Background
The Front Polisario is a national liberation movement and the UN-recognised representative of the Saharawi people. The Saharawi are the people of the Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony. As such, they hold the right to self-determination of colonial peoples – a right they were never allowed to exercise. In 1975, Morocco invaded the Western Sahara and has been in illegal occupation ever since. In 1976, the Polisario proclaimed the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic. The Saharawi Republic is a state in exile, has been recognised by eighty-four UN members, and is a full member of the African Union. It has fought a decades-long military, diplomatic, and legal battle for recognition and self-determination. After a 29-year ceasefire, fighting restarted in 2020.
Presentation
As one of the Polisario's foremost diplomatic strategists, Oubi Bouchraya Bachir will give an insider/outsider account of the current state of play. Beginning with an overview of the local dynamics in the occupied and liberated territories, Bachir will touch on the contemporary impediments to decolonisation before situating these within the regional context of the Maghreb, the rivalries between Morocco, Algeria, and Mauritania, and more broadly the African Union. Moving from the African context to the Global North, Bachir will sketch the positions of the major players France, Spain, and the US, before taking stock of the current situation in the UN Security Council, the EU, and the upcoming judgment of the European Court of Justice. Drawing on his experiences, he will offer insights on the strategic challenges national liberation movements face, how they move through different political, diplomatic, and legal environments – and what the strategic perspectives are for the future.
Educated in Conflicts, Peace, and Development at James I University, Castelló de la Plana, Bachir is a distinguished former member of the Polisario National Secretariat. His extensive diplomatic career has encompassed several pivotal roles, notably as Ambassador to Nigeria and Polisario Representative to the EU institutions in Brussels. Presently, he serves as the Polisario's Representative to the UN institutions in Geneva.