Human Rights

Recent News Clips

Wide Angle: Sahara Marathon
PBS, 8/19/2004

Deserting the Baker Plan
David Keene, The Hill, 7/13/2004

Sahara refugees form a progressive society
Christian Science Monitor, 3/26/2004

"The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies"

Article 49 - Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War.

"I have always said that, in this country, the rights of man stopped at the question of the Sahara. Anyone who said that the Sahara was not Moroccan could not benefit from the rights of man."

King Hassan II, 1993, Paris. King of Morocco, 1961-1999. Responsible for "Green March" in to Western Sahara.

"The Administration's position is clear: sovereignty of Western Sahara is in dispute and the United States fully supports the United Nations' efforts to resolve this issue. The United State and many other countries do not recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara..."

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick, 7/20/2004, letter to Congressman Pitts, regarding the impact on Western Sahara of the U.S.-Morocco Free Trade Agreement.

western Sahara

Take an on-line tour of the refugee camps

The coastal nation of Western Sahara has a wealth of mineral resources and the best fishing waters in the world. The people of Western Sahara, the Sahrawi, are a traditionally nomadic people who were for centuries self-sufficient and happy. But today 180,000 Sahrawis survive on donated food in refugee camps which dot the scorched dunes of western Algeria.

Western Sahara was a Spanish colony until Spain withdrew in 1975, but Sahrawi hopes for independence were dashed when Morocco promptly invaded. The UN's International Court of Justice ruled in October of 1975 that Morocco's claim to Western Sahara was illegitimate. The Sahrawis have been fighting for liberation ever since. The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (the government in exile) is recognized by the Organization of African Unity and by 75 individual nations as the legitimate government of Western Sahara. A 1991 UN-brokered cease-fire agreement promised a referendum for national self-determination, but Morocco has spent the succeeding decade doing everything in its power to prevent the referendum from actually taking place. While the Sahrawis languish in exile, their leaders weigh continued patience against going back to war to regain their homeland.

European Conference of Support to the Sahrawi People (11/28/04)
Statement to the United Nations regarding Western Sahara (10/6/04)
South Africa recognizes Western Sahara’s government-in-exile (9/15/04)
Rep. Pitts lauds protection of Sahrawis in Morocco trade pact (7/22/04)
Beyond Diplomatic Niceties (7/9/04)
Joint Statement with Congressman Payne on Morocco and Western Sahara (7/6/04)
Rep. Pitts: Don't abandon Baker plan (7/6/04)
Congressmen blast Morocco’s insistence on “territorial integrity” (6/18/04)
Letter to President Bush urging active pursuit of Western Sahara settlement (2/15/02)
Free Western Sahara! (5/2/01)
Don't Abandon Western Sahara (6/22/00)
Letter to President Clinton (6/12/00)
Testimony before the Africa Subcommittee (9/13/99)
Western Sahara Referendum Must Move Forward (8/5/98)
Statement on the Establishment of the Western Sahara Foundation (7/99)

Links
ARSO.org
CIA World Factbook section on Western Sahara
Frente Polisario (Spanish)
Sahara Marathon

Resources
United States Trade Representative letter to Congressman Pitts (7/19/2004)
UN Legal Opinion (2/12/2002)
Moroccan government memo on how to "act Sahrawi" (1/22/1998)
International Court of Justice opinion on Western Sahara (10/16/1975)

For more information E-mail the Western Sahara Foundation.