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73-468: The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic , also known as the Sahrawi Republic and Western Sahara , is a partially recognized state , located in the western Maghreb , which claims the non-self-governing territory of Western Sahara , but controls only the easternmost one-fifth of that territory . It is recognized by 44 UN member states and South Ossetia . Between 1884 and 1975, Western Sahara

146-528: A person in international law if it meets the following criteria: According to the declarative theory, an entity's statehood is independent of its recognition by other states. By contrast, the constitutive theory defines a state as a person of international law only if it is recognised as such by other states that are already a member of the international community. Quasi-states often reference either or both doctrines in order to legitimise their claims to statehood. There are, for example, entities which meet

219-598: A central hospital and four regional hospitals. Men perform military service in the armed forces of the SADR. During the war years, at least some women were enrolled in auxiliary units guarding the refugee camps. The number of Sahrawi refugees in Tindouf camps is disputed and politically sensitive. Morocco argues that Polisario and Algeria overestimate the numbers to attract political attention and foreign aid, while Polisario accuses Morocco of attempting to restrict human aid as

292-538: A country that houses about 26,000 Sahrawis refugees. UNHCR referred to Algeria's figure for many years, but in 2005 concern about it being inflated led the organization to reduce its working figure to 90,000 based on satellite imagery analysis. UNHCR is in dialogue with the Algerian Government and the Sahrawi refugee leadership, seeking to conduct a census to determine the exact number of refugees in

365-461: A country typically falls somewhere between the declarative theory and constitutive theory approaches. The criteria for inclusion on this list are limited to polities that claim sovereignty , lack recognition from at least one UN member state , and either: There are 193 United Nations (UN) member states , while both the Holy See and Palestine have observer state status in

438-746: 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 in the Free Zone , including the provisional capitals, first Bir Lehlou until 2008, then Tifariti. The government of the SADR claims sovereignty over all of the Western Sahara territory, but has control only within

511-488: A means of pressure on civilian refugee populations. The refugees' numbers will also be important in determining their political weight in the possible event of a referendum to determine Western Sahara's future status. Algerian authorities have estimated the number of Sahrawi refugees in Algeria to be 165,000. This has been supported by Polisario, although the movement recognizes that some refugees have rebased to Mauritania,

584-534: A painful situation for the population in both Western Sahara and the refugee camps. In 2004, UNHCR managed a family visits exchange program for five-day visits for a limited number of people, going from the camps to the Moroccan-held territories and vice versa. The United Nations has also established telephone and mail services between the camps and Moroccan-held Western Sahara. While Polisario complains of repression of Sahrawi human rights activists in

657-646: A referendum on independence. It was endorsed by the UN in 2003. As Morocco has declined to participate, however, 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 (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

730-510: A smaller satellite camp known as "February 27", surrounding a boarding school for women, and an administrative camp called Rabouni . The encampments are spread out over a quite large area. While Laayoune, Smara, Awserd, February 27 and Rabouni all lie within an hour's drive of the Algerian city of Tindouf , the Dakhla camp lies 170 kilometres (110 mi) to the southeast. The camps are also

803-561: Is brought in from the port of Oran to Rabouni by the World Food Programme (WFP) in collaboration with Algerian Red Crescent (ARC) and the Algerian government, while food distribution from Rabouni is organized by Polisario in collaboration with Western Sahara Red Crescent (WSRC). With the rise of a basic market economy, some refugees have been able to acquire television sets and use cars; several hundred satellite dishes have popped up in recent years. The refugee population

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876-566: Is in Moroccan-controlled territory), the proclamation was made in the government-in-exile 's provisional capital, Bir Lehlou , which remained in Polisario-held territory under the 1991 ceasefire (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 , which house most of

949-483: Is influenced by the presence of a foreign military force in the territory of the contested entity, making the description of the country's de facto status problematic. The international community can judge this military presence too intrusive, reducing the entity to a puppet state where effective sovereignty is retained by the foreign power. Historical cases in this sense can be seen in Japanese -led Manchukuo or

1022-458: Is little or no vegetation, and firewood has to be gathered by car tens of kilometers away. Only a few of the camps have access to water, and the drinking sources are neither clean nor sufficient for the entire refugee population. Basic life cannot be sustained in this environment, and the camps are completely dependent on foreign aid. Food, drinking water, building materials and clothing are brought in by car by international aid agencies. Basic food

1095-414: 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 to

1168-606: Is not a member of the Arab League , nor of the Arab Maghreb Union , both of which include Morocco as a full member. Under the Baker Plan 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 (WSA), a non-sovereign autonomous region supervised by Morocco, to be followed by

1241-647: Is one such state, as it maintains unofficial relations with many other states through its Economic and Cultural Offices , which allow regular consular services. This allows Taiwan to have economic relations even with states that do not formally recognise it. A total of 56 states, including Germany, Italy, the United States, and the United Kingdom, maintain some form of unofficial mission in Taiwan. Kosovo , Northern Cyprus , Abkhazia , Transnistria ,

1314-537: Is plagued by the lack of vegetables, nutritious food and medicines. According to the United Nations and the World Food Program , 40% of the children suffer from lack of iron, and 10% of the children below five years of age suffer from acute lack of nutrition. 32% are suffering from chronic lack of nutrition. 47% of the women suffer from lack of iron. Heavy flash rains and floods destroyed much of

1387-575: The Free Zone . Morocco controls and administers the rest of the disputed territory, and calls these lands its Southern Provinces . The claimed capital city of the SADR is El Aaiún (the capital of the territory of Western Sahara). Since the SADR does not control El Aaiún, it has established a temporary capital in Tifariti , although most of the day-to-day administration happens in Rabuni , one of

1460-471: The CIA World Factbook , which makes the country one of the most religiously homogeneous nations in the world. The Catholic Church had an important presence during Spanish rule , with 20,000 Spanish Catholics present before Spain abandoned the territory (30% of the population). Today around 300 people in the Moroccan-controlled areas are Catholic (mostly of Spanish origin), being able to attend

1533-643: The German -created Slovak Republic and Independent State of Croatia before and during World War II . In the 1996 case Loizidou v. Turkey , the European Court of Human Rights judged Turkey for having exercised authority in the territory of Northern Cyprus . There are also entities that do not have control over any territory or do not unequivocally meet the declarative criteria for statehood but have been recognised to exist as sovereign entities by at least one other state. Historically, this has happened in

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1606-520: The Rabuni , the administrative center of the refugee camps. The three hostages were two Spanish citizens (Enric Gonyalons and Ainhoa Fernández de Rincón) and an Italian woman (Rossella Urru); all members of humanitarian NGOs . During the abduction, Enric Gonyalons and a Sahrawi guard were wounded by the attackers, who according to POLISARIO sources came from Mali . At first, Brahim Gali , SADR ambassador in Algiers , said that Al-Qaeda Organization in

1679-414: The Sahrawi Republic , Somaliland , and Palestine also host informal diplomatic missions, and/or maintain special delegations or other informal missions abroad. Sahrawi refugee camps The limited opportunities for self-reliance in the harsh desert environment have forced the refugees to rely on international humanitarian assistance for their survival. However, the Tindouf camps differ from

1752-655: The Sahrawi refugee camps located in Tindouf , Algeria . The SADR maintains diplomatic relations with 46 United Nations states, and is a full member of the African Union . With a population of about half a million, it is the most sparsely populated in Africa, and the second-most sparsely populated in the world. The name Sahrawi is the romanization of the Arabic word Ṣaḥrāwī صحراوي , meaning 'Inhabitant of

1825-539: The Spanish colonisation in the late 19th century, and remains as the preferred second language of the Sahrawi, also enjoying a de facto working language status. In 2018, President Brahim Gali stated that the SADR is the only Arab country in the world where Spanish is an official language. Instituto Cervantes estimates that around 20,000 Sahrawis have limited competencies in Spanish The SADR acted as

1898-693: The St. Francis of Assisi Cathedral in El Aaiún and the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Dakhla . Modern Standard Arabic is the sole constitutionally recognized official and national language of the Sahrawi Republic. Hassaniya , a variety of Arabic also spoken in neighbouring countries such as Mauritania , is the common vernacular language of the Sahrawi people . Spanish was introduced during

1971-502: The United Nations (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 , and maintains that

2044-408: The international community as sovereign states , but have not been universally recognised as such. These entities often have de facto control of their territory. A number of such entities have existed in the past. There are two traditional theories used to indicate how a sovereign state comes into being. The declarative theory (codified in the 1933 Montevideo Convention ) defines a state as

2117-568: The 500,000 inhabitants. Under international law , Morocco's transfer of its own civilians into Non-Self-Governing territory is in direct violation of Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention . The predominant religion practiced by Sahrawis is the Maliki school of Sunni Islam , which is constitutionally recognized as the official religion of the SADR and a source of law. Virtually all Sahrawis identify as Muslim according to

2190-687: The Congolese organizing committee. The country has a national football team , but its governing body, the Sahrawi Football Federation , is not a member of FIFA or the Confederation of African Football . Additionally, Muslim celebrations are kept according to the lunar Islamic calendar . Official SADR pages SADR pages List of states with limited recognition A number of polities have declared independence and sought diplomatic recognition from

2263-706: The Desert ', derived from the Arabic word Ṣaḥrāʼ ( صحراء ), meaning 'desert'. Following the evacuation of the Spaniards, due to the Moroccan Green March , Spain , Morocco , and Mauritania signed the Madrid Accords on 14 November 1975, six days before Francisco Franco died. Morocco and Mauritania responded by annexing the territory of Western Sahara . On 26 February 1976, Spain informed

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2336-678: The Free Zone. Several foreign aid agencies, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and non-governmental organizations , are continually active in the camps. As of September 2022, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic has been recognized by 85 states, at one time or another. Of these, 39 have "frozen" or "withdrawn" recognition for a number of reasons. A total of 29 UN states maintain an embassy from

2409-628: The Islamic Maghreb (AQMI) was responsible for this incident. Mauritanian and Malian security sources also pointed to AQMI as perpetrators of the kidnapping. On 26 October, Algerian Army forces killed four AQMI members, suspects of the kidnappings. The kidnapping was widely condemned internationally, for example by the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights or the European Union . They were set free by

2482-878: The Latin American and the Caribbean ( COPPPAL ) in 2006; the SADR ambassador to Nicaragua participated in the opening conference of the Central American Parliament in 2010, and a SADR delegation participated in the meeting of COPPPAL and International Conference of Asian Political Parties in Mexico City 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. The SADR

2555-624: 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. The SADR was invited to participate in the 2015 African Games in Brazzaville , which would have been the country's debut at a major international sporting event. However, its thirteen athletes were not allowed to compete by

2628-602: The Moroccan-held parts of Western Sahara; the government of Morocco, dissident groups inside Polisario, as well as former members of Polisario , have claimed that the refugee camps occasionally are the scene of human rights abuse against the refugee population by the Polisario. The Polisario Front has acknowledged reports of mistreatment in the seventies and eighties, but deny the accusations of on-going abuse. Reports of beatings and torture, in many cases leading to death, of Moroccan prisoners of war who were formerly held in

2701-465: The Polisario Front, although without clear effect to date. Its various ministries are responsible for a variety of services and functions. The judiciary , complete with trial courts, appeals courts and a supreme court , operates in the same areas. As a government-in-exile , 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

2774-499: 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

2847-418: The SADR, with Vietnam being the only nation not hosting an embassy but only sending their own mission Sahrawi embassies exist in 18 states . Six UN states have other diplomatic relations, while a further nine UN nations and South Ossetia also recognize the state either by previous regimes or through international agreements in the past, but do not have any active relations at the moment (see foreign relations of

2920-518: The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic for more details). Paraguay, Australia, Brazil, and Sweden have all internally voted to recognize the SADR, but none have yet ratified it. Although it is not recognized by the UN, the SADR has held full membership of the African Union (AU, formerly the Organisation of African Unity , OAU) since 1982. Morocco withdrew from the OAU in protest during 1984, and from

2993-506: The Sahrawi exile community. A new 1999 Constitution of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic took a form similar to the parliamentary constitutions of many European states, but with some paragraphs suspended until the achievement of "full independence". Among key points, the head of state is constitutionally the Secretary General of the Polisario Front during what is referred to as the "pre-independence phase", with provision in

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3066-597: The United Nations. However, some countries that fulfill the declarative criteria, are recognised by the large majority of other states and are members of the United Nations are still included in the list here because one or more other states do not recognise their statehood, due to territorial claims or other conflicts. Some states maintain informal (officially non-diplomatic) relations with states that do not officially recognise them. Taiwan (the Republic of China)

3139-548: The academic institutions of ‘27 February’ and ‘12 October’ as well as various technical training centres (without forgetting that Tindouf campements count 90.000 refugees) . While teaching materials are still scarce, the literacy rate has increased from about 5% at the formation of the camps to 90% in 1995. Children's education is obligatory, and several thousands have received university educations in Algeria , Cuba and Spain as part of aid packages. The camps have 27 clinics ,

3212-596: The camps by Polisario against their will. However, the Central Intelligence Agency notes that there are about 100,000 refugees in Algerian sponsored camps near the town of Tindouf alone. The Tindouf area is located on the hammada , a vast desert plain of the Sahara Desert . Summer temperatures in this part of the hammada , historically known as "The Devil's Garden", are often above 50 °C and frequent sand storms disrupt normal life. There

3285-595: The camps continue to survive mainly on foreign and Algerian aid. Since the Polisario Front and Morocco are still at war, visits between the camps and the Moroccan-controlled parts of Western Sahara are virtually impossible, with the Moroccan Wall hindering movement through Western Sahara, and the Algeria–Morocco border closed added to the restriction on movement by the Polisario on the camps population. Thousands of families have been separated for up to 30 years,

3358-511: The camps during the 1990s, after Spain decided to pay pensions to Sahrawis who had been forcibly drafted as soldiers in the Tropas Nómadas during the colonial time. Money also came from Sahrawis working in Algeria or abroad, and from refugees who pursue a traditional bedouin and tuareg lifestyle, herding cattle in Algeria, Mauritania and the Polisario-held areas of Western Sahara. The private economy however remains very limited, and

3431-615: The camps in February 2006, prompting a crisis response from the UNHCR and the World Food Program (WFP), to replace destroyed housing with tents and provide food to cover for lost storages. The WFP has repeatedly expressed its concern over a shortage of donations, and warned of dire health consequences if needs are not met. The UNHCR warned in early 2007 that demands were not being met in the Sahrawi camps, and that malnutrition

3504-443: The camps lies with the Polisario. Camp residents are subject to the constitution and laws of SADR. A local justice system, with courts and prisons , is administered by Polisario. Local qadis ( sharia judges) have jurisdiction over personal status and family law issues. Polisario has prioritised education from the beginning, and the local authorities have established 29 preschools , 31 primary and seven secondary schools ,

3577-495: The camps were backed by some human rights organizations, which seems to have contributed to the release of the last of these prisoners by the summer of 2005. There are complaints of limitations on movement between the camps, with Morocco describing them as completely shut off from the outside world, but camp authorities maintain that this is untrue, and that they are simply engaged in registering movements for aid allocation purposes. Visiting human rights organizations have concluded that

3650-443: The camps' society, through emphasis on education, eradication of tribalism and emancipation of women. The role of Sahrawi women was central already in pre-colonial and colonial life, but was strengthened further during the war years (1975–1991), when Sahrawi women ran most of the camps' administration, while the men were fighting at the front. This, together with literacy and professional education classes, produced major advances in

3723-466: The camps, the Polisario has insisted on using mainly local staff for construction, teaching etc. It argues that this will help activate the refugee population, to avoid a sense of stagnation and hopelessness after 30 years in exile. However, jobs remain scarce and those Sahrawis educated at universities abroad can rarely if ever find opportunities to use their skills. Some Sahrawis work in nearby Tindouf city. A simple monetary economy began developing in

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3796-459: The camps. In 1998, UN's Minurso mission identified 42,378 voting-age adults in the camps, counting only those who had contacted the mission's registration offices and subsequently been able to prove their descent from pre-1975 Western Sahara. No attempt was made to estimate the total population number in the camps. The Moroccan government contends that the total number of refugees is around 45,000 to 50,000, and also that these people are kept in

3869-407: The case of the Holy See (1870–1929); Estonia , Latvia , and Lithuania (during Soviet annexation); and Palestine at the time of its declaration of independence in 1988. The Sovereign Military Order of Malta is currently in this position . See list of governments in exile for unrecognised governments without control over the territory claimed. State practice relating to the recognition of

3942-446: The conditions are troublesome with regard to basic subsistence, but that the human rights situation is satisfactory. An OHCHR (United Nations' human rights monitors) visit to both Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara and the Tindouf refugee camps in 2006 documented no complaints of human rights abuse in the camps, but stressed the need for more information. However, the report, which severely criticized Moroccan conduct in Western Sahara,

4015-409: The constitution for an eventual Western Saharan state include eventual multi-party democracy with a market economy . The constitution also defines Sahrawis as a Muslim , African and Arab people. The Constitution also declares a commitment to the principles of human rights and to the concept of a Greater Maghreb , as a regional variant of Pan-Arabism . Since August 1982, the highest office of

4088-442: 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

4161-530: 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 . 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

4234-403: The declarative criteria (with de facto partial or complete control over their claimed territory, a government and a permanent population), but whose statehood is not recognised by any other states. Non-recognition is often a result of conflicts with other countries that claim those entities as integral parts of their territory. In other cases, two or more partially recognised states may claim

4307-746: The foundation of the Republic . The official currency of the SADR is the Sahrawi peseta ; though, in practice, the Algerian dinar and Mauritanian ouguiya are the main currencies used within the controlled territories. The Moroccan dirham is also accepted, though it is mainly only used in the Moroccan-occupied territories. All data about demographic information regarding Western Sahara are extremely error-prone, regardless of source. Most countries take censuses every ten years, and some every five in order to stay abreast of change and miscounts;

4380-410: The four wilayas (districts) are divided into six or seven daïras (villages), which are in turn divided into hay s or barrios (neighborhoods). Local committees distribute basic goods, water and food, while "daïra" authorities made up by the representatives of the "hays" organize schools, cultural activities and medical services. Some argue that this results in a form of basic democracy on

4453-685: The headquarters of the 6th military region of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic . The refugee camps are governed by Polisario , being administratively part of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). SADR's government in exile and administration are located in the Rabouni camp. The Tindouf camps are divided into administrative sub-units electing their own officials to represent the neighbourhoods in political decision-making. Each of

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4526-419: The last count was conducted in 1970, and even that data by colonial Spain is considered unreliable due to large nomadic populations. Following the 1975 Green March , the Moroccan state has sponsored settlement schemes enticing thousands of Moroccans to move into the Moroccan-occupied part of Western Sahara (80% of the territory). By 2015, it was estimated that Moroccan settlers made up at least two thirds of

4599-436: The level of camp administration, and that this has improved the efficiency of aid distribution. Women are active on several levels of administration, and UNHCR has appraised their importance in camp administration and social structures. Algeria does not intervene in their organization. While the Algerian military has a significant presence in the nearby city of Tindouf, Algeria insists that responsibility for human rights in

4672-399: The majority of refugee camps in the level of self-organization. Most affairs and camp life organization are run by the refugees themselves, with little outside interference. The camps are divided into five wilayat (districts) named after towns in Western Sahara; El Aaiun , Awserd , Smara , Dakhla and more recently Cape Bojador (or the daira of Bojador). In addition, there is

4745-436: The parliamentary Sahrawi National Council (SNC; the present speaker is Hamma Salama ). 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 and to disentangle the republic's structures from those of

4818-466: The people of Western Sahara have a right to " self-determination 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 colonial administration. While the claimed capital is the former Western Sahara capital El-Aaiún (which

4891-648: 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 , who appoints the Prime Minister , presently Bouchraya Hammoudi Bayoun . 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

4964-605: The role of women in Sahrawi society. The return of large numbers of Sahrawi men since the cease fire in 1991 may have slowed this development according to some observers, but women still run a majority of the camps' administration, and the Sahrawi women's union UNMS is very active in promoting their role. Two women who had been residents of the camps however claimed that women in the refugee camps are deprived of their fundamental rights and are victims of exclusion and sexual aggression. While there are several international organizations ( ECHO , WFP , Oxfam , UNHCR , etc.) working in

5037-401: The same territorial area, with each of them de facto in control of a portion of it (for example, North Korea and South Korea , or the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the People's Republic of China ). Entities that are recognised by only a minority of the world's states usually reference the declarative doctrine to legitimise their claims. In many situations, international non-recognition

5110-433: The time of South Africa '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 and the New Asian–African Strategic Partnership , over Moroccan objections to SADR participation. The SADR also participated in a conference of the Permanent Conference of Political Parties of

5183-400: Was known as Spanish Sahara , a Spanish colony (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 . The SADR was proclaimed by the Polisario Front on 27 February 1976, in Bir Lehlou , Western Sahara. The SADR government calls the territories under its control the Liberated Territories or

5256-444: Was severe. Refugees International has noted that the situation is especially precarious in Dakhla, the most inaccessible of the camps. In October 2015, heavy rainfalls flooded the refugee camps again, destroying houses (made of sand-bricks), tents and food provisions. More than 11,000 families were affected. The European Commission refers to the Sahrawi refugees as the "forgotten refugees". Polisario has attempted to modernize

5329-476: Was slammed as biased and partisan by the Moroccan government. In April 2010, the Sahrawi government had called the UN to supervise human rights in the liberated territories and refugee camps, stating that "We are ready to fully cooperate with UN human rights observers in the territory under our control. The United Nations should take this proposal seriously, and ask Morocco to do likewise". On 23 October 2011, three European humanitarian aid workers were kidnapped in

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