The United Nations, the European Union, and AU have all reiterated their support for the UN process on Western Sahara, albeit in muted tones. Regional risksA more serious threat is that the Western Sahara dispute will create further unrest in an already-tumultuous region. The collapse last month of the 1991 ceasefire agreement – which promised a referendum on self-determination for Western Sahara – had both proximate and longer-term causes. Guerguerate lies in a buffer area between Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara and a “free zone” made up of land controlled by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). However, the UN has been without a special representative to Western Sahara since last year.

Source: The North Africa Journal December 17, 2020 12:00 UTC