Breve historia del Sáhara Occidental

Western Sahara is an illustrative example of a conflict that the international community has allowed to deteriorate. As the United Nations has pointed out, this conflict does not attract a real effort from the international community because it goes unnoticed, does not touch the hard interests of the global powers and, apparently, does not pose a risk to international peace and security. Currently, two thirds of the territory of Western Sahara is illegally occupied by Morocco, where it has planted settlers and exploits natural resources, while nearly 200,000 Saharawis live in refugee camps in southwestern Algeria. In addition, since November 2020, armed hostilities have resumed between the Polisario Front and Morocco. On the other hand, the Western Sahara is one of the great pending issues in the recent history of Spain. The late Franco regime handed over its last colony and its population to Morocco, breaching its obligations and commitments to the United Nations. Since then, Spain has aligned itself with the occupier and has been a key player in the impunity created. This book does not pretend to exhaustively recapitulate the history of the Saharawis nor is it a linear and classic explanation of the conflict. It seeks to provide elements to understand what is happening, and for this it presents different aspects of the contemporary Saharawi reality and shows how it continues to be a relevant issue for Spain.