By Dimeji Macaulay
In October of this year, trade unionists, anti-capitalists and activists from around the world gathered in the Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf, Algeria, from the 19th to the 23rd to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Union General de Trabajadores de Saguia el Hamra y Río de Oro (UGTSARIO), the primary Labour Centre in Western Sahara. The gathering focused on two urgent issues: how to end the ongoing occupation of Western Sahara by Morocco and the rise of global fascism. Delegates from various trade unions shared experiences and held discussions on the crises posed by these occupations and the spread of right-wing extremism worldwide.
The Frente Popular de Liberación de Saguía el Hamra y Río de Oro, or the Polisario Front, proclaimed the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) in 1976 and established a government in exile in Algeria. The Tindouf camp, one of the world’s oldest, has now existed for nearly fifty years. Despite the departure of Spanish and Mauritanian colonial powers in 1975, Morocco continues to occupy Western Sahara, with no resolution in sight. This ongoing crisis is perpetuated by imperialist powers that support Morocco’s actions.
What Are the Issues?
For nearly fifty years, the Moroccan regime has occupied Western Sahara, disregarding multiple court rulings and international calls for resolution. The people of Western Sahara, many of whom have lived in refugee camps for over 45 years, yearn to return to their homeland, yet an end to the occupation remains elusive.
In 1884, Spain colonized Western Sahara, a region originally inhabited by Berber tribes. By 1934, Spain had formalized control over the area, renaming it the Spanish Sahara. After Morocco gained independence in 1956, it claimed sovereignty over Western Sahara, citing historic ties to the region.
In 1965, the United Nations issued a resolution calling for the decolonization of Western Sahara. Since then, international support for Western Saharan independence has grown, with many countries recognizing Western Sahara’s right to self-determination. In 1975, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued an advisory opinion stating that there was no evidence of “territorial sovereignty” between Western Sahara and Morocco or Mauritania. Although it noted some historical ties of allegiance between certain tribes and the Moroccan sultan, the ruling affirmed the Saharawi people’s right to self-determination.
However, King Hassan of Morocco defied the ICJ’s findings, organizing the “Green March” in 1975, in which 350,000 Moroccans entered Western Sahara to assert Moroccan claims. This event ignited a prolonged conflict between Morocco and the Polisario Front, the Sahrawi nationalist movement, resulting in a 16-year guerrilla war that ended with a UN-brokered ceasefire in 1991. Under this agreement, Morocco retained control of approximately 70% of the territory, while the Polisario controlled the remaining 30%.
In April 1991, the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) was established to oversee a referendum in which the people of Western Sahara could choose between independence and integration with Morocco. However, Morocco has continued to exploit Western Sahara’s natural resources and occupy the land, bolstered by international backing. Decades later, the question of Western Sahara’s sovereignty remains unresolved.
The United Nations have pledged to end colonialism by 2030. But the fact is that countries who control the UN are themselves colonial (US, UK, France, etc). Recently, France officially recognized Morocco’s claim over Western Sahara, motivated by access to the region’s oil reserves and the desire to maintain Morocco’s support. Similarly, the United States backs Morocco, partly in exchange for Morocco’s recent normalization of relations with Israel. Ironically, Morocco has previously opposed Israeli actions against Palestinians and even expelled the Israeli ambassador, but its stance has.
Moroccan occupation
While the Polisario Front has persistently fought to end Morocco’s occupation, imperialist interests in Western Sahara’s resources have prevented a peaceful resolution. Genuine international solidarity among working people worldwide is essential if the people of Western Sahara are to reclaim their land and rights.
In late October, Sahrawi civilians protested by blocking a road connecting Western Sahara to Mauritania via a five-kilometer buffer zone. On the Western Saharan side, Morocco maintains a border checkpoint at the Guerguerat crossing, which the Polisario views as a breach of the 1991 ceasefire agreement. On November 13, 2020, Moroccan troops expelled the civilians from the buffer zone without causing injuries or making arrests. The Polisario has since declared the ceasefire effectively over, vowing to “resume the war.” Although no significant armed conflict has followed, Morocco has continued to suppress Sahrawi activists by detaining, beating, and imprisoning them in flawed legal proceedings marked by due process violations, including torture and restricted movement. Such abuses reportedly increased following the Guerguerat incident.
The recent international conference celebrating the 50th anniversary of UGTSARIO, held in the Sahrawi refugee camps from October 20–23, once again emphasized the need for international peoples support for Western Sahara and called for an end to the continued exploitation of the region’s resources.
One of the most significant recent developments for Western Sahara occurred on October 4, 2024, when the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that European agreements with Morocco to exploit Western Sahara’s fisheries, agriculture, and other resources are illegal. The judgment declared that these agreements violated the sovereignty of Western Sahara, marking a notable win for the Sahrawi cause in international law.
Human Rights Abuses and Resistance
Repression of dissent in Western Sahara remains pervasive, with Morocco’s military and police continuing a long history of human rights abuses. Since conflict erupted in the early 1970s, numerous reports of violations have surfaced, including hundreds of “disappearances” over the last four decades that remain unresolved. In June 1991, the Moroccan government released over 200 detainees, many of whom had disappeared after either they or their family members challenged Morocco’s claims to Western Sahara. These individuals were often held in secret detention centers and subjected to torture, some for nearly twenty years. Authorities have repeatedly restricted the rights of Sahrawi people to dissent and assemble peacefully.
From May 4 to June 20, Sahrawi activist Mahfouda Lefkir, who lives in Laayoune in northern Western Sahara, was placed under close surveillance after she traveled to Dakhla in the south to support fellow activists. Security officers followed Lefkir whenever she left her home, assaulted activists who attempted to visit her, and verbally harassed her and her family.
On May 14, Moroccan authorities expelled Italian researcher Roberto Cantoni, who was studying renewable energy use in Morocco and Western Sahara, from Laayoune to Agadir without due process.
On September 4, during the first visit of Staffan De Mistura, the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for Western Sahara, Moroccan security forces violently dispersed a peaceful protest in Laayoune. Reports indicate that at least 23 Sahrawi protesters, including two women, Salha Boutenkiza and Mahfouda Lefkir, and activist Bouchri Ben Taleb, were physically and verbally assaulted by security officers, who dragged them along the ground, beat them, and issued threats. Three days later, on September 7, law enforcement in Dakhla arbitrarily detained four Sahrawi activists—Hassan Zerouali, Rachid Sghayer, and two others—at the Oum Bir police station for seven hours, blocking them from meeting with De Mistura.
These incidents underscore the persistent human rights abuses faced by the people of Western Sahara and highlight the resilience of Sahrawi activists in their ongoing resistance against oppression.
On October 21, law enforcement officers blocked the Sahrawi human rights organization CODESA (Collective of Sahrawi Human Rights Defenders) from holding its first national congress in Laayoune. Attendees reported to journalists that officers used physical violence to disperse them.
Morocco has also continued the physical closure, imposed in 2022, of the Laayoune headquarters of the Sahrawi Association of Victims of Grave Violations of Human Rights Committed by the Moroccan State. Meanwhile, Moroccan authorities maintain strict crackdowns on journalists, activists, and artists who express criticism of the monarchy.
Eric Goldstein, Acting Middle East and North Africa Director at Human Rights Watch, remarked, “Moroccan officers and Polisario troops may be facing off in border and diplomatic disputes, but that does not give Morocco license to crack down on Sahrawi civilians who peacefully oppose Moroccan rule.”
Imperialism Responsible for Continued Occupation of Western Sahara
Western Sahara is rich in natural resources, boasting significant phosphate reserves, lucrative fishing grounds off its coast, and likely untapped offshore oil deposits. The population of Western Sahara is approximately 565,000, with over 200,000 Sahrawis still living in refugee camps in Tindouf, Algeria, where they have been since 1976. The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), declared by the Polisario Front in 1976, has been recognized by numerous governments and is a full member of the African Union.
As Marxists, we support the right of the people of Western Sahara to self-determination and stand in solidarity against all forms of oppression and occupation. Similar issues of colonialism persist in Palestine, Puerto Rico and other parts of the world.
The United Nations, Imperialism and the resistance
Many people have come to see the United Nations as a potential path to peaceful resolution of global conflicts, but this view overlooks the character of the UN. As an institution, the UN lacks true autonomy, frequently operating to serve the interests of Western powers rather than acting as a neutral force for justice. This dependency has historically allowed atrocities to continue unchecked, with the UN just “condemning” them, as it currently does with the genocide in Gaza. The United States, a founding member and one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (P5), is the largest single contributor to the UN budget, providing 22% of its regular funding and 27% of its peacekeeping budget. However, in all cases, US acts not as a peace agent but as the biggest imperialist war machine.
The structure of the UN mirrors the power dynamics of global capitalism. As long as global capitalism prevails, imperialist occupations will continue, serving the interests of those who benefit from inequality and exploitation.
The re-election of figures like Donald Trump, who recognized Western Sahara as Moroccan territory, would further exacerbate these trends, ushering in increased instability, as policies favoring imperialist interests lead to chaos and intensified suffering for ordinary people.
For genuine change, the oppressed of the world must unite in a working class based anti-imperialist and anti-war movement against colonialism, capable of challenging the grip of imperial powers on occupied territories. A global movement that inscribes socialism on its banners to harness humanity’s resources for the benefit of all rather than the enrichment of a privileged few.
