Morocco’s Sovereignty Over the Sahara: A Just Claim?
The vast desert expanse of Western Sahara has been at the center of a complex dispute over sovereignty and self-determination for decades. Situated on the northwest coast of Africa, bordered by Morocco, Mauritania, and Algeria, this sparsely populated territory is rich in phosphates and believed to hold offshore oil deposits. Though Western Sahara has been under Moroccan control since the 1970s, some Sahrawi separatist groups have sought independence under the leadership of the Polisario Front, waging one of Africa’s longest running conflicts. This protracted stalemate has kept Western Sahara in limbo, its status unresolved in the eyes of international law.
The roots of this intractable conflict extend back into the colonial era, when Western Sahara was treated as a peripheral holding by Spain from the late 19th century until the 1970s. Upon Spain’s withdrawal, both Morocco and Mauritania laid claim to the territory based on historical ties. Though the International Court of Justice issued an ambiguous advisory opinion in 1975 that did not definitively grant Morocco full territorial sovereignty over Western Sahara at the onset of colonization, the Court did acknowledge that legal ties had existed between Morocco and Sahrawi tribes prior to Spanish colonization. Morocco took control of most of the territory within months, pushing out tens of thousands of Sahrawi separatists to neighboring Algeria. This set the stage for the ongoing clash between Morocco and the Algerian-backed Polisario Front seeking a referendum on independence promised but never delivered by the UN.
Today, Morocco considers Western Sahara an integral southern province, having invested heavily in development and infrastructure. The king has proposed an autonomy plan to maintain Moroccan sovereignty while giving the Sahrawis expanded self-governance. However, the Polisario Front continues to demand a vote on self-determination, with only weak recognition of its self-declared Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. This leaves Western Sahara partitioned by a Moroccan defensive wall, caught between competing claims of legitimacy.
The uncertain future of this disputed “non-governing territory”, according to the United Nations, continues to put regional stability at risk. But Morocco has growing support for its claim of sovereignty over Western Sahara based on historical ties, cultural connections, and political integration. This complex history provides vital context for understanding the enduring controversy over what the status of Western Sahara should be — an autonomous region of Morocco or Africa’s newest independent nation.
Historical Ties:
Long before European colonialism arrived in northwest Africa, the territories that now comprise Morocco and Western Sahara were linked through common ethnic, cultural, and political bonds. Though often portrayed as a distinct region today, Western Sahara fell under the influence of Moroccan sultanates as early as the 9th century AD.
The Sanhaja Berbers, who inhabited the western Sahara desert, forged alliances with the developing Islamic dynasties of Morocco through trade and shared religious ties. The Almoravid Empire (1040–1147 AD) first spread its control deep into the Sahara, forging an early connection between Morocco’s Sahel and the oasis towns of Touat and Tindouf. The Almohad Caliphate continued consolidating its southern frontier in the 12th and 13th centuries AD, relying on Saharan trade routes and tribes for economic gains.
As the great empires of West Africa like Ghana, Mali and Songhai rose across the Sahara, Morocco maintained regular contact and political sway with key oasis towns and Berber tribes in the western Sahara region. The Saadi Dynasty (1554–1659 AD) pushed further into the Sahara, establishing garrisons and extending Moroccan control. This was strengthened under the Alaouite Dynasty (1631 AD — present), which claimed the Sahrawi coast down to the Senegal River as Moroccan territory.
The 11th century Moroccan leader Yusuf bin Tashfin, founder of the Almoravid dynasty, provides an important historical connection between Morocco and Western Sahara. Bin Tashfin was from the Lamtuna tribe, a … powerful Saharan Berber tribe that controlled territories spanning parts of present-day Morocco, Mauritania and Western Sahara. The 12th century Arab historian Al-Idrisi wrote that the Lamtuna territory stretched from the Wad Noun region of southern Morocco to the … Sakia El Hamra region now part of Western Sahara. As leader of the Lamtuna, bin Tashfin established Morocco’s first great Islamic empire which incorporated Western Saharan tribes and areas under its domain at its peak. The Almoravid dynasty’s … Saharan roots and control of Western Sahara reinforce Morocco’s claims of historic sovereignty over the region.
Khnata Bent Bekkar was an influential 17th century Moroccan queen and stateswoman. She originated from a prominent family in Mauritania. Bent Bekkar married Sultan Ismail and was the mother of Sultan Abdullah. She played an active role in governing and diplomacy during a turbulent period, even serving as regent. Bent Bekkar promoted Islamic scholarship and financed the construction of mosques and madrasas. She went on Hajj near the end of her life, distributing charity in Mecca. Bent Bekkar was a revered figure who demonstrated the significant role women could play in the sultanate. Her Mauritanian roots also represented the cultural connections between Morocco and other regions of Northwest Africa.
Well before Spanish colonization, the Saharan emirates of Trarza and Brakna had long accepted Moroccan rule and paid tribute to Moroccan sultans. Intermarriage between Moroccan and Sahrawi tribal nobility was common. Morocco’s claim of sovereignty was recognized by other regional powers like England and France. The Saharan regions clearly fell under the political and economic orbit of Morocco’s pre-colonial sultanates through historical tribal alliances and shared cultural and religious ties.
However, in the late 19th century, European powers began carving up northwest Africa under the scramble for colonial control. Spain seized control of the Western Saharan coast in 1884, establishing it as a Spanish territory. But Morocco fiercely resisted, defending its historic sovereignty over the region.
Moroccan resistance culminated in the War of Ifni from 1957–1958, after Morocco gained independence and sought to recover Ifni from Spanish control. Despite support from French and Spanish forces, the Moroccan resistance fighters succeeded in regaining Ifni. However, Spain retained control of parts of the Moroccan coast and the interior of Western Sahara. The Ifni War demonstrated Morocco’s determination to defend its historic rights and reverse colonial occupation of its territories, including Western Sahara.
This long history firmly establishes that Western Sahara fell under Morocco’s political and economic influence centuries before European colonization. The cultural and ethnic bonds between Moroccan and Sahrawi tribes remain strong to this day. Morocco’s claim to the region is backed by not just legal arguments, but a shared pre-colonial history and identity that cannot be erased.
Legal Basis:
The question of Western Sahara was brought before the International Court of Justice in 1974 when Morocco requested an advisory opinion on its longstanding legal claims to the territory. This followed repeated UN resolutions calling on Spain, the colonial power in Western Sahara since 1884, to decolonize the region by allowing self-determination.
In its extensive presentation to the ICJ, Morocco detailed its historic ties of sovereignty over Western Sahara going back centuries. The Moroccan sultanates had longstanding political control and economic ties with Sahrawi tribes like the Reguibat and Tekna. There were also strong ethnic and cultural bonds through intermarriage between Arab-Berber Moroccan dynasties and Sahrawi tribal leaders. Moroccan sultans resisted European colonial incursions beginning in the late 19th century to defend these integral parts of the kingdom.
However, Spain asserted that its colonization of the territory from 1884–1975 had severed any prior legal ties between Morocco and Western Sahara. The Spanish position relied heavily on bilateral treaties between Spain, France and other European powers carving up colonial possessions in Africa, which Morocco argued could not supersede its pre-existing sovereignty.
In the ICJ proceedings, Morocco was prevented from fully presenting critical evidence illuminating the extent of its historic legal ties and cultural connections with Western Sahara. Records show the UN denied several requests by Morocco to submit more materials and have witnesses interviewed to prove its claims. The ICJ relied primarily on limited records and maps provided by Spain.
In its 1975 advisory opinion, the ICJ acknowledged that legal ties had existed between Morocco and some Western Saharan tribes prior to colonization. However, the Court ultimately ruled that these ties were insufficient to establish full “territorial sovereignty” over Western Sahara at the onset of colonization. The opinion stated this without providing a clear legal rationale or addressing the right of self-determination.
Morocco interpreted the ICJ verdict as confirming its longstanding cultural, political and economic links to Western Sahara. It saw the opinion as implicitly rejecting Spain’s assertion that Western Sahara had been terra nullius with no ties to Morocco or any other power. The Court did not definitively award sovereignty over Western Sahara to any specific party.
When Spain withdrew from Western Sahara in 1976, Morocco moved to regain control based in part on the ICJ’s recognition of its historic legal and cultural connections. As an advisory opinion, the ICJ verdict was not legally binding and did not prevent Morocco from reasserting sovereignty while still allowing for Sahrawi self-determination under its autonomy plan.
Morocco maintains that its regaining of Western Sahara upheld both its valid historical claims as acknowledged by the ICJ, and the right of the Sahrawi people to shape their own future as an autonomous region within the framework of Morocco’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Cultural Connections:
Beyond political and legal ties, Morocco and Western Sahara share profound cultural connections that demonstrate their interwoven histories. These bonds of language, social traditions, music, cuisine, and tribal lineage unite the people on both sides of the disputed border.
Arabic and Hassaniya, a Moroccan Arabic dialect, are widely spoken in both regions, though Hassaniya is dominant in Western Sahara. This demonstrates strong linguistic connections, with vocabulary and phrases overlapping significantly between Moroccan and Sahrawi Arabic dialects. Traditional poetry and oral histories are recited in Hassaniya across Western Sahara.
Sahrawi culture also shares Moroccan customs like the drinking of mint tea, characteristic Saharan architecture, and traditional clothing like the djellaba robe. Saharan folk music like the tidinit lute are popular across southern Morocco. Moroccan dishes like couscous, tajine, and sfenj pastry are staples of the Sahrawi diet as well.
Additionally, many tribes span the Western Sahara border, with families related by blood and marriage across the regions. Tribes like the Reguibat and Tekna are both historically Sahrawi and maintain a strong Moroccan identity. Intermarriage has reinforced these bonds over centuries. This demonstrates that the Sahrawi people do not constitute a distinct ethnic group outside Moroccan identity.
Beyond culture, Morocco has integrated the Sahrawis into its national identity as citizens equal under the law. The 2011 constitution recognizes the Sahrawi Hassani culture as an integral component of the diverse Moroccan heritage. Sahrawi people hold positions across politics, business, education and culture within Morocco. Additionally, the Sahrawi people democratically elect their own representatives and exercise a high degree of self-governance over regional affairs. Morocco has empowered the Sahrawis to shape their own future as part of the kingdom’s embrace of democratic reforms.
In sum, the Sahrawis show strong cultural connections to Morocco through language, societal customs, tribal lineage, and now full legal recognition under the Moroccan constitution. These bonds reinforce that Western Sahara and Morocco are profoundly linked and that separation would rip apart inseparable strands of shared cultural identity. Together, Morocco and Western Sahara represent a united Maghreb people.
Development and Integration:
Since regaining control of Western Sahara in the 1970s, Morocco has prioritized heavy investment and infrastructure projects to spur the region’s development and further integrate it with the kingdom. These major initiatives demonstrate Morocco’s commitment to making Western Sahara an integral part of the country.
Morocco has built major roadways linking Western Sahara to vital cities like Marrakech, Agadir and Fes, facilitating trade and movement. The region is also connected to national power grids, providing electricity access to thousands. Morocco extended its national highway into Western Sahara as well, connecting major cities like Laayoune and Dakhla. Western countries investment.
Major seaports have been constructed along Western Sahara’s coast, including the $10 billion Dakhla port opened in 2017. This provides vital access to Atlantic shipping routes and expands the fishing industry. Morocco has also built desalination plants, providing clean water to many arid communities for the first time.
These infrastructure investments have paid dividends in raising the region’s living standards. Access to electricity has risen from around 20% in 1975 to over 90% today. The poverty rate has fallen from nearly 70% to under 9%, while school enrollment is up significantly. The regional GDP per capita has doubled since 2010.
Western Sahara has also been integrated into Morocco’s political institutions and policy framework. Sahrawis hold seats in parliament and senior governmental posts. Local municipalities and administrations provide public services tailored to the region. The 2011 constitution enshrined Western Sahara as an integral component of the “Moroccan Sahara.”
Additionally, Morocco has proposed an autonomy plan that would give Western Sahara significant self-governance under Moroccan sovereignty. This demonstrates a willingness to provide the Sahrawis a strong voice within the framework of the kingdom. However, the Polisario Front rejects this compromise position.
Overall, Morocco has invested billions to develop Western Sahara and elevate living standards. The region is well integrated into the kingdom’s political, economic and social fabric. Morocco’s actions prove its commitment to the Sahrawis as citizens and laying the foundations for a prosperous future within a unified Morocco.
International Support:
While the dispute over Western Sahara persists, Morocco has garnered growing international backing for its sovereignty claim from key global powers and regional bodies. This support lends legitimacy to Morocco’s control and weakens the Polisario Front’s calls for independence.
The United States formally recognized Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara in 2020 under the Trump administration. Similarly, on March 14, 2022, the Spanish government publicly and for the first time declared its support for Morocco’s position in the Western Sahara dispute, considering that “the autonomy initiative presented in 2007 (by Morocco) is the most serious, realistic and credible basis for resolving this conflict” between Rabat and the Polisario Front. This reversed decades of ambiguity and endorses Morocco’s autonomy plan.
Other Western powers like France, the UK, and Germany do not recognize Western Sahara’s statehood, tacitly supporting Morocco’s position. They have praised Morocco’s Autonomy Initiative for the region, proposed in 2007, as a realistic compromise solution.
Several African, Arab, and Latin American nations have opened consulates in the territory, implying acceptance of Moroccan authority over Western Sahara. The African Union has been divided on the issue, unable to pass a resolution on Western Sahara’s status for over 30 years. No major power actively supports Western Saharan independence.
The UN process has stalled, with MINURSO having failed to hold a referendum on self-determination since 1991. The Security Council has not called for a vote, acknowledging that neither side would accept the results due to disputes over voter eligibility and identification. Morocco has rejected proposals for voter eligibility criteria, arguing they would enable large numbers of Polisario supporters from other countries to vote, skewing the results. There are also disputes over identifying legitimate Sahrawi voters given the nomadic nature of the population. The UN’s position has effectively frozen, providing no impetus for independence.
Critically, Algeria is the Polisario Front’s main backer, providing refuge for Sahrawi separatists and advocating for the rebel group diplomatically. But no other nation recognizes the self-declared Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. Without stronger international or regional support, the Polisario lacks legitimacy to press its campaign.
Additionally, Morocco initially withdrew from the AU in 1984 over the admission of Western Sahara, but then rejoined the organization in 2017, gaining another platform to advocate for its position. Morocco is working to build support to expel the Polisario Front from the AU, which requires a two-thirds majority vote. Morocco retains strong influence given its economic ties across Africa and the Middle East. This limits the ability of international organizations to impose outcomes against Morocco’s interests. Though Morocco sits in the AU alongside the Polisario Front, this does not imply recognition of Polisario as a legitimate state entity. Morocco’s return to the AU allows it to more effectively press its case from within the organization.
In summary, while many nations still officially consider Western Sahara “disputed territory,” the balance of international support and recognition has shifted in Morocco’s favor. No major powers actively endorse Western Saharan statehood or Polisario’s armed struggle. Morocco’s sovereignty claim appears stronger with each passing year of frozen UN diplomacy.
Summing up:
The enduring dispute over Western Sahara represents one of the most complex and intractable conflicts in Africa. But as this analysis shows, Morocco has a compelling claim of sovereignty over the territory based on history, law, culture, and political integration. These factors lend legitimacy to Morocco’s control and undermine the calls for Western Saharan independence.
The evidence firmly establishes that Western Sahara was integrated into Moroccan sultanates prior to Spanish colonization in the 19th century. There are centuries of shared political allegiance, economic ties and tribal kinship linking the regions. Morocco fiercely resisted European conquest to defend these historic bonds.
Legally, Morocco has viable arguments under post-colonial doctrines of territorial integrity. Western Sahara was never an entirely distinct colonial holding and the ICJ did not conclusively rule against Morocco’s claim. The right to Sahrawi self-determination can be fulfilled through Morocco’s autonomy proposal.
Culturally, the people of the southern provinces show strong connections to Morocco through language, societal traditions, music and cuisine. Tribal lineages span the disputed border. The Moroccan constitution recognizes the Sahrawi identity as part of the nation’s diverse heritage. These bonds run deep.
Morocco has also invested heavily in developing Western Sahara, elevating living standards and integrating the region into its policy framework. The territory is well-connected to the kingdom and participates politically. Morocco’s commitment demonstrates Western Sahara is an integral part of the country.
While the UN process remains stalled, no major powers actively endorse Western Saharan independence or recognize the Polisario Front’s self-declared government. Global and regional support for Morocco’s sovereignty claim continues to grow. The balance has tipped increasingly in Morocco’s favor.
Resolving such a complex, emotional conflict is never easy or swift. But an impartial analysis of the evidence makes a compelling case that Western Sahara belongs under Moroccan sovereignty. The long history of shared identity and developing bonds point toward this conclusion. Morocco’s claim to the territory stands as just and valid under international law.
Going forward, all parties should cooperate to find a peaceful compromise based on these factors. Morocco’s autonomy proposal provides a viable path that could gain widespread backing. With pragmatism and good faith efforts on both sides, a solution upholding Morocco’s sovereignty while guaranteeing Sahrawi rights is within reach. Western Sahara’s future can be a bright one as part of a unified Morocco.
