Western Sahara (Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic)

The Block

The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (often called “Western Sahara” for short) is only recognized officially by 44 UN-member states with the state itself only controlling about one fifth of its de jure territory. Consequently, a block on the Quilt of Belonging was not created for them at the time of its creation. The Cultural Profile section below includes details about the distinct identity of the Western Sahara.

Cultural Profile

The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (or “Western Sahara” for short) is a sparsely-populated country along the Northwest coast of Africa with around four fifths of its de jure territory occupied by the neighboring country of Morocco to the north. It is home to an estimated 200000 people with an additional 173600 living in refugee camps, mostly in neighboring Algeria. Its main religion is Sunni Islam and its official languages are Arabic and Spanish.

The territory of modern-day Western Sahara was along with Equatorial Guinea and the Rif portion of Morocco, the only territories of Africa that were under the control of Spain during the Age of European Imperialism. On the eve of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco’s death in 1975, Western Sahara was declared an independent state under the Madrid Accords. The historical links of the territory with the Kingdom of Morocco led them to see that territory as rightfully theirs. Subsequently, Morocco along with Mauritania occupied the country a year later in 1976. Although the annexation of a sovereign territory has been a blatant violation of international law since the end of the Second World War and the invasion was condemned by the United Nations at the time, the strong alliance of Morocco and the United States gave the former veto power over broader recognition of sovereignty. Since then, the recognized Western Sahara government has been allowed to directly administer only about one fifth of its de jure territory along the Mauritanian border. Although the official capital is Laayoune, the declared provisional capital is the smaller town of Tifariti in the interior.

The sparse nature of Western Sahara’s population combined with the disputed nature of its territory and the hot, arid climate means that it doesn’t have much of an independent economy. Its primary industries are phosphates, fishing, and agriculture.