The Royal Institute for Strategic Studies (IRES) just published a book entitled “White Paper on the Moroccan Sahara”, which traces the origins of the artificial dispute surrounding the Moroccan Sahara and recalls the foundations of Morocco's sovereignty over its Southern Provinces.
The White Paper delves into the origins of the dispute over the Moroccan Sahara, recalls the foundations of the Kingdom's sovereignty over its territory, presents the current state of the populations residing there, and highlights progress made on development as a result of Morocco's sustained efforts under the enlightened leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI.
The book also showcases the living conditions in Morocco's Sahara are in sharp contrast to the precarious conditions of the camps in Tindouf.
The publication includes four parts. The first, entitled "The colonial dismantling of the Cherifian Empire in the 19th and 20th centuries", explains how the Cherifian Empire had internationally recognized borders at the time of its colonization, how Saharan tribes have always been Moroccan, and how Morocco has consistently complied with international legality with regard to the Sahara issue.
Building on the Royal Vision, the book's second part highlights the current situation in the Moroccan Sahara, focusing on the primacy of decentralized development, the development momentum instilled by the Morocco’s state, and national and regional strategies putting people first.
The third part looks at the situation in the camps of Tindouf, a lawless territory within Algeria. It discusses divisions within Polisario, a destabilizing force in the Sahel region.
The final chapter of the White Paper explains how Algeria, a party to the Sahara conflict, has instrumentalized the conflict, persistently fomenting it to the detriment of economic development in the Maghreb, and systematically, since the Kingdom's independence, rebuffed Morocco's overtures.
The White Paper includes a chronology and a list of over 130, mostly foreign, bibliographical references.