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Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
  • الجمهورية العربية الصحراوية الديمقراطية (Arabic)
    al-Jumhūrīyah al-‘Arabīyah aṣ-Ṣaḥrāwīyah ad-Dīmuqrāṭīyah
  • República Árabe Saharaui Democrática (Spanish)
Flag of Western Sahara
Flag
Coat of arms of Western Sahara
Coat of arms
Motto: 
حرية، ديمقراطية، وحدة (Arabic)
Libertad, Democracia, Unidad (Spanish)
"Freedom, Democracy, Unity"
Anthem: يا بني الصحراء
Yā Banī aṣ-Ṣaḥrāʾ
"Oh, Sons of the Sahara!"
StatusState partially recognised by 46 UN member states and South Ossetia
Capital
and largest city
El Aaiún (de jure)
27°9′N 13°12′W / 27.150°N 13.200°W / 27.150; -13.200
Capital-in-exile
Official languages
Spoken
languages
Religion
Islam (official)
Demonym(s)
GovernmentUnitary one-party semi-presidential republic
• President
Brahim Ghali
Bouchraya Hammoudi Bayoun
LegislatureNational Council
Formation
14 November 1975
• Republic declared
27 February 1976
• Sovereignty disputed with Morocco
Ongoing
Area
• Total
266,000 km2 (103,000 sq mi) (claimed)
90,000 km2 (35,000 sq mi) (controlled) (77th)
• Water (%)
Negligible
Population
• Estimate
c. 200,000
• Refugee camps
173,600 (2023 estimate)[8]
• Liberated Territories
40,000 (2010 estimate)[9][b]
CurrencySahrawi peseta (de jure) (EHP)
De facto
Time zoneUTC+1 (WAT)
Date formatdd/mm/yyyy (AD)
Drives onright
ISO 3166 codeEH
Internet TLD.eh (reserved)

The Sahrawi Republic[e], formally the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic[f] (SADR), is a partially recognized state in the western Maghreb, located in North Africa. The SADR claims the territory of Western Sahara, controlling only the easternmost one-fifth of that territory (which it denominates the Liberated Territories) after a lengthy war with Morocco (which claims the territory as its Southern Provinces) which followed their invasion in 1975, leading to Spain leaving the territory, which the United Nations consider as a non-self governing territory. It borders Morocco to the north, Algeria to the east-northeast, Mauritania to the east and south and the North Atlantic Ocean to the west, where it also shares a maritime border with Spain's Canary Islands. The declared capital and largest city is El Aaiún, under Moroccan control.

The proclaimed capital-in-exile is the town of Tifariti, with the de facto day-to-day administration being managed from Rabuni in the Sahrawi refugee camps located near Tindouf, Algeria, where most of the population under Sahrawi administration live. The territory of Western Sahara is the second most sparsely populated territory after Greenland, with most estimates of the population of the territory or the number of Sahrawi people not exceeding a million people. The majority of the inhabitants of the territory are Moroccan settlers (constituting a direct violation of Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention), while the refugee camps have an estimated population of 173,600 people as of 2023.[8][11]

The Sahrawi Republic was proclaimed on 27 February 1976 in Bir Lehlu by the Polisario Front immediately after the Spanish disengagement. Since then up to 84 countries have recognised the Republic at some point, with 46 out of of a total of 193 United Nations member states currently upholding such recognition. Several states that do not recognize the Sahrawi Republic nonetheless recognize the Polisario Front as the legitimate representative of the Sahrawi people, but not as the government-in-exile of a sovereign state. The Sahrawi Republic is a full founding member of the African Union, having joined the former Organisation of African Unity on 22 February 1982.

The Sahrawi Republic is a one-party semi-presidential republic with legislative power vested in the Sahrawi National Council. The Constitution gives the Polisario Front (an internationally recognised national liberation movement) a political hegemony, with the Front's structures being parallel to those of the SADR and elections being held under a non-partisan participatory democracy.[12] Nonetheless, the Constitution stipulates that the current political system is a transitory emergency mechanism, with the intention to establish a multi-party system as soon as the SADR manages to establish its authority in all of Western Sahara and then Polisario then having to either be dissolved or transformed into an ordinary political party.

Etymology

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The name Sahrawi is the romanization of the Arabic word Ṣaḥrāwī (صحراوي), meaning 'inhabitant of the desert', with Ṣaḥrāwī deriving from the Arabic word Ṣaḥrāʼ (Arabic: صحراء, lit. 'desert').

History

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Main article: History of Western Sahara

Ancient and classical antiquity

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Islamisation of Western Sahara

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Colonial era

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Main article: Spanish Sahara
 
Engraving depicting the exploratory works led by Emilio Bonelli in the Río de Oro Peninsula.

The territory of Western Sahara came under Spanish rule after the Berlin Conference, establishing a protectorate in the coast between Cape Bojador and Ras Nouadhibou (Cabo Blanco) after an expedition commanded by Emilio Bonelli in 1884 led to an agreement with the Ulad Bu Sba tribe, setting up a permanent Spanish colonial presence in Villa Cisneros.[13] The Ulad Delim attacked the fort in 1885 after it deemed itself marginalised from the deal signed by the Ulad Bu Sbaa.[14] Spain also attempted to establish a protectorate the Emirate of Adrar (in modern-day Mauritania), signing the Idjil Treaties in 1886 with the ruling Emir and several tribes present there; with Spain shortly comunicating later to the colonial powers its control of the region of Western Sahara.[15] A colonial expedition launched by Álvarez Pérez in 1886 also secured the Tekna Zone in the north for the Spaniards. The border between the Spanish and French colonial possessions was officially delimited in 1900, with Spain dividing the Spanish Sahara into two regions: Saguia el-Hamra and Río de Oro. Spain managed to get Cape Juby (Tekna Zone) as the southern protectorate of Morocco after the French and Spanish protectorates were established in 1912 as a concession from France.[16]

Sahrawi nationalism

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Main article: Sahrawi nationalism
 
Polisario Front supporters protesting at the congress of the pro-Spanish Sahrawi National Union Party.

Western Sahara conflict

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Main article: Western Sahara conflict

Geography

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Main article: Geography of Western Sahara
 
Topographical map of Western Sahara.

Western Sahara, the territory the Sahrawi Republic claims, is located on the northwest coast in West Africa and on the cusp of North Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean to the northwest, Morocco to the north-northeast, Algeria to the east-northeast, and Mauritania to the east and south. Sahrawi territory covers 266,000 km2 (103,000 sq mi), with internal waters being negligible. The territory controlled by the Sahrawi Republic (known by the SADR as the Liberated Territories) cover 90,000 km2 (35,000 sq mi), or around a quarter of the territory of Western Sahara.

Western Sahara has a 1,110 kilometres (690 mi) long coastline, with almost all of it being occupied by Morocco. The Ras Nouadhibou peninsula was the only sea access of the SADR, with administration ceded to Mauritania, but direct access to the Peninsula was lost after an eight Moroccan berm was built after clashes in 2020. While the area can experience flash flooding in the spring, there are no permanent streams. Wadis exist in the country, with the most important ones being Saguia el-Hamra (and its affluent Oued el Khatt) and Khatt Atui. At times, a cool off-shore current can produce fog and heavy dew. The terrain is mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast.

Climate

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Main article: Climate of Western Sahara
 
Köppen climate classification map of Western Sahara.

Western Sahara has a hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification BWh). Annual average rainfall is below 50 millimetres (2.0 in) everywhere. Along the Atlantic coast, averages high and low temperatures are constant and very moderated throughout the year because cool offshore ocean currents considerably cool off the climate, especially during the day. However, summertime is long and extremely hot and wintertime is short and very warm to truly hot further in the interior, where cooling marine influences aren't felt anymore. Average high temperatures exceed 40 °C (104 °F) in summer during a prolonged period of time but can reach as high as 50 °C (122 °F) or even more in places such as Smara, Tichla, Bir Ganduz, Bir Anzarán, Agüenit, Auserd and others. Average high temperatures exceed 20 °C (68 °F) in winter but average low temperatures can drop to 7 °C (45 °F) in some places. The sky is usually clear and bright throughout the year and sunny weather is the norm.

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.[17]

Biodiversity

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See also: Wildlife of Western Sahara

Over 350 bird species have been found in the territory of Western Sahara.

Politics

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Main articles: Politics of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic and Elections in the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
 
Brahim Ghali
President
since 2016

The Sahrawi Republic is a one-party semi-presidential republic.

The head of state is the President, who also serves as the Secretary General of the Polisario Front. The President is elected by a Congress of the Polisario Front for a term of three years, which can be extraordinarily extended to four. The current President is Brahim Ghali, who was first elected after the death of Mohamed Abdelaziz in an extraordinary congress in 2016. He was last re-elected in 2023.

Law

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Main article: Constitution of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

Foreign relations

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Main article: Foreign relations of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

The foreign relations of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic are conducted by the SADR Ministry of Foreign Affairs in countries that recognise that SADR and by the Polisario Front in countries that do not officially recognise the SADR. 84 United Nations member states have recognised the SADR at some point, with 46 out of 193 UN member states currently maintaining the recognition as of 2023. Several states that do not recognize the Sahrawi Republic and the United Nations nonetheless recognize the Polisario Front as the legitimate representative of the Sahrawi people, but not as the government-in-exile of a sovereign state.

Military

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Main article: Sahrawi People's Liberation Army
 
Women soldiers in 1980

The Sahrawi People's Liberation Army (SPLA) was founded in 10 May 1973 as the armed wing of the Polisario Front, lauching its first attack on 20 May against Francoist Spain. After the Moroccan invasion of Western Sahara and the Madrid Accords in which Spain handed out the territory of Western Sahara to Morocco and Mauritania, the SPLA changed its focus from fighting the Spanish colonial administration to resisting the joint Morocccan-Mauritanian invasion and attempt at partitioning the territory in the context of the 1975-1991 Western Sahara War. After the declaration of independence the SPLA became the army of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.

Its commander-in-chief is the President of the SADR, who is also the general secretary of the Polisario Front. The army is fully integrated into the SADR Ministry of Defence. The SPLA currently has no navy or air force, although a naval unit was created in 1977 to attack boats fishing illegally on the territorial waters of Western Sahara.[18] Its armed units are considered to have a manpower of around 5,000–7,000 active soldiers today[18], but during the war years its strength appears to have increased to 100,000 men. It has a potential manpower of many times that number, since all refugees in the Sahrawi refugee camps undergo military training at age 18. Women formed auxiliary units protecting the camps during war years.

The army has been involved in the Second Western Sahara War since 13 November 2020.

Administrative divisions

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The Sahrawi Republic is a unitary country divided in wilayas, (Arabic: ولايات, romanized: wilāyat, lit. 'regions') subdivided into dairas (Arabic: دوائر, romanized: dawāʾir, lit. 'circles; districts') which are further subdivided into municipalities (Arabic: بلديات, romanized: baladiyāt). This administrative division is currently only applied in the Sahrawi refugee camps, with the Liberated Territories being instead organised into military regions, with eight civil municipalities being established there in 2012.

Sahrawi refugee camps
Wilaya Population (2018)[11] Dairas
Auserd 36,400 Agüenit, Bir Ganduz, La Agüera, Miyek, Tichla, Zug
Bojador 16,500 Akti, Lemsid, 27 of February
Dajla 19,500 Ain El Beida, Argub, Bir Anzarán, Gleibat El Fula, Jreifia, Tiniguir, Um Dreiga
El Aaiún 50,500 Amgala, Bucraa, Daura, Dcheira, Guelta, Hagunía
Smara 50,700 Bir Lehlu, Farsia, Hausa, Jdería, Mahbes, Mheiriz
Rabuni Administrative centre of the Sahrawi refugee camps, de facto capital of the SADR.
Liberated Territories
Military region Municipalities
First Zug
Second Tifariti, Bir Tiguissit
Third Mijek
Fourth Mehaires
Fifth Bir Lehlu
Sixth Dougaj
Seventh Agüenit

Economy

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Resources

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Phosphates conveyor belt between Bucraa and El Marsa, the longest in the world.

Infrastructure

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Demographics

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Religion

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Main article: Religion in Western Sahara
See also: Catholic Church in Western Sahara
 
Zawiya of Cheikh Ma al-'Aynayn in Smara.

The predominant religion practiced by Sahrawis is the Maliki school of Sunni Islam, which is constitutionally recognised as the official religion of the Sahrawi Republic and a source of law. Virtually all Sahrawis identify as Muslim according to 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 the St. Francis of Assisi Cathedral in El Aaiún and the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Dajla.

Language

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Main article: Languages of Western Sahara

The Constitution of the Sahrawi Republic defines Arabic as the sole constitutionally recognised official and national language of the Sahrawi Republic, with Modern Standard Arabic being the de facto preferred official administrative written linguistic register.[1] Hassaniya, a variety of Arabic also spoken in neighbouring countries such as Mauritania, is the common national and vernacular language of the Sahrawi people.

Spanish was introduced during 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.[6] Instituto Cervantes estimates that around 20,000 Sahrawis have limited competencies in Spanish.[19]

Education

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Health

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Culture

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Music

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Main article: Music of Western Sahara
 
Aziza Brahim performing at WOMEX 15, Budapest.

The Sahrawi people have a well-established music tradition shared with the rest of the Hassaniya-speaking region, known as haul (Arabic: الهول, romanized: al-hawl). Due to the context of the Western Sahara conflict, Sahrawi music has taken a very political turn in which the main topic has been the struggle for independence and decolonialism.[20]

The tbal is the basic instrument of percussion, though the traditional string instruments, tidinit and ardin, have largely been replaced by the electric guitar.[21]

Some of the most important modern Sahrawi artists include Mariem Hassan, Aziza Brahim, Najm Allal and the bands Tiris and El Wali.

Literature

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Media

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Cuisine

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Main article: Sahrawi cuisine

Sports

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Public holidays

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Main article: Public holidays in the Sahrawi Republic

Public holidays celebrated in the Sahrawi Republic include a mix of religious (Sunni Islam) and national observances. The national observances constitutionally defined on 1999, with religious observances being also added in 2003. In 2023 the list was removed from the Constitution, being replaced with a new article that gives the government the powers to define its own list of public holidays.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ It is described as the SADR's second official language[2][3][4][5][6]
  2. ^ Most of the civilian population has been relocated to the Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf after the outbreak of the Second Western Sahara War.
  3. ^ In the Moroccan-occupied territories.
  4. ^ The euro is informally accepted in the Sahrawi refugee camps.[10]
  5. ^ /səˈrɑːwi/ sə-RAH-wee; Arabic: الجمهورية الصحراوية, romanized: al-Jumhūrīyah aṣ-Ṣaḥrāwīyah; Spanish: República Saharaui, pronounced [reˈpuβlika sa(χa)ˈɾawi]
  6. ^ also spelled as Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic; Arabic: الجمهورية العربية الصحراوية الديمقراطية, romanized: al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʿArabīyah aṣ-Ṣaḥrāwīyah ad-Dīmuqrāṭīyah; Spanish: República Árabe Saharaui Democrática, [reˈpuβlik(a) ˈaɾaβe sa(χa)ˈɾawi ðemoˈkɾatika] ⓘ

References

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  1. ^ a b Article 3 of the Constitution of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (2023-01-17)
  2. ^ "الوفد الصحراوي سيحضر لقاء جنيف بإرادة صادقة للتقدم نحو الحل الذي يضمن حق الشعب الصحراوي في تقرير المصير والاستقلال" [The Saharawi delegation will attend the Geneva meeting with a sincere will to move towards a solution that guarantees the right of the Saharawi people to self-determination and independence] (in Arabic). Sahara Press Service. 29 November 2018. Archived from the original on 25 November 2023.
  3. ^ Besenyő, János; Huddleston, R. Joseph; Zoubir, Yahia H. (2022). Conflict and Peace in Western Sahara: The Role of the UN's Peacekeeping Mission (MINURSO). Taylor & Francis. p. 51. ISBN 978-10-0080733-2.
  4. ^ Chatty, Dawn, ed. (2010). Deterritorialized Youth: Sahrawi and Afghan Refugees at the Margins of the Middle East. Berghahn Books. p. 114. ISBN 978-1-84545-653-5.
  5. ^ Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, Elena (2015). South-South Educational Migration, Humanitarianism and Development Views from the Caribbean, North Africa and the Middle East. Routledge. p. 48. ISBN 978-1-135-07667-2.
  6. ^ a b Martos 2014, p. 1199–1202.
  7. ^ "El Español en los Campamentos de Refugiados Saharauis (Tinduf, Algeria)" (PDF). Cvc.cervantes.es. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 December 2016. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  8. ^ a b Sahrawi Refugee Response Plan 2024–2025 (Report). United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. November 2023. p. 14.
  9. ^ "Vivir sin nubes" [Living without clouds]. El País (in Spanish). 18 December 2010. En los alrededores de Tifariti sobreviven unas 40.000 personas, una población dispersa y nómada [...] según cifras oficiales. [In the vicinity of Tifariti, about 40,000 people survive, a dispersed and nomadic population [...] according to official figures.]
  10. ^ "Los campamentos de refugiados saharauis" [The Sahrawi refugee camps] (in Spanish). Una mirada al Sáhara Occidental. 26 December 2019. Archived from the original on 7 December 2023. Retrieved 21 October 2023. La divisa local es el dinar argelino, aunque se puede pagar casi todo en euros. La moneda mínima para hacer compras en los campamentos es el billete de 10€. [The local currency is the Algerian dinar, although you can pay almost everything in euros. The minimum currency to make purchases in the camps is the €10 bill.]
  11. ^ a b Sahrawi Refugees in Tindouf, Algeria: Total In‐Camp Population (PDF) (Report). United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. March 2018. p. 5-7. Retrieved 16 November 2023 – via Center for Studies on Western Sahara of the University of Santiago de Compostela.
  12. ^ Zunes 1988, p. 141.
  13. ^ de Dalmases y de Olabarría 2022, p. 28.
  14. ^ de Dalmases y de Olabarría 2022, p. 31.
  15. ^ de Dalmases y de Olabarría 2022, p. 34-36.
  16. ^ Oliver 1987, p. 12-13.
  17. ^ Dinerstein, Eric; et al. (2017). "An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm". BioScience. 67 (6): 534–545. doi:10.1093/biosci/bix014. ISSN 0006-3568. PMC 5451287. PMID 28608869.
  18. ^ a b Garrido, Ana; Gómez, Enrique (2 January 2023). "Ejército de Liberación Popular Saharaui" [Sahrawi People's Liberation Army]. saharaoccidental.es (in Spanish). Una mirada al Sáhara Occidental. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  19. ^ El español: una lengua viva — Informe 2022 [Spanish: a living language — 2022 report] (PDF) (Report). Instituto Cervantes. 2022. p. 10. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  20. ^ Amoros 2020, p. 41, 46.
  21. ^ Amoros 2015, p. 37–38.

Bibliography

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Books

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Academic publications

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Websites

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Legislation and government source

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Constitutions
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Further reading

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