A Background Guide for

Western Sahara

Director

Isabella Carrera

Assistant Directors

Shadia Muñoz Najar,

Gianfranco Torres &

Mia Calmet

Cambridge College Model United Nations Saturday 2nd June & Sunday 3rd June 2018

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Table of Contents

Introduction Letter from Secretary General ............................................................................. 2

Letter from the Chair ............................................................................................................... 3

Statement of the Problem ........................................................................................................ 4

History of the Problem ............................................................................................................. 5

Current Situation ..................................................................................................................... 7

Relevant Past Actions ............................................................................................................... 9

QARMAS .................................................................................................................................. 9

Bloc Positions ......................................................................................................................... 10

Suggestions for Further Research............................................................................................ 11

Position Paper Requirements ................................................................................................. 11

Closing Remarks ..................................................................................................................... 11

Bibliography ............................................................................................................................ 11

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A Letter from the Secretary-General

Dear Delegates,

On behalf of Cambridge College, the hard-working Chairs,

and my fellow members of the Secretariat, it is of my

utmost pleasure to welcome you to the second edition of

the Cambridge College Model United Nations (CCMUN).

This event would not have been possible without the

enormous initiative taken by last year’s Secretariat and

Chairs whom Cambridge College is extremely proud of.

On this edition the CCMUN committees will be addressing

topics ranging from modern issues to dynamic historical

events, in which you as delegates must try to reach the

most diplomatic solutions. Always keep in mind,

delegates, seek for the same entertainment that your

chairs had while making the research on the topics and

never forget to spread diplomacy and respect amongst

yourselves. Having been part of the CCMUN for some time

and having participated in the first edition of the event I

have seen the inner change in this small “club” my

predecessors have created to what now is a delegation

capable of hosting an MUN conference. Cambridge

College has never been a hyper competitive, aggressive

delegation when it comes to debate and that’s why we

intend to keep this conference as an easy going one, we

intend to keep a conference recognized for its diplomatic

and respectful environment, but still rewarding delegates

for their achievement in solving real UN world problems.

The CCMUN crew and I wish all of you the best of lucks

and that the updates are ever on your favour. I hope you

all are as thrilled we are for this conference and I hope you

all enjoy it as much as we enjoyed organizing it.

Yours truly,

Mariano Morón

Secretary General

Mariano Moron

Secretary-General

Camila Abram

Under Secretary-General

Daniela Andaluz

Director Secretary-General

Andrea Morante

Press Coordinator

Julian Walter

MUN Advisor

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A Letter from the Chair

Dear Delegates,

It is an honor to welcome you to the second edition of Cambridge College Model United Nations! My name is Isabella Carrera and I have the pleasure to be your director for the African Union.

I’m currently studying Law at Universidad de Lima, and I graduated from Villa Caritas School last year. My MUN experience began in 2015 and before the first session of committee of my first MUN conference was even over, I already knew I wanted to pursue this for as long as I could. Since then, I’ve assisted numerous national and international conferences, and became part of the second and third generations of United Schools of Peru (USP), which helped me improve my MUN skills and take them to a whole new level. Furthermore, I had the opportunity to travel to Boston for HMUN 2017 and HMUN 2018, and to New York to participate in WIMUN 2018. I also had the privilege of serving as the Director of UNICEF in the first edition of VCSPMUN and as Chief of Substantial Affairs and Director of DISEC in the second one. Besides MUN, I have a passion for history, politics and Broadway shows, and I also enjoy reading, listening to music and watching Netflix during my free time.

Ultimately, I hope that all of you get three main things out this conference: a wealth of knowledge about the topic discussed, valuable lessons in diplomacy from working with fellow delegates, and friendships that will enrich your MUN experience. I can’t wait to meet you all and hopefully see you engage in a fast-paced, fruitful debate. If you have any doubts, or just want to introduce yourselves, please do not hesitate to contact me. I can’t wait to meet you!

Good luck!

Isabella Carrera

Isabella Carrera

Director

Shadia Muñoz Najar

Assistant Director

Gianfranco Torres

Assistant Director

Mia Calmet

Assistant Director

Julian Walter

MUN Advisor

[africanunionccmun@gmail

.com]

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Statement of the Problem

Western Sahara is a long-time disputed territory in North Africa partially controlled by the

Polisario Front and partially occupied by Morocco, and considered by the United Nations the

largest and most populous non-self-governing territory. It is bordered by Morocco to the

north, Algeria to the northeast, and Mauritania to the east and south, all three extremely

relevant actors in the conflict.

Western Sahara was annexed by Morocco in 1975, and since then the conflict has dragged on

for more than 40 years. The African Union (AU) as an institution recognizes the Saharan

Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), declared by the Polisario Front in 1976, as a full member

since 1982. However, a number of its members do not recognize it as a state, dividing the AU

in two. Since 1991 the conflict has been reasonably peaceful and almost forgotten. However,

Morocco recently asked to be readmitted into the AU, 33 years after leaving its seat in 1984

when the AU recognized Western Sahara, a sparsely populated stretch of desert that was

formerly a Spanish protectorate, and admitted it as a member. Its reason to rejoin is that it

seeks support for its plan to offer autonomy to the disputed territory of Western Sahara

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while keeping it under Moroccan sovereignty. This readmission has sparked conflict since

the beginning, as Moroccan authorities claim that the African Union “is trying to thwart

Morocco’s decision to regain its natural and legitimate place in the pan-African

institutional family,” and “The president of the AU commission is dropping her neutrality

and failing the rules and standards of the organization and its members’ will,”.

The peaceful situation taking place in the disputed territory could be disturbed by this new

action taken by Morocco, especially considering that it claims that “at least 36 of the 54 AU

member countries do not acknowledge the territory as a separate state and it is time to

withdraw its recognition.” and that “None of the Western powers, nor the United Nations,

recognize the territory.”

History of the problem

In order to understand the root of the conflict, it is essential to look back at the events that

occurred in the end of the 19th century, the period during which Western European

countries actively started to colonize Africa. Throughout this time, European countries

aimed to avoid territorial disputes and consequently hosted the Berlin Conference of 1884, in

order to peacefully divide the African continent among themselves. During the conference, it

was decided that Western Sahara would be part of the territory colonized by Spain. Western

Sahara remained under Spanish rule for 74 years, thus becoming the last African country to

gain its independence. It was during this time that Morocco gained its independence from

Spain in 1956, becoming an antecedent to a problem that is still ongoing.

Just after its establishment, the United Nations focused on decolonizing the African

continent from the European nations, they even created the Special Committee on

Decolonization as an effort to achieve this. With the support of the United Nations, and new

legislations ruled by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Western Sahara gained their

independence from Spain, they were supposed to decolonize the region by 1976,

nevertheless, their independence never came, and a conflict started for the possession of the

territory. Morocco claimed that the Western

Sahara region was part of the pre-colonial

Moroccan Empire and that they were the

rightful owners of the land. Mauritania

shortly entered the conflict claiming

ownership for the same reasons. With the

two countries arguing for legal possession of

its territory, Western Sahara eventually lost

its sovereignty and independence.

In 1973, the Sahrawi formed The Polisario

Front, a liberation movement. Three years

later on February 27th, 1976, once Spain

had completely withdrawn from the

territory, they declared the land as their own

and established the Sahrawi Arab

Democratic Republic, with the help of Green March, 1975

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Algeria. However, even after the government was established, Western Sahara remained

under the administration of Spain. As the legal colonizer of the region, Spain decided to hold

a referendum so the Sahrawi people could choose whether their country would be ruled

under neighboring countries like Morocco or Mauritania or whether it would achieve its

independence. Morocco strongly opposed the referendum, trying to postpone it by

requesting the ICJ to acknowledge its historical sovereignty over Western Sahara.

Consequently, the referendum was postponed, just as Morocco had intended. During this

time the United Nations visited the region and were not surprised to find that the majority of

people wanted the independence. In response to this, the ICJ published an advisory opinion

regarding the issue, implying that Morocco no longer had historical sovereignty over

Western Sahara which meant that the referendum was to be re-held soon. Morocco, still

fighting the referendum, sent over 300 000 Moroccans to the territory in what was known as

the “Green March”, causing over 150 000 Sahrawis to flee to western Algeria.

Because of the continuous pressure presented by the conflict, the Spanish government (that

was dealing with its own issues with transitioning to democracy) was forced to agree to hand

over the territory to Mauritania and Morocco. On 14th of November, 1975, Morocco gained

two-thirds of the Western Sahara’s territory, while Mauritania gained the rest as a result of

the Madrid Accords. This agreement was presented as a request that Spain handed over the

administrative control of Western Sahara to Morocco and Mauritania. The Madrid Accords,

however, was not a transfer of sovereignty. The Polisario Front, on the other hand, was

obviously unsatisfied with the Madrid Accords, believing that it went against the decision of

the ICJ since the accord did not constitute the will of the Saharawi people.

In 1975 what is known as the Western Sahara War broke out. The Polisario Front, backed

and supported by Algeria, fought for 16 years for their independence against Mauritania and

Morocco; which they have yet still not

won. In 1977, as the conflict escalated

and reached its peak of intensity,

France intervened and two years later,

in 1979, Mauritania withdrew from the

conflict and territories, signing a peace

agreement, which lead to impasse

throughout most of the 1980’s. After

several more engagements between

1989 and 1991, a cease-fire agreement

was reached between the Polisario

Front and the Moroccan government.

At the time, the Polisario only

controlled about 20% of the Western

Sahara territory while most of the

Western Sahara territory remained

under Moroccan control. Today, these borders have barely changed.

Royal Moroccan Army during the War in the Western

Sahara.

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Current situation

Polisario Controlled areas

Today, the Polisario Front only controls about

20–25% of the Western Sahara territory,

under the mandate of the Sahrawi Arab

Democratic Republic (SADR), but continue to

claim sovereignty over the entire territory of

Western Sahara. The Polisario calls the

territory they control the Liberated Territories

or the Free Zone, while Morocco calls the

remaining disputed territory its Southern

Provinces. This territory, administered and

controlled by Morocco is considered by the

Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

government as occupied territory, while

Morocco considers the much smaller Sahrawi

held territory to be a buffer zone.

In addition, the Sahrawi refugee camps are in

full autonomous control of the Polisario Front.

These were set up between 1975 and 1976 in the Tindouf Province, Algeria in order to aid

Sahrawi people during the Western Sahara War who were escaping Moroccan forces and

continue sheltering over 100,000 refugees. With all of these still living in the camps, the

refugee situation is among the most protracted worldwide. Nowadays, there’s almost no

intervention from the outside, most of the organization of these camps is now run by the

refugees themselves. Women have a crucial role in much of the administration of these

refugee camps.

The Moroccan Wall

The Moroccan Wall, originally the Western Sahara Berm

separates Moroccan territory from the Polisario

controlled territory, dividing Western Sahara in two. It is

a defensive structure made primarily of sand and runs

throughout all of Western Sahara and the southern part

of Morocco, and it is approximately 2,700 km

long. According to maps from MINURSO and the

UNHCR, part of the wall extends several kilometers into

Mauritanian territory. According to Pascal Bongard,

program director at Geneva Call, between five and ten

million landmines have been laid in the areas around the

wall.

The wall was constructed in six stages, they started building it in 1980 and finished it 7 years

later in 1987. However, the idea of a defensive wall had been obvious to Moroccan

Map showing the political division of Western Sahara retrieved from The Economist

The Western Sahara Berm

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authorities since 1979, a year before they started building it. The Polisario call the Berm the

"wall of shame" while Morocco calls it a "defensive wall", "wall of sand" or "security wall".

Human Rights

The Western Sahara conflict, as any other conflict, has resulted in severe human rights

abuses. The most notable have been the aerial bombardments with Napalm and White

phosphorus of the Sahrawi refugee camps, causing tens of thousands of Sahrawi civilians to

flee from the country, and the forced expropriation and expulsion of thousands of Moroccan

civilians from Algeria by the Algerian government in reaction to the Green March, as well as

violations of human rights and serious breaches of the Geneva convention by the Polisario

Front, the Moroccan government and the Algerian government.

These days both Morocco and the SADR accuse each other of violating the human rights of

the people under their control, in the Moroccan-controlled parts of Western Sahara and the

Tindouf refugee camps in Algeria, respectively. Some organizations such as France Libertés

in accordance with Morocco, consider Algeria to be directly responsible for the crimes

committed on its territory, and have even accused the country of having been directly

involved in such violations. On the other hand, Morocco, has also been repeatedly

condemned and criticized for its actions in Western Sahara by several international non-

governmental organizations (NGOs).

Morocco’s Readmission to the African Union After Moroccan troops entered Western Sahara back in 1975, conflict within former

Organization of African Unity (nowadays African Union) began. Almost ten years later,

Morocco decided to leave the OAU due to their support towards the newly self-declared Arab

Democratic Republic.

Even though conflict persists, Morocco’s relationship progressively got better with the

African Union and in summer 2016, 33 years later, King Mohammed VI announced that

Morocco wanted to retake “its natural place” in the “family” of African states. This was only

possible thanks to King’s efforts in diplomacy, for which he signed nearly 1,000 cooperation

agreements and toured across sub-Saharan Africa to regain trust. One example includes a

project with Nigeria to build a pipeline in order to supply gas to many countries. Some

Moroccan companies have even gone off policy and signed deals that are not of their nature.

The voting procedure took place at the end of January, with a majority of 54 member states

voting for Morocco’s readmission to the AU. However, some countries showed mixed

opinions and an investigation on Morocco’s membership was proposed accordingly to the

AU Foundation Act. Nevertheless, King Mohammed VI said: “It is so good to be back home,

after having been away for too long. It is a good day when you can show your affection for

your beloved home. Africa is my continent, and my home”. The readmission also resonated

in some Moroccan citizens, since the SADR also has a seat in the AU.

But as said by Western Sahara officials: “this is a chance to work together”. Only time will tell

if this is true, but it is certainly more plausible to imagine negotiations between these two

countries, as representatives of both countries now even sit in the same room during

meetings of the AU.

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Relevant Past actions

The Madrid Accords

There have been various attempts to solve to Western Sahara conflict in the past, however,

none has been efficient enough to actually solve the issue. The first once was through the

Madrid Accords of 1975, which aimed to distribute the territory between Morocco and

Mauritania, but failed to take into consideration the Sahrawi people claims for

independence, which later lead to war between the native group and the two nations.

United Nations Actions

Ever since 1988 the United Nations has supported the idea for self-determination and has

tried to find a solution to the conflict for which they presented the Settlement Plan, and

agreement between Morocco and the Polisario Front on the organization of a referendum in

order to finally settle the dispute which would be sponsored by the United Nations and the

Organization of African Unity, and would allow the Western Sahara population decide

between integration or independence. However, due to the presence of various Moroccan

immigrants, there was great disagreement on who was allowed to vote on the referendum.

This caused the referendum to stall and the conflict to carry on.

After the escalation of the conflict, the United Nations established the United Nations

Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) as part of the Settlement Plan

which resulted in an agreement between the two parties on a ceasefire by 1991. Another

referendum was set up in 1997 through the Houston Agreement, but sadly failed again.

Throughout both failures both sides blamed each other for the unsuccessfulness of the

referendums which created even more tension.

Baker Plan

The Baker Plan (formally, Peace Plan for Self-Determination of the People of Western

Sahara) was a United Nations led initiative formulated in 2000 by James Baker as a way to

grant self-determination to Western Sahara. It was intended to replace the Settlement Plan

of 1991 and the Houston Agreement of 1997, which had failed to provide long-lasting results.

The Plan has not been mentioned by the UN Secretary General since 2005, and seems to be

long forgotten.

QARMAS

1. Should Western Sahara be granted complete independence and self-determination?

If so, how can the AU help them create sustainable institutions as well to

economically support themselves?

2. In case of an escalation to an armed conflict, under which circumstances should

members of the international community, especially those members of the AU, get

involved?

3. What resources should the AU allocate in order to aid the region and help put an end

to the conflict in a peaceful way?

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4. Now that Morocco is a member of the AU again, should any punishment or

restriction be applied to Morocco? Should any kind of policy be developed by the AU

to avoid future conflicts of this nature?

5. Should a referendum finally take place in Western Sahara? If so, under which criteria

should voters be eligible and how can transparency be ensured?

Bloc positions

a. The role of Morocco

The first major bloc position of this committee will be taken by the involvement of

Morocco in the conflict, which presented their claim for the territory decades ago.

Morocco has not yet given any signs of willingness to hand over the claims on the

Western-Sahara territory to Polisario. The main reason as to why Morocco is so

hesitant, could be because of the many natural resources that lay within the region.

These include phosphate, iron, fishing waters, and possible oil deposits. Morocco

values these resources very much and has therefore protected this territory with

armed forces. In 2006, Morocco introduced a plan proposing that the Sahrawi people

could govern themselves, as long as they were under Moroccan rule, but it was

rejected. They still currently still propose autonomy of the region as a solution to the

conflict and are backed by a number of members of the AU.

b. The Sahrawi and Pro-independence

A second major bloc will be composed of the Saharan Arab Democratic Republic and

those countries which favor their independence. Most countries which recognize the

Saharan Arab Democratic Republic as a state and have expressed their support

towards the Polisario Front throughout the years are most likely to be part of this

bloc. They believe its resources belong to the Sahrawi people and are still hesitant of

the readmission of Morocco to the AU. Algeria will be an important party in this bloc,

the Algerian government has supported Polisario by providing them with arms and

troops, as well as sending funds, for over 30 years.

c. Neutral

A third and final bloc position will be occupied by the countries which do not present

a radical stand on the conflict or have decided not to support any of the sides of the

conflict. Some may have recognized the Saharan Arab Democratic Republic in the

past or backed Morocco in a moment in history, but which currently remain neutral

to the conflict. However, they still want a settlement to be achieved as the conflict

may present a threat to their nations. These countries will serve as mediators

between the two other sides of the conflict.

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11. Suggestions for further research

Although I hope this guide will provide you with useful information, it is important that your

research doesn’t stop here. Staying on policy is going to be crucial during committee, so a

deep and complete research is going to be expected. Your country’s interests are also going to

be key players so it is important that you know what they are, how they influence your

country’s position and why they favor or not one of the sides. The conflict of Western Sahara

is a complex topic with a lot of back history, so further research on the history of the conflict

is highly recommended as well.

12. Position paper requirements

Delegates are requested to write a document illustrating the position of your country on the

subject to be discussed in the committee. The document should be written in an A4 page,

have a maximum of one page and a half of length, approximately 750 words divided in three

paragraphs, with standard margins, simple spacing and written in Times New Roman 11. The

committee, topic, country they represent, school and name of the delegate should appear in

the upper left corner of the document along with the coat of arms of their respective country.

The Position Paper should also contain some of the solutions that the delegates plan to

present to the committee. It is important emphasize that the content and quality of the

document have been taken into account in the final evaluation of all the delegates, if a

delegate fails to send their Position Paper on time, they won’t able to be considered for an

award. The deadline for Position Papers is 11:59 of Sunday, May 27th and it should be sent to

africanunionccmun@gmail.com.

13. Closing remarks

Congratulations delegates on making it to the end of this guide! I hope you found it helpful

and that you enjoyed learning about the topic that you will all be debating and discussing

over the course of the weekend! As you can see, our topic, the conflict for Western Sahara, is

one of the longest, and perhaps, one of the most controversial unresolved conflicts in Africa,

which means that it will be quite a challenge for you as delegates to discuss. This topic

demands a lot of research, and I will not expect any less than that from you. Remember to

not just focus on the territorial aspect of the conflict, but on the social, cultural and economic

aspects as well. I cannot wait to meet all of you in person and good luck with preparation! I

reiterate my invitation to reach out if you have any questions or doubts, I will try my best to

answer them. I can’t wait to meet you all!

14. Bibliography

1. Western Sahara profile. BBC News. Retrieved 26 April 2018, from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-14115273

2. The Western Sahara Conflict. Atlismta.org. Retrieved 26 April 2018, from https://atlismta.org/online-journals/0809-journal-intervention/the-western-sahara-conflict/

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3. Westphal, J., & Westphal, J. Africa’s Last Colony: The Question of Western Sahara - IFAIR. IFAIR. Retrieved 26 April 2018, from http://ifair.eu/africas-last-colony-question-western-sahara/

4. Hicks, C., & →, M. Morocco’s AU Victory Leaves Western Sahara Question Unanswered. IPI Global Observatory. Retrieved 26 April 2018, from https://theglobalobservatory.org/2017/02/morocco-african-union-western-sahara/

5. Moroccan Entry to the African Union and the Revival of the Western Sahara Dispute – Harvard International Law Journal. (2017). Harvardilj.org. Retrieved 26 April 2018, from http://www.harvardilj.org/2017/12/moroccan-entry-to-the-african-union-and-the-revival-of-the-western-sahara-dispute/

6. A/RES/51/143. Question of Western Sahara. Un.org. Retrieved 26 April 2018, from http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/51/ares51-143.htm

7. Morocco v Algeria. The Economist. Retrieved 26 April 2018, from https://www.economist.com/node/17421589

8. The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency. Cia.gov. Retrieved 26 April 2018, from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/wi.html

9. African Studies Center | Western Sahara Page. Africa.upenn.edu. Retrieved 26 April 2018, from http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Country_Specific/W_Sahara.html

10. Western Sahara | World news | The Guardian. the Guardian. Retrieved 26 April 2018, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/western-sahara

11. Western Sahara | Facts, History, & Map. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 26 April 2018, from https://www.britannica.com/place/Western-Sahara

12. Pike, J. Western Sahara. Globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 26 April 2018, from https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/western-sahara.htm

13. World Report 2018: Rights Trends in Morocco/Western Sahara. (2018). Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 26 April 2018, from https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2018/country-

14. U.N. wants 'understanding' of Western Sahara human rights situation. (2018). U.S.. Retrieved 26 April 2018, from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-westernsahara-un-idUSKBN0N123I20150411

15. UN must monitor human rights in Western Sahara and Sahrawi refugee camps. (2018). Amnesty.org. Retrieved 26 April 2018, from https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/04/un-must-monitor-human-rights-in-western-sahara-and-sahrawi-refugee-camps/

16. Western Sahara - History. Arso.org. Retrieved 26 April 2018, from http://www.arso.org/05-1.htm

17. Western Sahara and the Tide of History. (2018). HuffPost. Retrieved 26 April 2018, from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/ken-loach/western-sahara-and-the-ti_b_764847.html

18. Company. (2018). Western Sahara. Nytimes.com. Retrieved 26 April 2018, from https://www.nytimes.com/topic/destination/western-sahara