A Neglected War: Conflict in Western Sahara Continues to be Ignored
What makes a war “noteworthy”?
While the war in Ukraine received immediate international attention, even months before it started, decades-long conflicts in other parts of the world have been ignored for just as long.
This is the case in Western Sahara, where the consequences of Spanish colonialism and their hasty withdrawal from northern Africa in 1975 are still impacting the lives of millions. Disregarding the UN’s demands to abide by the 1960 General Assembly Resolution 1514,* Spain left Western Sahara under the administration of Morocco and Mauritania.
Both countries cited pre-colonial historical links to justify their claims on the territory. However, these were deemed insufficient by the UN, which rather backed the territory’s right to self-determination.
The native Sahrawi population is now displaced across the larger region. Well over 150,000 Sahrawis live in one of the five refugee camps in southwest Algeria. For nearly five decades, this is the only home they have known.
Despite the years that have transpired, the camps remain in dire conditions from a grievous lack of resources. In early 2022, it was estimated that 90% of Sahrawi refugees lived in adobe huts while the remaining 10% occupied tents. All these are constantly and severely damaged by sandstorms, rains, and floods. The impact of climate change on the surge and increased intensity of natural disasters cannot be overlooked moving forward.
The recent earthquake that struck Syria last Monday is a reminder that the so-called forgotten crises — forgotten by the international community, that is, not the people effectively forced to live through them — put the most vulnerable at risk of climate change and natural disasters.
The inefficiency of recovery efforts and rubble disposal, the lack of social infrastructure, and unsafe urban spaces all add up to create unsustainable living conditions and the perfect scenario for countless (avoidable) deaths.
Furthermore, the bureaucratic and logistic obstacles stemming from conflict and occupation put refugees at risk of not obtaining vital and time-sensitive humanitarian aid should disaster strike.
*Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples.
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