By 1975, Western Sahara had been a colony of Spain for almost 100 years. After decades of struggling towards a right for independence, with opposition from Spain, Morocco, and France, the International Court of Justice finally wrote an Advisory Opinion in October of 1975, declaring that neither Morocco to the north or Mauritania to the south had any rights to the Western Sahara.
To view the full document of the International Court of Justice ruling:
Go to www.icj-cij.org
From the list on the left, click “CASES”
Within the paragraph, click on the (Advisory proceedings) link
Scroll down to 1974- Western Sahara and click “more”
The clearest document is under “Summaries of Advisory Opinions and Orders”, but there is much more information available.
Ignoring not only this ruling, but also one that declared a right to referendum for independence, Morocco and Mauritania invaded on November 5, 1975 in what is known as the Green March. Thousands of Saharawi fled eastward for their lives carrying all that they could on their backs and eventually settled in the western corner of Algeria. It was there they waited for the end to a war between Moroccan troops and the Saharawi POLISARIO Front that would not see a cease-fire until 1991, which also brought hopes of fulfillment of the previously promised referendum. During that time a 1000 mile-long mud wall was built by Morocco, dividing the country of Western Sahara diagonally with the western side being occupied by Morocco, and the other 30% being kept by the POLISARIO. As countless families remain separated by this wall and as result of the war, approximately 140,000 refugees are still in the camps of Algeria….waiting.
Over the past 7 years that we have been involved with the Saharawi, the strongest request we get from them continually is to tell their story. We have been striving to tell their story around America, but believe that now is the time to take one more step and BE THEIR VOICE….
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