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70-638: Historically located in the Saguia el-Hamra region, Bou Craa is the site of a phosphate deposit of over 1.7 billion tons. Mining operations by Phosboucraa started in 1972. During the Spanish colonization of the area (see Spanish Sahara ), many early recruits of Sahrawi nationalist movements such as the Movement for the Liberation of Saguia el Hamra and Wadi el Dhahab and Polisario Front were workers in

140-713: A TV station, were also set on fire. Moroccan officials said five security personnel had been killed in the unrest. On 15 November 2010, the Moroccan government accused the Algerian secret services of orchestrating and financing the Gadaym Izik camp with the intent to destabilize the region. The Spanish press was accused of mounting a campaign of disinformation to support the Sahrawi initiative, and all foreign reporters were either prevented from traveling or else expelled from

210-466: A Western Sahara autonomy under Moroccan rule but only after Morocco's "inalienable right" to the territory was recognized as a precondition to the talks. The Algerian government has consistently refused, claiming it has neither the will nor the right to negotiate on the behalf of the Polisario Front. In May 2005, demonstrations and riots by supporters of independence or a referendum broke out in

280-520: A grain of its sand." In 2006, he created an appointed advisory body Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs (CORCAS), which proposes a self-governing Western Sahara as an autonomous community within Morocco. The UN has put forth no replacement strategy after the breakdown of Baker II, and renewed fighting has been raised as a possibility. In 2005, former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan reported increased military activity on both sides of

350-630: A location within Western Sahara is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Western Sahara Western Sahara is a disputed territory in North-western Africa . It has a surface area of 272,000 square kilometres (105,000 sq mi). Approximately 30% of the territory (82,500 km (31,900 sq mi)) is controlled by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR);

420-636: A multi-party system at the achievement of independence. It is presently based at the Tindouf refugee camps in Algeria, which it controls. It also controls the part of Western Sahara to the east of the Moroccan Wall, known as the liberated territories . This area has a very small population, estimated to be approximately 30,000 nomads. The Moroccan government views it as a no-man's land patrolled by UN troops. The SADR government whose troops also patrol

490-617: A €25 million ($ 27 million) investment in Guelmim-Oued Noun , which includes part of the Western Sahara. Sovereignty over Western Sahara is contested between Morocco and the Polisario Front and its legal status remains unresolved. The United Nations considers it to be a " non-self-governing territory ". Formally, Morocco is administered by a bicameral parliament under a constitutional monarchy wherein

560-453: Is rare. Western Sahara contains four terrestrial ecoregions : Saharan halophytics , Mediterranean acacia-argania dry woodlands and succulent thickets , Atlantic coastal desert , and North Saharan steppe and woodlands . The earliest known inhabitants of Western Sahara were the Gaetuli . Depending on the century, Roman-era sources describe the area as inhabited by Gaetulian Autololes or

630-524: Is the northern geographic region of Western Sahara . It was, with Río de Oro , one of the two territories that formed the Spanish province of Spanish Sahara after 1969. Its name comes from a waterway that goes through the capital. The wadi is inhabited by the Oulad Tidrarin Sahrawi tribe. Occupying the northern part of Western Sahara , it lay between the 26th parallel north and 27°50'N. The city of Cape Bojador served to divide

700-575: The Berlin Conference in 1884 on the division of spheres of influence in Africa , the same year Spain seized control of Western Sahara and established it as a Spanish colony. Despite establishing their first colony in the region at Río de Oro Bay in 1884, the Spanish were unable to pacify the interior of the region until the 1930s. Raids and rebellions by the indigenous Saharan population kept

770-652: The Lamtuna nomadic Berbers of the Sahara . Over roughly five centuries, through a complex process of acculturation and mixing seen elsewhere in the Maghreb and North Africa, some of the indigenous Berber tribes mixed with the Maqil Arab tribes and formed a culture unique to Morocco and Mauritania . The Spanish presence in the region of modern-day Western Sahara lasted from 1884 to 1975. While initial Spanish interest in

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840-770: The Spanish Sahara until 1975, Western Sahara has been on the United Nations list of non-self-governing territories since 1963 after a Moroccan demand. In 1965, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution on Western Sahara, asking Spain to decolonize the territory. A year later, resolution 2229 (XXI) was passed by the UN General Assembly requesting that a referendum be held by Spain on self-determination. In 1975, Spain relinquished administrative control of

910-521: The cease-fire terms , but most observers seem to consider armed conflict unlikely without the green light from Algeria , which houses the Sahrawis' refugee camps and has been the main military sponsor of the movement. In April 2007, the government of Morocco suggested that a self-governing entity, through the CORCAS, should govern the territory with some degree of autonomy for Western Sahara. The project

980-413: The monarch retains significant powers, such as the capacity to appoint the government and to dissolve parliament. The last elections to the parliament's lower house were deemed reasonably free and fair by international observers. The Morocco-controlled parts of Western Sahara are divided into several provinces that are treated as integral parts of the kingdom. The Moroccan government heavily subsidizes

1050-469: The 1974 Spanish Census lists (see below) to vote, while Morocco has insisted that the census was flawed by evasion and sought the inclusion of members of Sahrawi tribes that escaped from Spanish invasion to the north of Morocco by the 19th century. Efforts by the UN special envoys to find a common ground for both parties did not succeed. By 1999 the UN had identified about 85,000 voters, with nearly half of them in

1120-761: The 8th century played a major role in the development of the Maghreb region. Trade developed further, and the territory may have been one of the routes for caravans , especially between Marrakesh and Tombouctou in Mali . In the 11th century, the Maqil Arabs (fewer than 200 individuals) settled in Morocco (mainly in the Draa River valley, between the Moulouya River , Tafilalt and Taourirt ). Towards

1190-599: The African Union works with the UN mission to maintain the ceasefire and reach a peace agreement. The African Union provides a peacekeeping contingent to the UN mission which is used to control a buffer zone near the de facto border walls built by Morocco. Western Sahara is located on the north-west coast in West Africa and on the cusp of North Africa , bordering the North Atlantic Ocean to

1260-573: The Gaetulian Daradae tribes. Berber heritage is still evident from regional and place-name toponymy , as well as from tribal names. Other early inhabitants of Western Sahara may be the Bafour and later the Serer . The Bafour were later replaced or absorbed by Berber-speaking populations, which eventually merged in turn with the migrating Beni Ḥassān Arab tribes. The arrival of Islam in

1330-657: The Houston Agreement (1997), Morocco officially declared that it was "no longer necessary" to include an option of independence on the ballot, offering instead autonomy. Erik Jensen, who played an administrative role in MINURSO, wrote that neither side would agree to a voter registration in which they were destined to lose (see Western Sahara: Anatomy of a Stalemate ). As personal envoy of the Secretary-General, James Baker visited all sides and produced

1400-447: The Liberation of Saguía el Hamra and Río de Oro. The movement tried without success to gain backing from several Arab governments, including Algeria and Morocco. Spain began rapidly to divest itself of most of its remaining colonial possessions. By 1974–75 the government issued promises of a referendum on independence in Western Sahara. At the same time, Morocco and Mauritania , which had historical and competing claims of sovereignty over

1470-664: The Moroccan-Israeli normalisation deal, the United States established a temporary consulate post in Dakhla in January 2021 as a transition to establishing a permanent consulate within the near future. The Western Sahara conflict has resulted in severe human-rights abuses, constantly reported by external reporters and human rights activists, most notably the displacement of tens of thousands of Sahrawi civilians from

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1540-528: The Moroccan-controlled parts of Western Sahara and in parts of southern Morocco (notably the town of Assa ). They were met by police. Several international human rights organizations expressed concern at what they termed abuse by Moroccan security forces, and a number of Sahrawi activists have been jailed. Pro-independence Sahrawi sources, including the Polisario, have given these demonstrations

1610-490: The Moroccan-controlled parts of Western Sahara or Southern Morocco, and the others scattered between the Tindouf refugee camps , Mauritania and other places of exile. Polisario accepted this voter list, as it had done with the previous list presented by the UN (both of them originally based on the Spanish census of 1974), but Morocco refused and, as rejected voter candidates began a mass-appeals procedure, insisted that each application be scrutinized individually. This again brought

1680-442: The Polisario Front and Morocco broke down, leading to armed clashes between both sides. On 10 December 2020, the United States announced that it would recognize full Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara in exchange for Morocco normalizing relations with Israel with a view for subsequent establishment of diplomatic relations . In February 2021, Morocco proposed to Spain the creation of an autonomy for Western Sahara under

1750-535: The Polisario Front the legitimate representative of the Sahrawi people , and maintains the Sahrawis have a right to self-determination . Western Sahara is the last African colonial state yet to achieve independence and has been dubbed "Africa's last colony". Since a UN-sponsored ceasefire agreement in 1991, most of the territory has been administered by the Moroccan government , with tacit support from France and

1820-501: The Polisario Front, which opposed both Moroccan and Mauritanian claims and demanded full independence of Western Sahara. The UN attempted to settle these disputes through a visiting mission in late 1975, as well as a verdict from the International Court of Justice (ICJ). It acknowledged that Western Sahara had historical links with Morocco and Mauritania, but not sufficient to prove the sovereignty of either State over

1890-564: The Sahara was focused on using it as a port for the slave trade , by the 1700s Spain had transitioned economic activity on the Saharan coast towards commercial fishing. By the 19th century, Spain had claimed the southern coastal region and penetration of the hinterland gradually followed; later in 1904 the northern region was acquired. After an agreement among the European colonial powers at

1960-408: The Saharan provinces under its control with cut-rate fuel and related subsidies, to appease nationalist dissent and attract immigrants from Sahrawis and other communities in Morocco proper. The exiled government of the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) is a form of single-party parliamentary and presidential system, but according to its constitution, this will be changed into

2030-461: The Spanish forces out of much of the territory for a long time. The territory was eventually subdued by joint Spanish and French forces in 1934, the same year the Spaniards divided their Saharan territories into two regions named after the rivers: Saguía el-Hamra and Río de Oro . After 1939 and the outbreak of World War II , this area was administered by Spanish Morocco . In 1958, Spain joined

2100-629: The UN had ever recognized Moroccan sovereignty over parts of Western Sahara. In 2020, the US recognized Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara in exchange for Moroccan normalization of relations with Israel . In 2023, Israel recognized Moroccan sovereignty. In 1984, the African Union 's predecessor, the Organisation of African Unity , recognized the SADR as one of its full members, with

2170-588: The United States. The remainder is administered by the SADR, backed by Algeria . The only part of the coast in SADR territory is the extreme south. Internationally, countries such as Russia have taken an ambiguous and neutral position on each side's claims and pressed parties to agree on a peaceful resolution. Morocco and Polisario have sought to boost their claims by accumulating formal recognition, especially from African, Asian, and Latin American states in

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2240-641: The area have proclaimed a village in the area, Bir Lehlou and Tifariti , as SADR's former and actual temporary factual capitals. On 18 December 2019, the Comoros became the first nation to open a consulate in Laayoune in support of Moroccan claims to Western Sahara. In January 2020, The Gambia and Guinea opened consulates in Dakhla ; meanwhile, Gabon opened a consulate general in Laayoune. As part of

2310-480: The area. The protest coincided with a fresh round of negotiations at the UN. In 2016, the European Union (EU) declared that "Western Sahara is not part of Moroccan territory." In March 2016, Morocco "expelled more than 70 U.N. civilian staffers with MINURSO" due to strained relations after Ban Ki-moon called Morocco's annexation of Western Sahara an "occupation". In November 2020, the ceasefire between

2380-763: The belt is the longest in the world and dust blown from it is visible from space. 26°19′22″N 12°50′59″W  /  26.32278°N 12.84972°W  / 26.32278; -12.84972 This article about a location within Western Sahara is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Saguia el-Hamra 27°09′13″N 13°12′12″W  /  27.1536°N 13.2033°W  / 27.1536; -13.2033 Saguia el-Hamra ( Spanish : Saguía el Hamra [saˈɣi.a el ˈxamɾa] , Arabic : الساقية الحمراء , romanized :  al-Saqiyah al-Hamra'a , lit.   'Red Canal')

2450-411: The country, the expulsion of tens of thousands of Moroccan civilians by the Algerian government from Algeria, and numerous casualties of war and repression. During the war years (1975–1991), both sides accused each other of targeting civilians. Moroccan claims of Polisario terrorism have generally had little to no support abroad, with the US, European Union, African Union and UN all refusing to include

2520-480: The developing world. The Polisario Front has won formal recognition for the SADR from 46 UN member states and South Ossetia , and was extended membership of the African Union . Morocco has won support from several African governments and most of the Muslim world and Arab League . In most instances, recognitions are extended or withdrawn due to a change in relations with Morocco. Until 2020, no other member state of

2590-605: The district of Saguia el-Hamra (the "Red River") in the north with the Río de Oro (in the south) to form the province of Spanish Sahara, following Morocco's claiming these regions in 1957. As a consequence, Ahmed Belbachir Haskouri , the Chief of Cabinet, General Secretary of the Government of Spanish Morocco, cooperated with the Spanish to select governors in that area. The Saharan lords who were already in prominent positions, such as

2660-492: The document known as the "Baker Plan". This was discussed by the United Nations Security Council in 2000, and envisioned an autonomous Western Sahara Authority (WSA), which would be followed after five years by the referendum. Every person present in the territory would be allowed to vote, regardless of birthplace and with no regard to the Spanish census. It was rejected by both sides, although it

2730-587: The early 1980s when the town become enclosed by the Moroccan Wall , which consolidated Moroccan control over the north-western part of Western Sahara (the so-called "Useful Triangle"). Mining resumed on a reduced scale in July 1982. Today, the mine produces around 3 million tonnes annually, which represents 10% of Morocco's total production . The phosphates are transported to the coast by an automated conveyor belt . Approximately 100 kilometres (62 mi) long,

2800-567: The end of Francisco Franco 's rule. There was a global trend towards complete decolonization . Spain abandoned most territories within neighboring Morocco in 1956, but resisted encroachment by the Moroccan Liberation Army within Ifni and Spanish Sahara from 1956 to 1958. In 1971, Sahrawi (an Arabic term for those from Sahara ) students in Moroccan universities began organizing what came to be known as The Embryonic Movement for

2870-805: The end of the Almohad Caliphate , the Beni Hassan, a sub-tribe of the Maqil, were called by the local ruler of the Sous to quell a rebellion; they settled in the Sous Ksours and controlled such cities as Taroudant . During Marinid dynasty rule, the Beni Hassan rebelled but were defeated by the Sultan and escaped beyond the Saguia el-Hamra dry river. The Beni Hassan then were at constant war with

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2940-405: The front and breaches of several cease-fire provisions against strengthening military fortifications. Morocco has repeatedly tried to engage Algeria in bilateral negotiations, based on its view of Polisario as the cat's paw of the Algerian military. It has received vocal support from France and occasionally (and currently) from the United States. These negotiations would define the exact limits of

3010-535: The government coalition, the Polisario Front, as well as members of the governing party, who support a solution "that respects the democratic will of the Saharawi people". In July 2023, Israel officially recognized Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara. In October 2024, in a speech to the Parliament of Morocco , French President Emmanuel Macron backed Morocco's autonomy proposal. Macron also unveiled

3080-421: The group on their lists of terrorist organizations. Polisario leaders maintain that they are ideologically opposed to terrorism, and insist that collective punishment and forced disappearances among Sahrawi civilians should be considered state terrorism on the part of Morocco. Both Morocco and the Polisario additionally accuse each other of violating the human rights of the populations under their control, in

3150-455: The independence camp. Morocco was also allowed to keep its army in the area and retain control over all security issues during both the autonomy years and the election. In 2002, the Moroccan king stated that the referendum idea was "out of date" since it "cannot be implemented"; Polisario retorted that that was only because of the King's refusal to allow it to take place. In 2003, a new version of

3220-772: The members of Maa El Ainain family, provided a recommended list of candidates for new governors. Together with the Spanish High Commissioner, Belbachir selected from this list. During the annual celebration of Muhammad 's birthday, these lords paid their respects to the caliph to show loyalty to the Moroccan monarchy. As time went by, Spanish colonial rule began to unravel with the general wave of decolonization after World War II ; former North African and sub-Saharan African possessions and protectorates gained independence from European powers. Spanish decolonization proceeded more slowly, but internal political and social pressures for it in mainland Spain built up towards

3290-469: The name " Independence Intifada ", while most sources have tended to see the events as being of limited importance. International press and other media coverage have been sparse, and reporting is complicated by the Moroccan government's policy of strictly controlling independent media coverage within the territory. Demonstrations and protests still occur, even after Morocco declared in February 2006 that it

3360-543: The north. In the waning days of General Franco 's rule, and after the Green March , the Spanish government signed a tripartite agreement with Morocco and Mauritania as it moved to transfer the territory on 14 November 1975. The accords were based on a bipartite administration, and Morocco and Mauritania each moved to annex the territories, with Morocco taking control of the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara as its Southern Provinces , and Mauritania taking control of

3430-401: The northwest, Morocco proper to the north-northeast , Algeria to the east-northeast , and Mauritania to the east and south . Among the most arid and inhospitable on the planet, the land along the coast is low flat desert and rises, especially in the north, to small mountains reaching up to 600 metres (2,000 ft) on the eastern side. While the area can experience flash flooding in

3500-467: The option between independence or affirming integration with Morocco, but it quickly stalled. In 1997, the Houston Agreement attempted to revive the proposal for a referendum but likewise has hitherto not had success. As of 2010 , negotiations over terms have not resulted in any substantive action. At the heart of the dispute lies the question of who qualifies to be registered to participate in

3570-652: The phosphate mines. The town became part of the Moroccan-controlled zone in the April 1976 partition resulting from the Madrid Accords . It has remained in Moroccan hands, though mining was paused in 1976 as a result of Polisario guerilla attacks. During the Western Sahara War , the Polisario sabotaged and disabled this transportation system several times. These attacks gradually ceased in

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3640-454: The plan was made official, with some additions spelling out the powers of the WSA, making it less reliant on Moroccan devolution . It also provided further detail on the referendum process in order to make it harder to stall or subvert. This second draft, commonly known as Baker II, was accepted by the Polisario as a "basis of negotiations" to the surprise of many. This appeared to abandon Polisario's previous position of only negotiating based on

3710-522: The plan, but he was met with rejection. King Hassan II of Morocco initially supported the referendum idea in principle in 1982, and signed contracts with Polisario and the UN in 1991 and 1997. No major powers have expressed interest in forcing the issue, however, and Morocco has shown little interest in a real referendum. Hassan II's son and successor, Mohammed VI , has opposed any referendum on independence, and has said Morocco will never agree to one: "We shall not give up one inch of our beloved Sahara, not

3780-404: The process to a halt. According to a NATO delegation, MINURSO election observers stated in 1999, as the deadlock continued, that "if the number of voters does not rise significantly the odds were slightly on the SADR side". By 2001, the process had effectively stalemated and the UN Secretary-General asked the parties for the first time to explore other, third-way solutions. Indeed, shortly after

3850-473: The referendum, and, since about the year 2000, Morocco considers that since there is no agreement on persons entitled to vote, a referendum is not possible. Meanwhile, Polisario still insisted on a referendum with independence as a clear option, without offering a solution to the problem of who is qualified to be registered to participate in it. Both sides blame each other for the stalling of the referendum. The Polisario has insisted on only allowing those found on

3920-418: The regions. Its colonial capital was El Aaiún (Laâyoune), and it also included the city of Smara . The territory takes its name from an intermittent river, the Saguia el-Hamra , the route of which runs west from south of El Farsia to reach the Atlantic at Laayoune . The area is roughly 82,000 km (51,000 mi), making it approximately a third of the entire Western Sahara. This article about

3990-417: The remaining 70% is occupied and administered by neighboring Morocco . It is the most sparsely populated territory in Africa and the second most sparsely populated territory in the world , mainly consisting of desert flatlands. The population is estimated at 618,600. Nearly 40% of that population lives in Morocco-controlled Laayoune , the largest city of Western Sahara. Previously occupied by Spain as

4060-412: The rest of the territory. It gradually contained the guerrillas by setting up the extensive sand-berm in the desert (known as the Border Wall or Moroccan Wall) to exclude guerrilla fighters. Hostilities ceased in a 1991 cease-fire, overseen by the peacekeeping mission MINURSO , under the terms of a UN Settlement Plan . The referendum, originally scheduled for 1992, foresaw giving the local population

4130-417: The same status as Morocco, and Morocco protested by suspending its membership of the OAU. Morocco was readmitted to the Union in 2017, after promising conflicting claims would be resolved peacefully and it would stop building walls to extend its military control. Meanwhile, the African Union has not issued any formal statement about the border separating the sovereign territories of Morocco and the SADR. Instead,

4200-484: The southern third as Tiris al-Gharbiyya . Spain terminated its presence in Spanish Sahara within three months, repatriating Spanish remains from its cemeteries. The Moroccan and Mauritanian annexations were resisted by the Polisario Front , which had gained backing from Algeria . It initiated guerrilla warfare and, in 1979, Mauritania withdrew due to pressure from Polisario, including a bombardment of its capital and other economic targets. Morocco extended its control to

4270-407: The sovereignty of the King of Morocco . In March 2022, the Spanish government abandoned its traditional position of neutrality in the conflict, siding with the Moroccan government and recognising the autonomy proposal "as the most serious, realistic and credible basis for the resolution of the dispute". This sudden turnaround was generally rejected by both the Opposition, the parties that make up

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4340-524: The spring, there are no permanent streams. At times, a cool off-shore current can produce fog and heavy dew. The interior experiences extreme summer heat, with average highs reaching 43–45 °C (109–113 °F) in July and in August; during winter, days are still hot to very hot, with average highs from 25 to 30 °C (77 to 86 °F); however, in the northern part of the territory, the thermometer may drop below 0 °C (32 °F) at night and it can be freezing in December and in January, although this

4410-456: The standards of voter identification from 1991 (i.e. the Spanish census). After that, the draft quickly garnered widespread international support, culminating in the UN Security Council's unanimous endorsement of the plan in the summer of 2003. Baker resigned his post at the United Nations in 2004; his term did not see the crisis resolved. His resignation followed several months of failed attempts to get Morocco to enter into formal negotiations on

4480-469: The territory at the time of the Spanish colonization. The population of the territory thus possessed the right of self-determination . On 6 November 1975 Morocco initiated the Green March into Western Sahara; 350,000 unarmed Moroccans converged on the city of Tarfaya in southern Morocco and waited for a signal from King Hassan II of Morocco to cross the border in a peaceful march. A few days before, on 31 October, Moroccan troops invaded Western Sahara from

4550-462: The territory to a joint administration by Morocco and Mauritania . A war erupted between those countries and a Sahrawi nationalist movement, the Polisario Front , which proclaimed itself the rightful leadership of the SADR with a government-in-exile in Tindouf , Algeria . Mauritania withdrew its claims in 1979, and Morocco secured de facto control of most of the territory, including all major cities and most natural resources. The UN considers

4620-440: The territory, argued that it had been artificially separated from their territories by the European colonial powers. Algeria , which also bordered the territory, viewed their demands with suspicion, as Morocco also claimed the Algerian provinces of Tindouf and Béchar . After arguing for a process of decolonization to be guided by the United Nations , the Algerian government under Houari Boumédiènne in 1975 committed to assisting

4690-403: Was contemplating a plan for devolving a limited variant of autonomy to the territory but still explicitly refused any referendum on independence. As of January 2007, the plan had not been made public, though the Moroccan government claimed that it was more or less complete. Polisario has intermittently threatened to resume fighting, referring to the Moroccan refusal of a referendum as a breach of

4760-436: Was home to more than 12,000 people. In November 2010, Moroccan security forces entered Gadaym Izik camp in the early hours of the morning, using helicopters and water cannon to force people to leave. The Polisario Front said Moroccan security forces had killed a 26-year-old protester at the camp, a claim denied by Morocco. Protesters in Laayoune threw stones at police and set fire to tires and vehicles. Several buildings, including

4830-406: Was initially derived from a Moroccan proposal. According to Baker's draft, tens of thousands of post-annexation immigrants from Morocco proper (viewed by Polisario as settlers but by Morocco as legitimate inhabitants of the area) would be granted the vote in the Sahrawi independence referendum, and the ballot would be split three ways by the inclusion of an unspecified " autonomy ", further undermining

4900-435: Was presented to the UN Security Council in mid-April 2007. The stalemating of the Moroccan proposal options has led the UN in the recent "Report of the UN Secretary-General" to ask the parties to enter into direct and unconditional negotiations to reach a mutually accepted political solution. In October 2010, Gadaym Izik camp was set up near Laayoune as a protest by displaced Sahrawi people about their living conditions. It

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