My PeaceWomen
Text Larger- Home
- |
- Donate
- |
- About Us
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- About 1325
- |
- MENA
Western Sahara
Western Sahara has a population estimated at 260,000 with an area of 252,120 sq km (97,344 sq miles). The main town is Laayoune. The major language is Arabic.
Western Sahara is the subject of a decades-long dispute between Morocco and the Algerian-backed Polisario Front. The region has been under Moroccan control since 1976. However, the Polisario was set up on May 10, 1973 and established itself as the sole representative of the Saharan people. Polisario led a guerrilla war against Moroccan forces until 1991. Some 100,000 refugees still live in Polisario's camps in Algeria.
-
Western Sahara has a UN peacekeeping mandate: United Nations Missions for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO)
Sources:BBC; Amnesty International; UNIFEM
View All
News
-
July 25, 2011 (MoroccoBoard)
WESTERN SAHARA: Women Refugees Denounce Dicatorship; Corruption at Camps Association for the development of Saharawi Women, led by Salma Buha Mint Bubacar Lecuara, president of the association and Fatma Ahmed Essbiti, its secretary, held a conference on july 21, 2011 at The Emperor hotel in Madrid. Ana Camacho a senior journalist with El País intervened in support of the two speakers. Also attended the ceremony Mohamed Salem jaddou a member of the association. -
April 19, 2011 (Canadian Press)
WESTERN SAHARA: US And Key Nations Disagree With Independence Supporters On Human Rights In Western Sahara The U.S. and other key nations are backing a new U.N. resolution on the disputed Western Sahara that mentions human rights for the first time, but the group promoting independence for the mineral-rich north African territory said Tuesday it doesn't go far enough. -
December 18, 2009 (BBC News)
WESTERN SAHARA: Activist Aminatou Haidar Expelled A Western Sahara activist expelled by Morocco has been allowed to return from Spain after maintaining a hunger strike for 32 days. Aminatou Haidar, 42, left Lanzarote airport in the Canary Islands on a small, private plane after a deal was reached, details of which are unclear.
View All
Resources
- Monthly Action Points (MAP) on Women, Peace and Security, NGOWG, April 2011, NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security, April 1, 2011 | Download PDF
View All
Initiatives
- BLOG: Another Year for MINURSO Doing Nothing In Western Sahara, Online Dialogues & Blogs, , May 4, 2010
- Appeal to the International Community: Saharawi Human Rights Defensors, Campaigns, September 29, 2003
- Freedom & Justice for the 526 Saharawi Disappeared , Appeals & Demonstrations, , November 2002
- IV Congress of the National Union of Sahara Women , Conferences & Meetings, , March 29, 2002
- International Day of Solidarity with the Dissappeared Saharawis , Appeals & Demonstrations, , June 5, 1999
Download
Close