Moroccan settlers refers to citizens of the Kingdom of Morocco of various ethnicities that have settled in Western Sahara. Following the 1975
Green March
The Green March was a strategic mass demonstration in November 1975, coordinated by the Moroccan government, to force Spain to hand over the disputed, autonomous semi-metropolitan province of Spanish Sahara to Morocco. At that time, the Spani ...
, on the course of
Western Sahara conflict
The Western Sahara conflict is an ongoing conflict between the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic/Polisario Front and the Kingdom of Morocco. The conflict originated from an insurgency by the Polisario Front against Spanish colonial forces fr ...
, the
Moroccan state has sponsored
settlement schemes
Settlement may refer to:
*Human settlement, a community where people live
*Settlement (structural), the distortion or disruption of parts of a building
*Closing (real estate), the final step in executing a real estate transaction
*Settlement (fina ...
enticing thousands of Moroccans to move into
the Moroccan-occupied part of Western Sahara (80% of the Western Sahara territory). By 2015, it was estimated that Moroccan settlers made up at least two thirds of the 500,000 inhabitants in the Western Sahara region.
Under
international law
International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...
, Morocco's transfer of its own civilians into
occupied territory
Military occupation, also known as belligerent occupation or simply occupation, is the effective military control by a ruling power over a territory that is outside of that power's sovereign territory.Eyāl Benveniśtî. The international law ...
is in direct violation of
Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention (cf.
Israeli
Israeli may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel
* Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel
* Modern Hebrew, a language
* ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008
* Guni Israeli ...
and
Turkish settlers).
History
Western Sahara came under Spanish rule as a protectorate in 1884, wherein the territory extended from
Cape Bojador
Cape Bojador ( ar, رأس بوجادور, trans. ''Rā's Būjādūr''; ber, ⴱⵓⵊⴷⵓⵔ, ''Bujdur''; Spanish and pt, Cabo Bojador; french: Cap Boujdour) is a headland on the west coast of Western Sahara, at 26° 07' 37"N, 14° 29' 57"W ...
to
Cape Blanc.
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
gradually extended its control over the region over the next 40 years by negotiating with France.
Spanish Sahara
Spanish Sahara ( es, Sahara Español; ar, الصحراء الإسبانية, As-Sahrā'a Al-Isbānīyah), officially the Spanish Possessions in the Sahara from 1884 to 1958 then Province of the Sahara between 1958 and 1976, was the name used f ...
was formally established in 1958 after two earlier administrative districts,
Río de Oro
Río de Oro (Spanish for "Gold River"; , ''wādī-að-ðahab'', often transliterated as ''Oued Edhahab'') was, with Saguia el-Hamra, one of the two territories that formed the Spanish province of Spanish Sahara after 1969; it had been taken as ...
and
Saguia el Hamra
Saguia el-Hamra ( es, Saguía el Hamra, ar, الساقية الحمراء, lit=Red Canal, translit=al-Saqiyah al-Hamra'a) was, with Río de Oro, one of the two territories that formed the Spanish province of Spanish Sahara after 1969. Its name c ...
, were combined.
Amid pressure from nationalists in
Spanish Sahara
Spanish Sahara ( es, Sahara Español; ar, الصحراء الإسبانية, As-Sahrā'a Al-Isbānīyah), officially the Spanish Possessions in the Sahara from 1884 to 1958 then Province of the Sahara between 1958 and 1976, was the name used f ...
, Morocco,
Mauritania
Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...
, and
Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, relig ...
, Spain disengaged from Western Sahara in 1976. The remaining territory was divided between Morocco and Mauritania, frustrating Algerian leaders and prompting them to begin supporting a Sahrawi nationalist group, the
Polisario Front
The Polisario Front, Frente Polisario, Frelisario or simply Polisario, from the Spanish abbreviation of (Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Río de Oro), (in ar, rtl=yes, الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير الس ...
. In the late 1970s, the group began conducting guerrilla warfare in Morocco and Mauritania, but Mauritania soon ceded its claim to the territory, leaving Morocco as the only state belligerent.
The war with Morocco caused about half of the Western Sahara's Sahrawi to flee the area, leaving a gap for Moroccan settlers to fill.
Role in the peace process
Moroccan settlements have played a complex role in the resolution of the Western Sahara conflict.
Moroccan government support
The Kingdom of Morocco supports the settlements financially and administratively, with many incentives given to citizens who choose to relocate to Western Sahara. For example, government employees that live in the Western Sahara earn roughly twice the amount that their colleagues in the rest of the Kingdom earn.
Polisario Front concerns
The Polisario Front disagrees with the presence of settlers in the Western Sahara and sees them as a significant barrier to self-rule. In a 2018 conversation between
Brahim Ghali
Brahim Ghali () ( ar, rtl=yes, إبراهيم غالي, Ibrāhīm Ġālī; es, Brahim Gali; born 16 September 1949) is a Sahrawi politician and military officer that serves as the current president of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) ...
, Secretary-General of the Polisario Front, and Horst Koehler, the United Nations Secretary-General's Personal Envoy to Western Sahara, Ghali noted that Moroccan settlements were a major area of concern. Specifically, the presence of settlers is significantly shifting the demographic makeup of the region, posing a significant roadblock to a resolution.
For the Polisario Front, Moroccan settlers now constituting the majority of the population of Western Sahara precludes the possibility of an independence referendum. Wary that any independence vote would either force a union with Morocco or continue Moroccan dominance over Western Sahara, few are open to such a referendum without decolonization and the repatriation of settlers to Morocco.
International responses
The United Nations has attempted to mediate claims to the Western Sahara, with settlers being a major area of contention. In the early 2000s, UN Secretary General
Kofi Annan
Kofi Atta Annan (; 8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founder ...
's Personal Envoy to the Western Sahara,
James Baker
James Addison Baker III (born April 28, 1930) is an American attorney, diplomat and statesman. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 10th White House Chief of Staff and 67th United States Secretary of the Treasury under President ...
, held multiple meetings with Moroccan and Polisario officials to discuss the future of the Western Sahara. They were ultimately ineffective and inflamed relations. Baker also put forth two peace plans that would introduce a four-year phase of autonomy to the Western Sahara and then put independence to a referendum-style vote. At either point, either the Polisario Front or Morocco denied the plan.
Responses from other countries regarding settlers have been scarce. Though the United States Department of State, for example, has issued human rights reports for the Western Sahara, they have not made reference to settlers.
See also
*
Israeli settlement
Israeli settlements, or Israeli colonies, are civilian communities inhabited by Israeli citizens, overwhelmingly of Jewish ethnicity, built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. The international community considers Israeli se ...
*
Turkish settlers in Northern Cyprus The Turkish settlers (Cypriot Turkish: , "those from Turkey"), also referred to as the Turkish immigrants ( tr, Türkiyeli göçmenler), are a group of Turkish people from Turkey who have settled in Northern Cyprus since the Turkish invasion of Cyp ...
References
{{Moroccan diaspora
Western Sahara conflict
Settlement schemes in Africa
Ethnic groups in Western Sahara
Moroccan emigrants
Moroccan diaspora in Africa
Settlers