Development of the Peace Process in the Western Sahara Conflict

Colonized by Spain in 1884, The Western Sahara has been a theater of dispute between different actors in different times. Spain relinquished the administration of this territory to Morocco and Mauritania under the Madrid accords treaty in 1976. The Polisario rejected this treaty and waged guerrilla warfare mainly against Morocco. After fifteen years of a fierce military struggle, the United Nations UN brokered a ceasefire in 1991 that ended the war and started a new episode of a long and unproductive peace process. From the settlement plan through the Baker plans to the 2007 proposals by both parties, no plan seemed to end this dispute. The UN was stuck in the middle of a complex dispute that more than two parties are believed to be involved in. The researcher explores the reasons that caused the failure of the peace process in a chronological manner. He walks through the milestone events to provide a better understanding of the conflict. Through comprehensive analysis, the author devises solutions and elements that can produce a definite settlement of the dispute over the Western Sahara.