West’s role in Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara
April 20, 2024: On Dr. Zunes’ recent talk at the Gothenburg Science Festival on the West’s role in the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara. More at Western-Sahara.org
Category: Western Sahara/Morocco
Western Sahara/Morocco
Comparing US policy towards Palestinian & Western Saharan struggles for self-determination
U.S. Campaign to End the Moroccan Occupation newsletter April 11, 2024: A short essay comparing U.S. policy towards the Palestinian and Western Saharan struggles for self-determination: Western Sahara. [source]. More at Western-Sahara.org.
Interviews: Western Sahara/Morocco
Professor Stephen Zunes on Western Sahara, Russia, Ukraine, Biden, Israel and Morocco. February 2023 This is a very short segment of a story about Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara on a Swedish television network (in English, 2 min., 02/27/2024). Interview for a…
Russian aggression, US hypocrisy and is UAE a safe haven for oligarchs?
The Progressive, March 1, 2022: There’s No Justification for Russia’s Aggression, But U.S. Double Standards on Illegal War Are Hard to Stomach: Nothing can excuse Putin’s invasion, but the hypocrisy could hardly be more striking. Al Jazeera quotes Zunes March…
Interview: Speaking of Palestine: The Occupations of Western Sahara and Palestine
KBBF Radio: Zunes on the occupation of Western Sahara and much more, plus Palestine Update and some poems by Naomi Shihab Nye. Find more at Western-Sahara.org.
KZFR Peace and Justice: U.S. and Western Sahara
KZFR public radio, Chico, CA, 11 February 2022 [Audio’s no longer available. Find more at Western-Sahara.org]
U.S. and Western Sahara
WHMP Bill Newman Show, KZFR public radio, Chico, CA, 9 Feb. 2022 (Zunes begins at 39:00). Find more at Western-Sahara.org.
Western Sahara: Oberlin Club of Washington, DC
January 24, 2022 Zoom: The UN and the World Court have called for the Sahrawi population to be allowed the right of self-determination. The U.S. meanwhile, remains the only country in the world that formally recognizes Moroccan sovereignty over Western…
Biden’s Dangerous Refusal to Reverse Trump’s Western Sahara Policy
In his final weeks in office, President Donald Trump stunned the international community in formally recognizing Western Sahara as part of Morocco. Morocco has occupied much of its southern neighbor since 1975, when it invaded and annexed the former Spanish colony in defiance of the United Nations Security Council and a landmark ruling of the International Court of Justice.
US Western Sahara stance emboldens Putin
The threat of further Russian aggression against Ukraine is very real. Unfortunately, the Biden administration is in a weak position to lead an international response.
Tufts University: Western Sahara
12 November 2021 (begins at 23:10, but item is no longer available). See the Archives, Blog and Reviews at Western-Sahara.org.
Stephen Zunes, co-author (with Jacob Mundy) of book ‘Western Sahara’
See WSahara.stephenzunes.org for reviews, related articles, audio and video, and to order the book.
Will Biden Admin Reverse Trump’s “Dangerous” Recognition of Morocco’s Occupation of Western Sahara?
DemocracyNow! Feb. 5, 2021, full transcript and video President Donald Trump broke with decades of U.S. foreign policy in the waning days of his administration and recognized Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, a territory the country has occupied since 1975…
Western Sahara: The Struggle for Self-Determination
This article is no longer available. See WSahara.stephenzunes.org for reviews, related articles, audio and video, and to order the book.
Trump’s deal on Morocco’s Western Sahara annexation risks more global conflict
Last week, President Trump formally recognized Morocco’s annexation of Western Sahara as part of a deal to get Morocco to normalize relations with Israel. But Morocco’s claim on Western Sahara is rejected by the United Nations, the World Court, the African Union and a broad consensus of international legal scholars that consider the region a non-self-governing territory that must be allowed an act of self-determination. This is why no country had formally recognized Morocco’s takeover — until now.
Trump Recognized Morocco’s Illegal Occupation to Boost the Israeli Occupation
On December 10, the United States became the only country to formally recognize Morocco’s illegal annexation of Western Sahara, the former Spanish colony forcibly seized by Moroccan forces in 1975. Trump’s proclamation is directly counter to a series of UN Security Council resolutions and a landmark World Court ruling calling for self-determination.
The East Timor Model Offers a Way out for Western Sahara and Morocco
it’s not often that Western Sahara makes international headlines, but in mid November it did: Nov. 14 marked the tragic—if unsurprising—breakup of a tenuous, 29-year cease-fire in Western Sahara between the occupying Moroccan
government and pro-independence fighters. The outbreak of violence is concerning not only because it flew in the face of nearly three decades of relative stasis, but also because Western governments’ reflexive response to the resurgent conflict may be to upend—and thereby hamper and delegitimize for perpetuity—more than 75 years of established international legal principles. It is imperative that the global community realize that, in both Western Sahara and Morocco, the path forward lies in adhering to international law, not overriding it.
Western Sahara-Morocco dispute remains stalemated as federation proposal advanced
The New Arab August 19, 2016
Stephen Zunes’ Testimony before the UN conference on decolonization
My interest in the dispute over Western Sahara is based not simply upon my belief in justice for that country’s people, but its implications in regard to international law and the principles upon which the United Nations organization is founded. These include the right of self-determination by non-self-governing territories and the inadmissibility of any country expanding its territory by force. Since I am not from Western Sahara, I have no stake as to whether the people of that country choose integration with Morocco, independence, or some sort of autonomy within the Moroccan kingdom. However, as a non-self-governing territory, they must have the right to make that choice.