ■ Halt its undermining the Sahrawi people’s MINURSO mandate. occupied territories. Editions. http://w-sahara.blogspot.com/2007/11/john- cerning Western Sahara, 05.04.2012, http://www. html?id=256359 un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc. inalienable right to self-determination, ■■ Halt the exploitation of the natural resourc- ■■ Increase the provision of aid to the Sah- bolton-on-western sahara.html asp?symbol=S/2012/197 48 Inter alia the 1907 Haag Convention on land warfare, through a referendum with an option of es of Western Sahara and the involvement rawi refugees in a way that is predictable, 15  particularly Articles 52 and 53. Shelley, Toby: “Sons of the Clouds” in Red Pepper 32.  independence. of foreign companies in such activities. sustained and timely. Magazine Dec. 2007-Jan. 2008, http://www.redpepper. Amnesty International, 12.09.2013, Morocco/West- org.uk/article730.html ern Sahara: New revelations on Sahrawi disappear- 49 See OHCHR Report ■■ Show full respect for the human rights in ■■ Ensure the monitoring of, and reporting ance cases highlight truth and justice deficit, http:// 50  the occupied territories, notably the right To the government of Algeria: on, the human rights situation in the 16 WSRW.org, 04.12.2013, President of African Parlia- www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE29/011/2013/en See OHCHR Report ment calls on EU to respect Sahara rights, http://www. 33  to freedom of association, assembly, ■■ Take all relevant measures to ensure that all MINURSO area of operations, for wsrw.org/a105x2737 ­ US Department of State, 2012 Human Rights Reports: 51 ICESCR and ICCPR text: “promote the realization of movement and expression. Sahrawi refugees present on its territory example through a strengthening of Western Sahara, 19 April 2013, http://www.state. the right of self-determination” and “respect that right 17 gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2012/nea/204390.htm in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the ■■ Halt and reverse the deportation of the benefit from the protection of the 1951 refu- the MINURSO mandate. Amnesty International, 1996. Human rights violations in the Western Sahara. London: AI Index MDE 34  United Nations.” A duty to promote this right through occupied territory’s population and the gee convention and the international human ■■ Avoid entering into trade agreements 29/04/96, April 18. Amnesty International, 12.09.2013, Morocco/Western common and independent action, is also mentioned in Sahara: New revelations on Sahrawi disappearance General Assembly resolution 1541 (XV), ICJ opinion transfer of Morocco’s own population to rights conventions to which it is a party. with Morocco that cover the territory of 18 Letter from Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jan Petersen, cases highlight truth and justice deficit, /http://www. on Western Sahara paragraph 58 and”The Wall” the territory. Western Sahara, as a consequence of the 03.08.2005. http://www.vest-sahara.no/a73x1537 amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE29/011/2013/en para­graph 156. 35  52  ■■ Release all political prisoners and prisoners To the international community, in particular duty of non-recognition. 19 Toby Shelley: Natural Resources and Western Sahara. UN Charter Chapter XI (A/5514, annex III). General Principles on State Responsibility, inter alia 41, by the of conscience and account for the more France, Spain and the EU: ■■ Actively discourage the involvement of for- Olsson, Claes (ed.) The Western Sahara Conflict –The Assembly resolution 1541 (XV) 1960, also concerns International Law Commission. Role of Natural Resources in Decolonization, p.17-21. non-self-governing territories. than 520 “disappeared” Sahrawis. ■■ Exert more proactively their influence on eign companies in the exploitation of the 53  36  In inter alia “The Wall” 2004 regarding the Israeli ■■ Lift the information blockade imposed on Morocco in support of a solution that fully natural resources of Western Sahara. The 20 Greenpeace International, 2013. Exporting Exploita- Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colo- wall on occupied territory and the opinion in 1970 on tion, How retired EU fishing vessels are devastating nial Countries and Peoples, General Assembly resolu- South-Africa’s presence in Namibia. the occupied territories and allow the free respects the Sahrawi people’s inalienable EU should immediately halt its fisheries in West African fish stocks and undermining the rights of tion 1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960, movement of people and information in right to self-determination through a ref- the waters off Western Sahara. the occupied territories. erendum with an option of independence. ■■ Secure the funding needed for confidence- ■■ Allow the monitoring of, and reporting ■■ Exert more proactively their influence on building measures (CBMs) to prepare on, the human rights situation in the Morocco to ensure full respect for the the ground for future repatriation of INTERESTING WEBSITES: MINURSO area of operations, for human rights, international law and the refugees. www.arso.org www.wsrw.org www.vest-sahara.no

18 NRC REPORTS Western Sahara “The wall of shame” in Western Sahara

WWW.NRC.NO

20 NRC REPORTS Western Sahara