Western Sahara

Last Updated: 31 July 2012

Cluster Munition Ban Policy

The sovereignty of Western Sahara remains the subject of a dispute between the government of Morocco and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguía el Hamra and Río de Oro (Polisario). Polisario’s Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic is a member of the African Union, but is not universally recognized. It has no official representation in the UN, which prevents formal accession to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

In June 2012, a representative of the Polisario Front informed the Monitor that Polisario supports the prohibition on cluster munitions.[1] The representative also stated that the Polisario does not possess cluster munitions and had never used them.[2]

The Royal Moroccan Armed Forces used artillery-fired and air-dropped cluster munitions against Polisario in Western Sahara during their conflict from 1975 to 1991.

[1] Interview with Dr. Limam El Jalil, Representative, Representative of POLISARIO Front to the United Nations in Geneva, Geneva, 27 June 2012.

[2] Ibid.