The Resource Curse and the Struggle for Self-Determination in Western Sahara

By Alvin Botes 

Sixty-five years ago today on March 21, 1960, in the township of Sharpeville, apartheid police opened fire on a peaceful protest against racist pass laws, killing 69 people and injuring hundreds more. South Africa (SA) now marks this day as Human Rights Day—a time to remember those who fought for our freedom, dignity, and self-determination.

Yet while we celebrate our own victory over oppression, we must not forget those still denied their fundamental rights. In North Africa, the Sahrawi people of Western Sahara have long been denied self-determination, first under Spanish colonialism and then under Morocco’s occupation since 1975. Decades after the rest of Africa shed colonial rule, Western Sahara remains Africa’s last colony.

In 1963, the United Nations (UN) formally listed Western Sahara as a non-self-governing territory, emphasizing the Sahrawi people’s right to decide their own future. Multiple UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolutions—beginning with Resolution 2072 (1965) and Resolution 2229 (1966)—affirmed this right and called for a referendum on self-determination. Spain, facing increasing UN pressure, appeared ready to grant independence to Western Sahara in the 1970s.

However, in 1975 Spain unilaterally transferred administrative authority over the territory to Morocco and Mauritania, disregarding UN resolutions and the rights of the Sahrawi people. The International Court of Justice dismissed both Morocco’s and Mauritania’s claims, reaffirming the Sahrawi right to self-determination. Despite this, Morocco continued its  occupation, sparking a 16-year armed conflict with the Polisario Front. Mauritania withdrew its claims in 1979, but the region remained under Moroccan control.

Morocco withdrew from the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in 1984 when the body recognised the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) as a member state. However, over the past decade, Morocco shifted tactics, deploying diplomatic and economic initiatives across Africa—such as trade deals, aid, and investments—to legitimise its  occupation. It rejoined the African Union (AU) in 2017, despite continuing to occupy Western Sahara, creating tensions within the AU among its member states, as well as human rights policy anomalies and contradictions.

A UN-brokered ceasefire in 1991 brought an end to open conflict and led to the establishment of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO). The mission promised the Sahrawis a vote on independence. Yet, more than three decades later, that referendum has never taken place. At the same time, human rights groups have documented arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, and extensive torture of Sahrawi activists. Thousands of refugees still reside in camps in Algeria, largely overlooked by the global community.

A major driver behind Morocco’s defiance of international law lies in its continued occupation of Western Sahara with its wealth of critical minerals and marine resources. The territory boasts one of the world’s largest phosphate reserves—particularly around the Bou Craa mine. Losing this mine would substantially diminish Morocco’s share of the global phosphate market. Morocco also suspects potential offshore oil and gas reserves in adjacent waters. Concessions granted to  international firms by Morocco have reinforced its leverage, and bolstered its diplomatic and economic standing. Moreover, the Atlantic coastal waters off Western Sahara are teaming with marine life, attracting global fishing fleets. By controlling Western Sahara, Morocco lays claim to an expansive exclusive economic zone , enabling lucrative fisheries agreements, export licenses, and fees. Ports like Laayoune and Dakhla, located in the occupied territory, serve as vital logistics hubs for the fishing industry.

This “resource curse” is not unique to Western Sahara. Similar struggles over critical minerals have fuelled conflicts worldwide, often accompanied by human rights abuses. It is believed that one of the reasons for the recent genocidal ethnic cleansing of Gaza for instance, is that Israel intends to control the recently discovered gas reserves off the coast of Gaza. Elsewhere in Africa, ongoing violence in regions like the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Cabo Delgado in Mozambique often stems from the pursuit of critical minerals and energy resources. Foreign and regional interests benefit from these extractive industries at the expense of local communities’ rights and well-being.

In commemorating Human Rights Day and recalling our own fight against Apartheid, SA has a moral and legal obligation—rooted in both international law and shared history—to support the Sahrawi people. Their plight mirrors the worst aspects of colonialism: dispossession, exploitation of land, critical mineral and maritime resources, and systematic denial of basic rights. If we believe in justice, the Sahrawis must be free to shape their own destiny.  

Patrice Lumumba once declared that “the day will come when history will speak… Africa will write its own history… it will be a history of glory and dignity.” The Sahrawis have waited decades for the world to honour its pledge of a referendum. South Africa’s Human Rights theme (2025) advocates for the ‘deepening of a culture of social justice and human rights’. Social justice for the Sahrawis will be occasioned through implementation of the UNGA resolution 1514 which is the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, proclaiming for the unconditional end of colonialism in all its forms and manifestations. 

* Alvin Botes is the Deputy Minister of International Relations & Co-operation in South Africa and Member of the 55th NEC of the ANC.

** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.