Os Conflitos entre o Marrocos e a República Democrática Árabe Saharui

Abstract

Western Sahara is the only African continental territory that still does not have independence. The reason is the troubled historical process, associated with erroneous action by the United Nations, which caused a fifteen-year war and a forty-year wait for the Saharawi people, both those who live in the territory occupied by Morocco and those who are waiting that day in the refugee camps in Tindouf, Algeria. In order to deal with the problem raised and based on the specialized literature consulted, we outline the following general objective: Understanding the factors of conflicts between Morocco and the Saharwi Arab Democratic Republic. For our work we use three specific objectives: To describe the causes of conflicts between Morocco and Western Sahara; Explain the interference of regional and international actors in the conflicts between Morocco and Western Sahara; enumerate the consequences of the dispute between Morocco and Western Sahara. The methods used were: historical and comparative method and we selected bibliographical and documentary research, and interviews as instruments aimed at data collection. However, it was verified that, effectively, the conflict in the Saharawi territory started in 1976, after the signing of the Madrid Agreement. That agreement represented, in practice, an affront to the principle of self-determination of peoples, established by the UN Charter, in 1945. Since the beginning of the conflict, it has been verified that the economic, strategic and geopolitical interests of important external actors in the region, mainly from Spain, France and the United States, underpinned the dynamics surrounding the Sahrawi issue.