Peru–Sahrawi Republic relations refers to the current and historical relations between the

Republic of Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

and the

Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), also known as the Sahrawi Republic and Western Sahara, is a partially recognized state in the western Maghreb, which claims the non-self-governing territory of Western Sahara, but controls only ...

(SADR). Peru first established relations with the SADR in 1987 and froze them in 1996. After 25 years, relations were reestablished in 2021, suspended in August 2022 and again reestablished on September of the same year. In September 2023, it was announced that relations between both states were again suspended. In 1999, and from 2012 to the present day, Peru has also sent troops to the

United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara The United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (; ; ; MINURSO) is the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara, established in 1991 under United Nations Security Council Resolution 690 as part of the Settlement P ...

History

Peru first recognized the SADR through a treaty signed on August 16, 1984, under the presidency of

Fernando Belaúnde Fernando Sergio Marcelo Marcos Belaúnde Terry (October 7, 1912 – June 4, 2002) was a Peruvian politician who twice served as President of Peru (1963–1968 and 1980–1985). Deposed by a military coup in 1968, he was re-elected in 1980 after ...

. Relations were then officially established on May 5, 1987, under the

first presidency Among many churches in the Latter Day Saint movement, the First Presidency (also known as the Quorum of the Presidency of the Church) is the highest presiding or governing body. Present-day denominations of the movement led by a First Presidency ...

Alan García Alan Gabriel Ludwig García Pérez (; 23 May 1949 – 17 April 2019) was a Peruvian politician who served as President of Peru for two non-consecutive terms from 1985 to 1990 and from 2006 to 2011. He was the second leader of the American Popula ...

, with another treaty being signed by Peruvian Foreign Minister Allan Wagner Tizón and Sahrawi Special Envoy Hamri Bouiha, who became the first concurrent ambassador to Peru, presenting his credentials to García. Then Sahrawi foreign minister Omar Mansour paid a visit to the country from April 14 to 18 of the same year. Despite the recognition, relations between

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

and Peru were not negatively affected, as relations were not severed and the Peruvian embassy in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

continued to be accredited to the

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

n country. Instead, the Peruvian embassy in

Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ) is the Capital (political), capital city of Morocco and the List of cities in Morocco, country's seventh-largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan population of over 1.2 million. ...

, which had been '' de facto'' closed since 1973 due to a lack of a ''

chargé d'affaires A (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador. The term is Frenc ...

'', reopened in 1986, with both countries strengthening their relations. The next ambassador accredited to Peru, Hambi B. Sidi Mahmud, presented his credentials to García on April 28, 1988, during a visit coordinated by

Alfonso Barrantes Alfonso Barrantes Lingán (San Miguel de Pallaques, November 27, 1927 – Havana, December 2, 2000) was a Peruvian politician in the mid-1980s who served as Mayor of Lima from 1984 to 1986. He was the first Marxist mayor of Lima. He ran for Pr ...

. The visit was criticised by members of the press who believed that the strengthening of both governments' relations harmed the much more convenient relationship with Morocco, which controls most of the territory claimed by the SADR. On September 9, 1996, then foreign minister Francisco Tudela announced the freezing of relations between Peru and the SADR, with Peru becoming the first Latin American country to sever relations with the state. This was due to Morocco's diplomatic efforts in Peru and then

Alberto Fujimori Alberto Kenji Fujimori Fujimori (26 July 1938 – 11 September 2024) was a Peruvian politician, professor, and engineer who served as the 54th president of Peru from 1990 to 2000.* * * * * * * Born in Lima, Fujimori was the country's fir ...

's pro-Moroccan policy. A diplomatic incident also played a role in the decision, as the Moroccan delegation protested the presence of the Sahrawi delegation in the

investiture Investiture (from the Latin preposition ''in'' and verb ''vestire'', "dress" from ''vestis'' "robe") is a formal installation or ceremony that a person undergoes, often related to membership in Christian religious institutes as well as Christian kn ...

of Fujimori after his victory in the 1995 election. After relations were suspended, the only government to take an interest in the situation in Western Sahara was the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

Ollanta Humala Ollanta Moisés Humala Tasso (; born 27 June 1962) is a Peruvian politician and former military officer who served as president of Peru from 2011 to 2016. Originally a socialist and left-wing nationalist, he is considered to have shifted towar ...

, who sent a delegation headed by diplomat José Beraun Aranibar to the territories administered by the

Polisario Front The Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Río de Oro (Spanish language, Spanish: ; ), better known by its acronym Polisario Front, is a Sahrawi nationalism, Sahrawi nationalist liberation movement seeking to end the occupatio ...

and Smara refugee camp in

Tindouf Tindouf () is the main town, and a Communes of Algeria, commune in Tindouf Province, Algeria, close to the Algeria–Mauritania border, Mauritanian, Algeria–Western Sahara border, Western Saharan and Algeria–Morocco border, Moroccan borders. Th ...

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

. The delegation met with Sahrawi authorities, including then president Mohamed Abdelaziz. A diplomatic incident between the governments of Peru and the SADR took place in September 2017 when Sahrawi diplomat Khadijetou El Mokhtar was denied entry into Peru, remaining at

Jorge Chávez International Airport Jorge Chávez International Airport is the main international airport serving Lima, the capital of Peru. It is located in Callao, northwest of the Historic Centre of Lima, the nation's capital city, and from the Miraflores District, Lima, dis ...

for seventeen days. A communiqué released by the Peruvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed that El Mohtar, despite travelling as a tourist with a

Spanish passport A Spanish passport () is an identity document issued to Spanish citizens with right of abode in the Iberian mainland, Ceuta, Melilla, Balearic Islands and Canary Islands, for travel outside Spain. Every Spanish citizen is also a citizen of the ...

, had acted as a diplomat in Peruvian territory—despite not having the recognition to exercise such functions—in her last visit to the country. A social media campaign, ''#TodosSomosJadiyetu'', was started by ''Munbadat'', a pro-

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

, which was spread by the Sahrawi diaspora as well as sympathizers. The NGO also wrote a letter to the Peruvian consulate in

Bilbao Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the Provinces of Spain, province of Biscay and in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the List o ...

protesting the situation. After 25 years, relations were resumed on September 8, 2021, under the

presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified b ...

Pedro Castillo José Pedro Castillo Terrones (; born 19 October 1969) is a Peruvian politician, former elementary school teacher, and union leader who served as the President of Peru from 28 July 2021 until Third impeachment and removal of Pedro Castillo, he ...

. After a year, the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

of Peru announced that it decided to withdraw its recognition of the state on August 18, 2022, but this was disputed by Castillo, who confirmed the recognition of the state on September 8, 2022. Castillo subsequently met with Foreign Affairs Minister Mohamed Salem Uld Salek and speculated on the prospect of opening an embassy in Peru. In September 2023, it was announced that relations between both states were again suspended.

High-level visits

High-level visits of Peru to the SADR (includes refugee camps in Algeria) *Foreign Vice Minister José Beraún Aranibar (2011) High-level visits of the SADR to Peru *

Foreign Minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

Omar Mansour (1987) * Ahmed Hutch (2011 & 2013) *Ambassador

Ahmed Mulay Ali Hamadi Ahmed Mulay Ali Hamadi (; born 1954) is a Sahrawi diplomat and writer. He is Director General for Latin America and the Caribbean at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. He was Sahrawi ambassador to Mexico, ...

(2016) *Foreign Minister Mohamed Salem Uld Salek (2022) SADR Embassy 01

Diplomatic missions

Formerly accredited from

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...

, the SADR had an embassy in

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

from November 2022 to September 2023. On the other hand, Peru did not have an embassy accredited to the SADR at any point in time.

References

Bibliography

* {{Foreign relations of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

History

High-level visits

Diplomatic missions

See also

References

Bibliography