Human rights in Western Sahara

Part of a series on the
Western Sahara conflict
Background
Spanish Sahara Greater Morocco Greater Mauritania Moroccan Army of Liberation Movement for the Liberation of Saguia el Hamra and Wadi el Dhahab Polisario Front Sahrawi National Union Party Madrid Accords Partition agreement
Regions
Saguia el-Hamra Río de Oro Southern Provinces Tiris al-Gharbiyya Free Zone
Politics
Annexation of Western Sahara Political status of Western Sahara Foreign relations of Morocco Makhzen Politics of the SADR Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs
Clashes
Ifni War Zemla Intifada Western Sahara War First Intifada Independence Intifada Gdeim Izik Arab Spring protests 2020–present clashes Timeline
Issues
Refugees camps Sahrawi nationality Green March Moroccan settlers Moroccan Wall Human rights
Peace process
UN resolutions UN visiting mission UN referendum mission ICJ Advisory Opinion Settlement Plan Houston Agreement Baker Plan Manhasset negotiations Autonomy Proposal
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The Government of Morocco sees Western Sahara as its Southern Provinces. The Moroccan government considers the Polisario Front as a separatist movement given the alleged Moroccan origins of some of its leaders.

The Polisario Front argues that according to international organizations, like the United Nations or the African Union, the territory of Western Sahara has the right of self-determination, and that according to those organizations Morocco illegally occupies the parts of Western Sahara under its control. Polisario regards this as a consequence of the vision of a Great Morocco, fuelled in the past by the Istiqlal and Hassan II, and considers itself a national liberation movement aiming at leading the disputed territory to independence under the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.

The European Union, the African Union and the United Nations do not recognize the sovereignty of Morocco over Western Sahara.