AN ESSENTIAL DOCUMENTATION TO KNOW THE WESTERN SAHARA

Carlos Ruiz Miguel

Chair professor of constitutional law 

at the University of Santiago de Compostela

To make the Western Sahara conflict known is the best thing that can be done to help solve it. The more we are aware of the juridical and political reality of Western Sahara, the closer we will be to finding the solution and the further we will be from the myths which only prolong the conflict.

The materials presented here are essential for knowing Western Sahara. The task of compiling the juridical materials relative to Western Sahara is not new, but it had never been carried out with the exhaustiveness proposed by this electronic work, which we are presenting. So far, there have been compilation efforts, some private (the most praiseworthy ones), other on behalf of the United Nations. The most extensive compilation that existed until now, in Spanish, French and English, was the one proposed by the Western Sahara Referendum Support Association, ARSO (l’Association pour le Référendum dans le Sahara Occidental) [1], with documents that are not even accessible on the United Nations Documentation Centre page [2]. In second place, the “Observatori Solidaritat” webpage from the University of Barcelona also contains a magnificent list of documents [3]. There are some less comprehensive compilations of documents, only in English, such as the “Western Sahara On-line” webpage [4] or the one drawn up by the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara itself – MINURSO (Mission des United Nations pour le Référendum dans le Sahara Occidental) [5], also in English. In Spanish, we must cite the selection of documents from the University of Valencia [6]. Finally, the texts chosen by Thomas de Saint Maurice [7] can be found in several languages. The collection that we are presenting here is based on all these contributions, but it goes further since it compiles and puts into order documents which are not currently grouped together on any webpage or other publications and because it also offers some important documents which were not available anywhere on internet until now.

What does this collection of texts offer ? First and foremost, it must be emphasized that it contains a collection of texts presented, as far as possible, in three official languages of the United Nations (Spanish, French and English). The materials can be grouped into the following categories: United Nations documents, Front Polisario and SADR documents, international treaties, texts from private organisms (with their possible answers), some doctrinal contributions and other additional documents.

1. The most important data, in terms of quantity and quality of all the content presented here, has to be the texts produced by United Nations organisms. We offer here a great diversity of texts, which for the most part are reproduced in the three languages.

a)        First of all, we present the report of the International Court of Justice from 16^th October 1975, available for the first time in electronic version. The publishing of this work would be worth it just for the broadcasting of this very important document. The report is presented in the two official languages in which it was published (French and English). With this report, we could not leave aside the reproduction of another vital document dated 29^th January 2002 from the Deputy Secretary General, Juridical Assessor of the United Nations.

b)        Secondly, we introduced in the three languages, all the resolutions on Western Sahara, approved by the United Nations General Assembly. In this category, we incorporated some resolutions of the G.A. relative to the general Law of the decolonisation, which are of a remarkable importance.

c)        Thirdly, also in the three languages, we included all the resolutions on Western Sahara reported by the UN Security Council.

d)        Fourthly, again in the three languages, we find a vast account (non-exhaustive) of decisions from the Human Rights Commission, subsidiary organ of the UN Economic and Social Council, regarding the Sahara.

e)        Fifthly, we present two reports drawn up by the Missions in Western Sahara sent by the General Assembly and the Security Council respectively. We register here a very historically important text, which is available for the first time electronically: the infamous report from the Verification Commission sent to Western Sahara in 1975.

f)          Sixthly, we added, in English, all the reports drawn up by the par le Secretary General for the Security Council, related to the Sahara. A large number of these reports are also available in French and in Spanish.

g)        Seventhly, we also added some reports from the SG to the UN General Assembly concerning the conflict.

h)        Eighthly, we added several declarations from the President of the Security Council.

i)         Ninethly, we included some letters from the SG to the President of the Security Council.

j)         Tenthly, we incorporated in the documentation the observations of the Human Rights Council regarding the respect of the obligations that Morocco incurred in International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

k)        Finally, we included several other documents such as an  Amnistie International communication to the UN Convention Against Torture, letters to UN organisms and des declarations made by the member States of these organisms.

2. The second set of texts in this compilation come from the POLISARIO (“Frente Popular de Liberación de Saguía el Hamra y Río de Oro”) – the  Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Río de Oro – and the State which founded the SADR (“Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic“). We find here memorandums drawn up by the Polisario Front and the SADR, the text of the Proclamation of the SADR, some of its Constitutions and some interventions of the Polisario Front representation before the United Nations. Not all these documents are available in the three languages, since some only exist in Spanish or in French. Finally, we included a private document which relates the gratefulness of the SADR by States from all continents.

3. The third lot of texts, much smaller in quantity, but juridically transcendantal, is that of the two international treaties of which the objet is Western Sahara: the three-party “Madrid Agreement” (this agreement, signed on 14^th November 1975 purposed to the transfer of administrative powers of the so-called Western Sahara to a three-party administration divided between Morocco, Spain and Mauritania), and the treaty between Morocco and Mauritania dated 14^th April 1976, according to which, thanks to the tracing of a new state border, they proceeded to share the so-called Western Sahara. The three-party Madrid Accords were made up of a public text (the “statement of principle” which Morocco filed to the United Nations) and some secret annexes. We reproduced some of these secret annexes such as they were published by a Spanish weekly.

4. The fourth group of texts is composed of some memorandums sent by the Polisario Front to several United Nations organisms.

5. Fifthly, we present a series of resolutions of several regional and international organisations (European union, European Council and the already-disbanded Organisation of African Unity (OAU)) which deal with Western Sahara.

6. If the three previous categories include official documents, in this fourth quatrième category we have registered a series of texts of private origin or the official answers which the Polisario Front gave in time to some of these reports signed by private organism. The most of the space is taken up by the official answer of the Polisario Front to a  libellous report from a foundation which, until thenhad helped the Polisario Front. This report was published, and not by coïncidence, only a few days after the Security Council gave its unanimous agreement to a certain  “Baker Plan II” inflicting on Morocco one of the biggest diplomatic coups it had suffered in three decades. There are also some reports on the tragic Human Rights situation in the zones occupied by Morocco.

7. There are some doctrinal analyses reproduced here which are also private documents. These contributions claim to focus on the juridical status and the political implications of the Western Sahara affair and present the set of juridical and political problems in a succinct manner.

Why this compilation of texts ? In my opinion, these materials especially have a double interest - juridical and historical on the one hand, and on the other hand political, economical and sociological.

Indeed, we find here all the materials that enable to know about the juridical status of Western Sahara. It is all the more important since, either through ignorance, or through dishonesty, it is not unusual to hear or read from politicians, intellectuals or journalists, affirmations that totally contradict the current Law. These documents (especially the UN Secretary General’s reports) also constitute vital material concerning the recent history of Western Sahara. On a lesser scale, these documents bring des elements for a better knowledge of the political strategies of the two parties in the conflict (the Polisario Front and Morocco), as well as those of the neighbouring states and other powers. Last but not least, reading these texts enables to know some of the questions regarding the economy and sociology of Western Sahara.

 May this work (succeeded with the extraordinary collaboration of Enrique Gómez from Um Draiga) help stop the eclipse or falsification of the History and Law of Western Sahara.