Do you know how many countries there are in Africa today? There are 54 UN member states, and the African Union (AU), which just recently recognized Morocco’s membership, has 55 countries. How can that be? The key is “Western Sahara,” located in northwestern Africa. Western Sahara is a region south of Morocco with a population of 567,000 and an area of 252,120 square kilometers. Western Sahara is not a member state of the United Nations. However, Western Sahara is a member state of the AU. Thus, the number of countries in Africa varies depending on whether one counts by the UN or by the AU.

Western Sahara landscape (SHUKASAMI/shutterstock.com)

Why has this situation come about? It is tied to the history of Western Sahara. In 1975, Spain was preparing to withdraw from Western Sahara, which had been its colony. However, without granting autonomy to Western Sahara, Spain concluded a secret treaty with Morocco and Mauritania, under which the north of Western Sahara would be administered by Morocco and the south by Mauritania. In response, the Polisario Front was formed to seek independence for Western Sahara and launched an armed struggle against both parties. The Polisario Front later signed a ceasefire with Mauritania, and Mauritania renounced its claim to the south, but Morocco annexed that area as well, further intensifying the confrontation between Morocco and the Polisario Front. It was not until 1991 that, with UN mediation, the two sides reached a peace agreement and decided that Western Sahara’s independence would be determined by a referendum. However, due to disputes over the definition of Western Saharan residents eligible to vote—stemming from Morocco’s settlement of large numbers of Moroccans in Western Sahara—the referendum has still not been held.

According to the UN’s legal opinions, including those of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the UN Office of Legal Affairs, “Western Sahara is not part of Morocco.” The UN General Assembly also lists Western Sahara as a territory to be decolonized. In reality, however, Morocco has built a massive “sand wall” stretching about 2,700 km and occupies roughly two-thirds of Western Sahara’s territory as its own. Morocco has also planted many landmines around the sand wall, making it the longest minefield in the world.

Minefield along the sand wall (Lukas Hlavac/shutterstock.com)

In Morocco, fisheries and mineral resources occupy an important place in the national economy. Moroccan fisheries are a major foreign-currency-earning industry, employing more than 100,000 Moroccans. Morocco is also Africa’s largest fish market. Mining centers on phosphates, for which the country boasts the world’s largest reserves. Mineral resources are concentrated in the fault zones of the Atlas Mountains and are thought to be the result of the mountains’ orogenic activity. But are these fishery and mineral resources produced only in Morocco? Western Sahara, which Morocco occupies, has a coastline, and it is said that 55% of the fish Morocco produces is taken from Western Saharan waters. Phosphate mines are included as well. In fact, in terms of reserves, Western Sahara ranks second in the world, and about 10% of Morocco’s phosphate production is said to come from mines in Western Sahara.

Morocco’s trading partners are not unrelated to this issue when it comes to fisheries. For example, in fisheries, the United States and Japan—Morocco’s largest trading partners—can be said to be deeply involved. Japan is the largest importer from Morocco of products such as octopus, and about 70% of the frozen octopus Japan imports comes from Morocco. In light of the above, that should include octopus from Western Saharan waters, yet the packages of octopus on store shelves are labeled not “Product of Western Sahara” but simply “Product of Morocco.”

The same can be said for mineral resources. In minerals, Morocco’s largest trading partner is India, followed by China and Canada. As with fisheries, in India and elsewhere phosphates “from Western Sahara” are labeled as “Product of Morocco.”

Fishing boats in Western Sahara By YoTuT [CC-BY-2.0]

The EU, which signed a fisheries agreement, as well as trade partners like the United States and Japan, can be said to condone—and thereby encourage—Morocco’s occupation. In mineral resources, India and China have come to play that role. Morocco’s FTA with the EU, signed in 1996, entered into force in 2000, and the EU is Morocco’s largest trading partner. In 2015, the EU accounted for 55.7% of Morocco’s total trade, and 61% of its exports. Looking at individual countries, France is Morocco’s largest trading partner, followed by Spain—both core EU countries. Geographically, Morocco is also a transit route for migrants and refugees from Africa to Europe. From the EU’s perspective, Morocco holds an important key to preventing migration. From these perspectives, it is clear the EU wishes to maintain friendly relations with Morocco, which explains why it has intentionally ignored the issue of Western Sahara until now.

However, on December 21 last year (2016), the European Court of Justice (ECJ) finally handed down a ruling on this issue. The court held that the trade agreements between the EU and Morocco do not apply to Western Sahara. Since Morocco had been exporting to the EU products including those from south of Western Sahara, such as fishery products, the ECJ’s decision will have major repercussions not only for trade but also politically.

In light of this ruling, it is clear that Morocco will have to make important diplomatic decisions going forward. It may risk damaging relations with its most important export market. It may also shift its focus to major trading partners that do not view the occupation of Western Sahara as problematic. Morocco has also rejoined the AU—what developments will that bring? And now that the previously ambiguous question of sovereignty over Western Sahara has been clearly rejected in trade terms, how will Morocco respond? Will the EU ruling affect countries like the United States and Japan that do not respect Western Sahara’s status under international law? There are many such issues that will require continued attention.

Writer: Sota Kamei
Graphic: Mai Ishikawa