The Non-Interventionary Norm Prevails: an Analysis of the Western Sahara
Von Hippel argues that the major powers’ refusal to intervene, while arming and trading with the parties, has kept the Western Sahara conflict going.
Protracted conflict and failure to achieve prenegotiation in Western Sahara Conflict
Zoubir explains why the Western Sahara conflict never reached genuine prenegotiation, placing the blame on Morocco’s refusal to deal with Polisario.
The Western Sahara Question and International Law: Recognition Doctrine and Self-Determination
If one accepts the ICJ’s conclusion that the right to self-determination isvested in the Sahrawi people as a matter of international law, it follows thatMorocco’s subsequent occupation of Western Sahara, in violation of the peremptory norms concerning the prohibition on the use of force and the rightto self-determination, has generated erga omnes obligations for third Statesand International Organisations (IOs), which are under a duty to withholdrecognition of Morocco’s assertion of sovereignty and to refrain from dealing with it vis-à-vis Western Sahara.
The Sahrawis of Western Sahara
The report details the displacement of much of the Sahrawi population to refugee camps in Algeria, the harsh conditions faced by those remaining, and the mixed role of international actors such as the UN and the Organization of African Unity—showing how global politics often outweighed justice in determining the territory’s fate.
Western Sahara’s Unlearned Lessons
Jett, a former US ambassador, argues that Western Sahara shows what happens when states put national interests ahead of international principles.