The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (; SADR; also
romanized
Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...
with Saharawi; ar, الجمهورية العربية الصحراوية الديمقراطية ' es, República Árabe Saharaui Democrática), also known as Western Sahara, is a
partially recognized state
A number of polities have declared independence and sought diplomatic recognition from the international community as sovereign states, but have not been universally recognised as such. These entities often have ''de facto'' control of their ...
, recognised by 45 UN member states, located in the western
Maghreb
The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...
, which claims the
non-self-governing territory of
Western Sahara
Western Sahara ( '; ; ) is a disputed territory on the northwest coast and in the Maghreb region of North and West Africa. About 20% of the territory is controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), while the r ...
, but controls only
the easternmost one-fifth of that territory. Between 1884 and 1975, Western Sahara was known as
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 ...
, a
Spanish colony
The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its predece ...
(later an overseas province). The SADR is one of the two African states in which
Spanish is a significant language, the other being
Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea ( es, Guinea Ecuatorial; french: Guinée équatoriale; pt, Guiné Equatorial), officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea ( es, link=no, República de Guinea Ecuatorial, french: link=no, République de Guinée équatoria ...
.
The SADR was proclaimed by the
Polisario Front (a former socialist liberation force which has since reformed its ideological and political views) on 27 February 1976, in
Bir Lehlou
Bir Lehlou (also transliterated ''Bir Lahlou'', ''Bir Lehlu'' Arabic: بئر الحلو) is an oasis town in north-eastern Western Sahara, 236 km from Smara, near the Mauritanian border and east of the border wall, in Polisario Front-held terr ...
, Western Sahara. The SADR government controls about 20–25% of the
territory
A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal.
In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...
it claims. It calls the territories under its control the ''Liberated Territories'' or the ''
Free Zone''.
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
controls and administers the rest of the disputed territory, and calls these lands its
Southern Provinces. The SADR government considers the Moroccan-held territory to be occupied territory, while Morocco considers the much smaller SADR-held territory to be a
buffer zone
A buffer zone is a neutral zonal area that lies between two or more bodies of land, usually pertaining to countries. Depending on the type of buffer zone, it may serve to separate regions or conjoin them.
Common types of buffer zones are demil ...
. The claimed
capital city
A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, Department (country subdivision), department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city ...
of the SADR is
El-Aaiún
Laâyoune ( , also , ) or El Aaiún ( , ; Hassaniya Arabic: , romanized: ; ber, ⵍⵄⵢⵓⵏ, Leɛyun; ar, label= Literary Arabic, العيون, al-ʿUyūn/el-ʿUyūn, lit=The Springs) is the largest city of the disputed territory of W ...
(Laayoune) (the former capital of Western Sahara). Since SADR does not control El-Aaiún, they have a
temporary capital which moved from Bir Lehlou to
Tifariti in 2008. The seat of the SADR government is located in the
Sahrawi refugee camps in
Tindouf,
Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, relig ...
.
The SADR maintains diplomatic relations with 45
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
states, and is a full member of the
African Union
The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the Africa ...
.
Etymology
The name ''Sahrawi'' derives from the
romanization of the Arabic word , meaning 'Inhabitant of
the Desert'. The word then is derived from the
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
word (), meaning 'desert'.
History
Following the evacuation of the Spanish (as a consequence of the Moroccan
Green March), Spain, Morocco, and
Mauritania
Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...
signed the
Madrid Accords on 14 November 1975, six days before
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...
died. Morocco and Mauritania responded by
annexing the territory of Western Sahara. On 26 February 1976, Spain informed the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
(UN) that as of that date it had terminated its presence in Western Sahara and relinquished its responsibilities, which left the region devoid of any Administering Power. Neither Morocco nor Mauritania gained international recognition, and war ensued with the independence-seeking
Polisario Front. The UN considers the Polisario Front to be the legitimate representative of the
Sahrawi people
The Sahrawi, or Saharawi people ( ar, صحراويون '; es, Saharaui), are an ethnic group and nation native to the western part of the Sahara desert, which includes the Western Sahara, southern Morocco, much of Mauritania, and along the s ...
, and maintains that the people of Western Sahara have a right to "
self-determination
The right of a people to self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international law (commonly regarded as a ''jus cogens'' rule), binding, as such, on the United Nations as authoritative interpretation of the Charter's norms. It stat ...
and independence".
The creation of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic was proclaimed on 27 February 1976, as the Polisario declared the need for a new entity to fill what they considered a political void left by the departing Spanish colonizers. While the claimed capital is the former Western Sahara capital El-Aaiún (which is in Moroccan-controlled territory), the proclamation was made in the
government-in-exile
A government in exile (abbreviated as GiE) is a political group that claims to be a country or semi-sovereign state's legitimate government, but is unable to exercise legal power and instead resides in a foreign country. Governments in exile u ...
's provisional capital,
Bir Lehlou
Bir Lehlou (also transliterated ''Bir Lahlou'', ''Bir Lehlu'' Arabic: بئر الحلو) is an oasis town in north-eastern Western Sahara, 236 km from Smara, near the Mauritanian border and east of the border wall, in Polisario Front-held terr ...
, which remained in Polisario-held territory under the 1991
ceasefire
A ceasefire (also known as a truce or armistice), also spelled cease fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be between state act ...
(see
Settlement Plan). On 27 February 2008, the provisional capital was formally moved to
Tifariti. Day-to-day business, however, is conducted in the
Sahrawi refugee camps in
Tindouf Province,
Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, relig ...
, which house most of the Sahrawi exile community.
Constitution
A new 1999 Constitution of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic took a form similar to the
parliamentary
A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democracy, democratic government, governance of a sovereign state, state (or subordinate entity) where the Executive (government), executive derives its democratic legitimacy ...
constitutions of many European states, but with some paragraphs suspended until the achievement of "full independence". Among key points, the
head of state
A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...
is constitutionally the Secretary General of the Polisario Front during what is referred to as the "pre-independence phase", with provision in the constitution that on independence, Polisario is supposed to be dismantled or separated completely from the government structure. Provisions are detailed for a transitory phase beginning with independence, in which the present SADR is supposed to act as Western Sahara's government, ending with a constitutional reform and eventual establishment of a state along the lines specified in the constitution.
The broad guidelines laid down in the constitution for an eventual Western Saharan state include eventual multi-party democracy with a
market economy
A market economy is an economic system in which the decisions regarding investment, production and distribution to the consumers are guided by the price signals created by the forces of supply and demand, where all suppliers and consumers ...
. The constitution also defines Sahrawis as a Muslim, African and Arab people. The Constitution also declares a commitment to the principles of
human rights
Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...
and to the concept of a
Greater Maghreb
The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...
, as a regional variant of
Pan-Arabism
Pan-Arabism ( ar, الوحدة العربية or ) is an ideology that espouses the unification of the countries of North Africa and Western Asia from the Atlantic Ocean to the Arabian Sea, which is referred to as the Arab world. It is closely c ...
.
Government structure
Since August 1982, the highest office of the republic has been the
President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, a post held by the secretary-general of the Polisario Front, presently
Brahim Ghali,
[Zunes S; Mundy J (2010)]
Western Sahara: War, Nationalism, and Conflict Irresolution
Syracuse University Press. Retrieved 3 August 2016. who appoints the
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
, presently
Bouchraya Hammoudi Bayoun
Bouchraya Hammoudi Bayoun (in ; born 9 July 1954) is a Sahrawi politician currently serving as the Prime Minister of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic since . He was a former ambassador to Algeria, with a base in Algiers. He has been prime min ...
. The SADR's government structure consists of a Council of Ministers (a cabinet led by the Prime Minister), a judicial branch (with judges appointed by the President) and the parliamentary
Sahrawi National Council (SNC; the present
speaker
Speaker may refer to:
Society and politics
* Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly
* Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture
* A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially:
** In ...
is
Kathri Aduh). Since its inception in 1976, the various
constitutional revisions have transformed the republic from an ''ad hoc'' managerial structure into something approaching an actual governing apparatus. From the late 1980s the parliament began to take steps to institute a
division of powers
Separation of powers refers to the division of a state's government into branches, each with separate, independent powers and responsibilities, so that the powers of one branch are not in conflict with those of the other branches. The typic ...
and to disentangle the republic's structures from those of the Polisario Front, although without clear effect to date.
Its various ministries are responsible for a variety of services and functions. The
judiciary
The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...
, complete with trial courts,
appeals court
A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...
s and a
supreme court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
, operates in the same areas. As a
government-in-exile
A government in exile (abbreviated as GiE) is a political group that claims to be a country or semi-sovereign state's legitimate government, but is unable to exercise legal power and instead resides in a foreign country. Governments in exile u ...
, many branches of government do not fully function, and has affected the constitutional roles of the institutions. Institutions parallel to government structures also have arisen within the Polisario Front, which is fused with the SADR's governing apparatus, and with operational competences overlapping between these party and governmental institutions and offices. A 2012 report mentioned the existence of the Sahrawi Bar Association. In 2016, the bar association (going by the name Union of Sahrawi Lawyers) issued a report calling for the implementation of political and civil rights. Unfortunately, there is no clear indication as to how certain demographic groups, such as women, have fared in the legal field.
The SNC is weak in its legislative role, having been instituted as a mainly consultative and
consensus-building institution, but it has strengthened its theoretical legislative and controlling powers during later constitutional revisions. Among other things, it has added a ban on the
death penalty
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
to the constitution, and brought down the government in 1999 through a
vote of no-confidence.
The Sahrawi National Council is composed of 53 members, all from the
Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Río de Oro.
Military
The Sahrawi People's Liberation Army is the
defence force of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic and previously served as the armed wing of the Polisario Front prior to the foundation of the Republic.
Economy
The SADR in its controlled territories uses the Sahrawi Peseta although the majority of the country uses the Moroccan Dirham.
Area of authority
The SADR acted as a government administration in the
Sahrawi refugee camps located in the
Tindouf Province of western Algeria. It is headquartered in Camp Rabouni, south of
Tindouf, although some official events have taken place in
towns
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
in the
Free Zone, including the provisional capitals, first
Bir Lehlou
Bir Lehlou (also transliterated ''Bir Lahlou'', ''Bir Lehlu'' Arabic: بئر الحلو) is an oasis town in north-eastern Western Sahara, 236 km from Smara, near the Mauritanian border and east of the border wall, in Polisario Front-held terr ...
until 2008, then Tifariti. The government of the SADR claims sovereignty over all of the Western Sahara territory, but has control only within the Free Zone. Several foreign
aid
In international relations, aid (also known as international aid, overseas aid, foreign aid, economic aid or foreign assistance) is – from the perspective of governments – a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another.
Ai ...
agencies, including the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrati ...
and
non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...
s, are continually active in the camps.
International recognition and membership
states. Of these, have since "frozen" or "withdrawn" recognition for a number of reasons. A total of 40 UN states maintain diplomatic relations with the SADR, while a further 7 also recognise the state.
Sahrawi embassies exist in 18 states.
Although it is not recognised by the UN, the SADR has held full membership of the
African Union
The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the Africa ...
(AU, formerly the
Organisation of African Unity, OAU) since 1982. Morocco withdrew from the OAU in protest during 1984, and from the time of
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
's admittance to the OAU in 1994 was the only African UN member not also a member of the AU, until it was readmitted on 30 January 2017.
The SADR participates as a guest in meetings of the
Non-Aligned Movement
The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a forum of 120 countries that are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. After the United Nations, it is the largest grouping of states worldwide.
The movement originated in the aftermath o ...
and the
New Asian–African Strategic Partnership
The first large-scale Asian–African or Afro–Asian Conference ( id, Konferensi Asia–Afrika)—also known as the Bandung Conference—was a meeting of Asian and African states, most of which were newly independent, which took place on 18–2 ...
,
over Moroccan objections to SADR participation.
The SADR also participated in a conference of the Permanent Conference of Political Parties of the Latin American and the Caribbean (
COPPPAL) in 2006;
the SADR ambassador to Nicaragua participated in the opening conference of the
Central American Parliament
The Central American Parliament ( es, Parlamento Centroamericano), also known as PARLACEN, is the political institution and parliamentary body of the Central American Integration System (SICA). Its headquarters are in Guatemala City.
History
...
in 2010, and a SADR delegation participated in the meeting of COPPPAL and
International Conference of Asian Political Parties
The International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP) is a forum of political parties of Asia-Oceanian countries, which was launched in Manila, Philippines in September 2000. The objectives of the conference are to promote exchanges an ...
in
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
in 2012.
On 27 February 2011, the 35th anniversary of the proclamation of SADR was held in Tifariti, Western Sahara. Delegations, including parliamentarians, ambassadors, NGOs and activists from many countries participated in this event.
/ref>
The SADR is not a member of the Arab League
The Arab League ( ar, الجامعة العربية, ' ), formally the League of Arab States ( ar, جامعة الدول العربية, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world, which is located in Northern Africa, Western Africa, E ...
, nor of the Arab Maghreb Union, both of which include Morocco as a full member.
Proposed Western Sahara Authority
Under the Baker Plan
The Baker Plan (formally, Peace Plan for Self-Determination of the People of Western Sahara) is a United Nations initiative to grant self-determination to Western Sahara. It was intended to replace the Settlement Plan of 1991, which was further ...
created by James Baker, former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's personal envoy to Western Sahara, the SADR would have been replaced with a five-year transitional Western Sahara Authority
The Baker Plan (formally, Peace Plan for Self-Determination of the People of Western Sahara) is a United Nations initiative to grant self-determination to Western Sahara. It was intended to replace the Settlement Plan of 1991, which was further ...
(WSA), a non-sovereign autonomous region
An autonomous administrative division (also referred to as an autonomous area, entity, unit, region, subdivision, or territory) is a subnational administrative division or internal territory of a sovereign state that has a degree of autonomy ...
supervised by Morocco, to be followed by a referendum on independence. It was endorsed by the UN in 2003. However, as Morocco has declined to participate, the plan appears dead.
In April 2007, the government of Morocco suggested that a self-governing entity, through the Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs
The Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs ( ar, المجلس الملكي الاستشاري للشؤون الصحراوية; french: Conseil royal consultatif pour les affaires sahariennes) is an advisory committee to the Moroccan governm ...
(CORCAS), should govern the territory with some degree of autonomy for Western Sahara. The project was presented to the UN Security Council in mid-April 2007. A stalemate over the Moroccan proposal led the UN, in an April 2007 "Report of the UN Secretary-General", to ask the parties to enter into direct and unconditional negotiations to reach a mutually accepted political solution.
National holidays
Religion
The predominant religion practised in Sahrawi territories is Islam.
Islamic dates
Dates kept according to the lunar
Lunar most commonly means "of or relating to the Moon".
Lunar may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Lunar'' (series), a series of video games
* "Lunar" (song), by David Guetta
* "Lunar", a song by Priestess from the 2009 album ''Prior t ...
Islamic calendar
The Hijri calendar ( ar, ٱلتَّقْوِيم ٱلْهِجْرِيّ, translit=al-taqwīm al-hijrī), also known in English as the Muslim calendar and Islamic calendar, is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 lunar months in a year of 354 or ...
.
Gallery
File:Mezquita en Dajla (Sahara Occidental).jpg, A mosque
A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...
in Dakhla, a city under Moroccan control.
File:Veronica Forque en el Sáhara libre.jpg, The Spanish actress Verónica Forqué
Verónica Forqué Vázquez-Vigo (; 1 December 1955 – 13 December 2021) was a Spanish stage, film and television actress. She was a four-time Goya Award winner, the most award-winning actress alongside Carmen Maura. She had a knack for charact ...
at the Sahara Film Festival
The Sahara International Film Festival, also known as FiSahara, is an annual event which takes place in the Sahrawi refugee camps, at the southwest corner of Algeria, near the border with Western Sahara. It is the only film festival in the worl ...
.
File:RASD - Commemoration of the 30th independence day in the Liberated Territories (2006).jpg, Commemoration of the 30th independence day in Tifariti, Liberated Territories
Liberation or liberate may refer to:
Film and television
* ''Liberation'' (film series), a 1970–1971 series about the Great Patriotic War
* "Liberation" (''The Flash''), a TV episode
* "Liberation" (''K-9''), an episode
Gaming
* '' Liberati ...
, Western Sahara
Western Sahara ( '; ; ) is a disputed territory on the northwest coast and in the Maghreb region of North and West Africa. About 20% of the territory is controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), while the r ...
See also
* Elections in Western Sahara
The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) claims the Western Sahara, a territory largely administered by Morocco since Spain abandoned it in 1975. The sovereignty over Western Sahara is unresolved: the territory is contested by Morocco and Poli ...
* Foreign relations of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
The foreign relations of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) are conducted by the Polisario Front, which maintains a network of representation offices and embassies in foreign countries.
The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) is the g ...
* International recognition of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
* List of cities in Western Sahara
The following are cities in Western Sahara, listed by population. Due to an ongoing conflict over the territory, the majority is controlled by Morocco, and the eastern and southern portions are controlled by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Rep ...
* Moroccan Western Sahara Wall
* Outline of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic:
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) – partially recognised state that claims sovereignty over the entire territory of Weste ...
* Polisario Front
* Political status of Western Sahara
Western Sahara, formerly the Spanish Empire, Spanish colony of Spanish Sahara, is a territorial dispute, disputed territory claimed by both the Kingdom of Morocco and the Polisario Front, Popular Front for the Liberation of the Saguia el Hamr ...
* Politics of Western Sahara
The politics of Western Sahara take place in a framework of an area claimed by both the partially recognized Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic and Morocco.
Occupied by Spain from 1884 to 1975, as Spanish Sahara, the territory has been listed with ...
References
External links
; Official SADR pages
*
Polisario.es
*
Sahara Press Service (SPS)
*
RASD TV
*
SADR Oil & Gas 2005
*
Sahara salud
*
Economic development ministry of the SADR
*
Ministry of Culture of the SADR
*
UJSARIO
*
UNMS
; SADR pages
*
Sahara Today
*
Futuro Saharaui
*
FiSahara
Festival de cine del Sahara – Sahara Film Festival]
*
El Bubisher
Bookmobile and permanent Libraries Project in the Saharawi refugee camps)
*
EFA Abidin Kaid Saleh de la RASD
Audiovisual Education School Abidin Kaid Saleh of the SADR)
*
ARTifariti
; Others
{{Authority control
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic,
North African countries
Maghrebi countries
Saharan countries
Arab republics
Disputed territories in Africa
Territorial disputes of Morocco
Governments in exile
Former Spanish colonies
Member states of the African Union
One-party states
Polisario Front
States and territories established in 1976
1976 establishments in Western Sahara
Geography of Western Sahara
Arabic-speaking countries and territories
Spanish-speaking countries and territories
Countries in Africa
States with limited recognition