(In detail) (In detail)
National motto: Liberty, Democracy, Unity
Official language	Arabic (Spanish is widely used as a second language)
Capital and largest city	(العيون) - Arabic translitteration -- El Aaiún - Spanish translitteration -- Laâyoune - French translitteration; Bir Lehlou, temporary capital
President	Mohamed Abdelaziz
Prime Minister	Abdelkader Taleb Oumar
Area - Total - % water	Ranked 83rd 266,000 km² Negligible
Population - Total - Density	Ranked 182nd 267,405 (July 2004 est.) 1/km²
Independence - Declared - Claimed and controlled	From Spain February 27, 1976 By Morocco
Currency	Moroccan Dirham (MAD)
Time zone	UTC 0
National anthem	Yābaniy Es-Saharā (listen)
Internet TLD	None (.eh is reserved)
Calling Code	+ 212 (same code as Morocco)

The Saharawi (or Sahrawi) Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) (Arabic: الجمهورية العربية الصحراوية الديمقراطية, Spanish: República Árabe Saharaui Democrática (RASD)) is a largely unrecognised state that does not currently control the majority of its claimed territory, the former Spanish colony of Western Sahara. It was proclaimed on February 27, 1976 by the Polisario Front. Currently, Morocco administers the majority of the territory as its Southern Provinces; the rest is controlled by the SADR as the Free Zone. Download high resolution version (1600x800, 9 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Image File history File links Coat_of_arms_of_Western_Sahara. ... Flag of Western Sahara, ratio 1:2 The flag of Western Sahara is black, red, white and green, the Arab colors, with the crescent and star being a Muslim symbol. ... The coat of arms of Western Sahara, with golden olive branches. ... This page lists state and national mottos for the worlds independent states and their subdivisions. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... An official language is a language that is given a privileged legal status in a state, or other legally-defined territory. ... Arabic (; , less formally, ) is the largest member of the Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family (classification: South Central Semitic) and is closely related to Hebrew and Aramaic. ... In politics, a capital (also called capital city or political capital — although the latter phrase has an alternative meaning based on an alternative meaning of capital) is the principal city or town associated with its government. ... El-Aaiún or Laâyoune (Arabic: العيون, transliterated al-`ayÅ«n), is the unofficial capital of Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony now mostly controlled and occupied by Morocco. ... Laâyoune El-Aaiún or Laâyoune (Arabic: العيون, transliterated al-`ayÅ«n), is the unofficial capital of Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony now mostly controlled and occupied by Morocco. ... City or village in north-eastern Western Sahara, east of the Moroccan wall, in Polisario-held territory. ... The Free Zone is in yellow on the map. ... The office of President of Western Sahara is a head of state position over the parliamentary government of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. ... Mohamed Abdelaziz, pictured c. ... This page contains a list of Prime Ministers of Western Sahara. ... Abdelkader Taleb Oumar is the current Prime Minister of Western Sahara. ... -1... This is a list of the countries of the world sorted by area. ... Square kilometre (US spelling: Square kilometer), symbol km², is an SI unit of surface area. ... Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. ... This is a list of sovereign states and other territories by population, estimated for the year 2005. ... February 27 is the 58th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... Dirham is a unit of currency in several Arabic-speaking nations, including: Islamic Dirham, Lazistan The Moroccan dirham The UAE dirham 1/1000th of the Libyan dinar 1/100th of the Qatari riyal The dirham, spelt diram, is 1/100 of the Tajikistani somoni. ... Time zones are areas of the Earth that have adopted the same standard time, usually referred to as the local time. ... Coordinated Universal Time or UTC, also sometimes referred to as Zulu time or Z, is an atomic realization of Universal Time (UT) or Greenwich Mean Time, the astronomical basis for civil time. ... A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that is formally recognized by a countrys government as their official national song. ... A top-level domain (TLD) is the last part of an Internet domain name; that is, the letters which follow the final dot of any URL. For example, in the domain name wikipedia. ... Due to ongoing military occupation by Morocco, there is no country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Western Sahara, but . ... // At a glance In depth Zone 1 – North American Numbering Plan Area nanpa. ... The term Democratic Republic has formed part of several governments official names, many of which are police states ruled by Marxist-Leninist parties. ... A state is an organized political community, occupying a territory, and possessing internal and external sovereignty, which successfully claims the monopoly of the use of force. ... A territory is a defined area (including land and waters), usually considered to be a possession of an animal, person, organization, or institution. ... In politics and in history, a colony is a territory under the immediate political control of a geographically-distant state. ... The Polisario, Polisario Front, or Frente Polisario, from the Spanish abbreviation of Frente Popular de Liberación de Saguía el Hamra y Río de Oro (Peoples Liberation Front of Saguia el-Hamra and Rio de Oro) is an army and political movement in the Western Sahara, comprising... The Moroccan name for Western Sahara. ... The Free Zone is in yellow on the map. ...

History

The current extent of the SADR is in yellow on the map.

When Western Sahara was evacuated by Spain, both Morocco and Mauritania virtually annexed it; neither gained international recognition and war with the independence-seeking Polisario Front, representing the Sahrawi indigenous people, ensued. The creation of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic was announced in Bir Lehlou in Western Sahara on February 27, 1976, as the Polisario declared the need for a new entity to fill what they considered a political void left by the departing Spanish colonizers. Bir Lehlou is still in Polisario-held territory under the 1991 cease-fire and has remained a temporary capital of the exiled republic, until the Sahrawi capital of El-Aaiun, presently in Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara, can function as the capital of an independent Western Sahara. Day-to-day business is however conducted in the Tindouf refugee camps in Algeria, home of the Sahrawi exile community. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (904x727, 37 KB) Summary Map of the w:Moroccan Wall in w:Western Sahara - built over several stages, shows the six walls built, & when the territory was behind Moroccan wall. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (904x727, 37 KB) Summary Map of the w:Moroccan Wall in w:Western Sahara - built over several stages, shows the six walls built, & when the territory was behind Moroccan wall. ... The Polisario, Polisario Front, or Frente Polisario, from the Spanish abbreviation of Frente Popular de Liberación de Saguía el Hamra y Río de Oro (Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Rio de Oro) is a Sahrawi movement working for the independence of Western... Sahrawi (also Saharawi, Arabic SaHrāwī) is a term used for the indigenous people of Western Sahara, but there are also Sahrawi communities in other countries. ... Indigenous peoples are: Peoples living in an area prior to colonization by a state Peoples living in an area within a nation-state, prior to the formation of a nation-state, but who do not identify with the dominant nation. ... City or village in north-eastern Western Sahara, east of the Moroccan wall, in Polisario-held territory. ... February 27 is the 58th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... World map of colonialism at the end of the Second World War in 1945. ... An armistice is the effective end of a war, when the warring parties agree to stop fighting. ... In politics, a capital (also called capital city or political capital — although the latter phrase has an alternative meaning based on an alternative meaning of capital) is the principal city or town associated with its government. ... In a broad definition, a republic is a state whose political organization rests on the principle that the citizens or electorate constitute the ultimate root of legitimacy and sovereignty. ... El-Aaiún or Laâyoune (Arabic: العيون, transliterated al-`ayūn), is the unofficial capital of Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony now mostly controlled and occupied by Morocco. ... Tindouf, also written Tinduf, (Arabic: تندوف) is wilaya in the west of Algeria, population 30,000 (not including approximately 160,000 Sahrawi refugees). ... Refugee camp for Rwandans located in what is now the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo following the Rwandan Genocide A refugee camp is a camp built up by governments or NGOs (such as the ICRC) to receive refugees. ...

Government structure

Its president is Mohammed Abdelaziz, its prime minister Abdelkader Taleb Oumar. Its government consists of a Council of Ministers, a judicial branch and the parliamentary Sahrawi National Council. Since its inception in 1976, the various constitutional revisions has transformed the republic from an ad hoc managerial structure, into what closely resembles an actual governing apparatus. From the late 1980s the parliament made a clear attempt at instituting a division of powers and of disentangling the republic's structures from those of the Polisario. The 1991 constitution is basically a parliamentary constitution such as that of any European state, but with some paragraphs suspended until the achievement of "full independence". For example, the head of state is constitutionally the general secretary of the Polisario during the pre-independence phase. But the constitution also states that this must change when an independent Western Sahara is a reality, as the Polisario will then be dismantled or separated completely from the government structure. Further, it lays down some guidelines for a future Western Sahara: it is to be founded as a multi-party democracy with a market economy. The office of President of Western Sahara is a head of state position over the parliamentary government of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. ... Mohamed Abdelaziz, pictured c. ... This page contains a list of Prime Ministers of Western Sahara. ... Abdelkader Taleb Oumar is the current Prime Minister of Western Sahara. ... A parliamentarian is a specialist in parliamentary procedure. ... The Sahrawi National Council or simply National Council (SNC) is the parliament in exile of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. ... A federation (from the Latin fœdus, covenant) is a state comprised of a number of self-governing regions (often themselves referred to as states) united by a central (federal) government. ... World map showing Europe Europe is conventionally considered one of the seven continents which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiogeographic one. ... Queen Elizabeth II, is the Head of State in many Commonwealth countries including the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Jamaica, New Zealand, the Bahamas and many more, as well as crown colonies and overseas territories of the United Kingdom. ... ... A market economy is an economic system in which goods and services are traded, with the price at which goods and services are exchanged being determined by trades that occur as a result of sellers asking prices matching buyers bid prices. ...

Its various ministries are responsible for a variety of services and functions. The judiciary, complete with trial courts, appeals courts and a supreme court, operates in the same areas. The parliament is presently weak in its legislative role, having been instituted as a mainly consultative and consensus-building institution, but it has notably strengthened its legislative and controlling powers during later constitutional revisions. Among other things, it has managed to add a ban on the death penalty to the constitution, and bring down the government in 1999 through a vote of no-confidence. The judiciary, also referred to as the judicature, consists of the system of courts of law for the administration of justice and to its principals, the justices, judges and magistrates among other types of adjudicators. ... In the court system of a state or of a subordinate regional entity, an appeals court is a court of second instance where a party to a case on which judgment has been entered can ask to have their case reheard if they suspect an error of law, fact, or... The supreme court in some countries, provinces, and states, is the highest court in that jurisdiction and functions as a court of last resort whose rulings cannot be appealed. ... Consensus has two common meanings. ... Capital punishment, also referred to as the death penalty, is the judicially ordered execution of a prisoner as a punishment for a serious crime, often called a capital offense or a capital crime. ... A Motion of No Confidence, also called Motion of Non Confidence is a parliamentary motion traditionally put before a parliament by the opposition in the hope of defeating or embarrassing a government. ...

The government exercises state power in the Sahrawi refugee camps located in the Tindouf Province of western Algeria, and in what it terms the liberated areas (the Polisario-held, more or less unpopulated parts of Western Sahara east of the Moroccan Wall). It is headquartered in Tindouf, although official events often for symbolic purposes take place on Western Saharan territory, in Bir Lehlou or Tifariti. The Algerian authorities stay outside the Sahrawi refugee camps and respect the autonomy of the republic. Refugee camp for Rwandans located in what is now the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo following the Rwandan Genocide A refugee camp is a camp built up by governments or NGOs (such as the ICRC) to receive refugees. ... Tindouf, also written Tinduf, (Arabic: تندوف) is wilaya in the west of Algeria, population 30,000 (not including approximately 160,000 Sahrawi refugees). ... The Free Zone is in yellow on the map. ... System of the Moroccan Walls in Western Sahara (territory outside them in yellow) The Moroccan Wall is a 2,720 km-long system of defensive walls/berms, running mainly through Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara. ... Tindouf, also written Tinduf, (Arabic: تندوف) is a city and wilaya in the west of Algeria, population 30,000. ... City or village in north-eastern Western Sahara, east of the Moroccan wall, in Polisario-held territory. ... Tifariti is a small town or village in the Polisario-held parts of Western Sahara. ...

A government in exile is a political group that claims to be a countrys legitimate government, but for various reasons is unable to exercise its legal power, and instead resides in a foreign country. ...

International recognition and memberships

President of Western Sahara Mohamed Abdelaziz standing by the flag of Western Sahara.

The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic is currently recognized as a sovereign representative of Western Sahara by 48 states, mostly African and other third world governments. This figure does not include 22 states that have withdrawn their former recognition, or the 12 that have "frozen" their diplomatic relations with the republic pending the outcome of the UN referendum. Sahrawi embassies exist in 13 states. Moroccan sovereignty over the territory is explicitly recognized by the Arab League[1],[2] and by 25 states. The office of President of Western Sahara is a head of state position over the parliamentary government of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. ... Mohamed Abdelaziz, pictured c. ... Flag of Western Sahara, ratio 1:2 The flag of Western Sahara is black, red, white and green, the Arab colors, with the crescent and star being a Muslim symbol. ... ... Western Sahara is a former Spanish colony claimed and mostly administered by Morocco since Spain abandoned the territory in 1975-76, but sovereignty is unresolved and the United Nations is attempting to hold a referendum on the issue through the mission MINURSO. Part of the territory is controlled by the... A state is an organized political community, occupying a territory, and possessing internal and external sovereignty, which successfully claims the monopoly of the use of force. ... A satellite composite image of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. ... For the Jamaican reggae band, see Third World (band). ... Western Sahara is a former Spanish colony claimed and mostly administered by Morocco since Spain abandoned the territory in 1975-76, but sovereignty is unresolved and the United Nations is attempting to hold a referendum on the issue through the mission MINURSO. Part of the territory is controlled by the... Western Sahara is a former Spanish colony claimed and mostly administered by Morocco since Spain abandoned the territory in 1975-76, but sovereignty is unresolved and the United Nations is attempting to hold a referendum on the issue through the mission MINURSO. Part of the territory is controlled by the... The Baker Plan A United Nations plan to grant Western Sahara self-determination. ... A diplomatic mission is a group of people from one nation state present in another nation state to represent the sending state in the receiving State. ... Western Sahara is a former Spanish colony claimed and mostly administered by Morocco since Spain abandoned the territory in 1975-76, but sovereignty is unresolved and the United Nations is attempting to hold a referendum on the issue through the mission MINURSO. Part of the territory is controlled by the... Flag of the League of Arab States The Arab League or League of Arab States (Arabic: جامعة الدول العربية), is an organization of Arab states (compare Arab world). ... Western Sahara is a former Spanish colony claimed and mostly administered by Morocco since Spain abandoned the territory in 1975-76, but sovereignty is unresolved and the United Nations is attempting to hold a referendum on the issue through the mission MINURSO. Part of the territory is controlled by the...

The republic is a full member of the African Union (AU, formerly the Organization of African Unity, OAU), since 1984 but it has no representation at the United Nations. Due to the African Union's recognition of an independent Western Sahara, Morocco has left its seat, and it is the only African nation outside the AU since South Africa was admitted in 1994. Anthem: Let us all unite and celebrate together Official languages The African languages, as well as Arabic, Swahili, English, French and Portuguese Some member states have other official languages. ... Flag of the Organisation of African Unity, later also used by the African Union. ... The United Nations (UN) is an international organization that describes itself as a global association of governments facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, and social equity. ...

The SADR is not a member of the Arab League, nor of the Arab Maghreb Union. Flag of the League of Arab States The Arab League or League of Arab States (Arabic: جامعة الدول العربية), is an organization of Arab states (compare Arab world). ... The Arab Maghreb Union is a Pan-Arab trade agreement aiming for economic and political unity in northern Africa. ...

Towards a Western Sahara Authority?

In the last UN-endorsed peace plan (created by Secretary-General Kofi Annan's personal envoy to the Western Sahara, James Baker III), the SADR would have been dismantled, at least temporarily, and replaced with the Western Sahara Authority (WSA), a governing body that would not claim sovereignty, but autonomy under Moroccan rule during a five-year transitional period until a referendum by Saharans on independence. This plan however appears politically dead, since Morocco refuses to participate in it. The Baker Plan A United Nations plan to grant Western Sahara self-determination. ... Kofi Atta Annan (born April 8, 1938) is a Ghanaian diplomat and the seventh and current Secretary-General of the United Nations. ... James Addison Baker III (born April 28, 1930), American politician and diplomat, was Chief of Staff in President Ronald Reagans first administration, United States Secretary of the Treasury from 1985 to 1988 in the second Reagan administration, and Secretary of State in the administration of President George H. W... The Western Sahara Authority (WSA) is a theoretical governing body for the territory of Western Sahara. ... ... Autonomy is the condition of something that does not depend on anything else. ... A referendum (plural: referendums or referenda) or plebiscite is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. ... This article is about the disputed region of Western Sahara. For the controversial claims to this region as a state or provinces, see Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic or Southern Provinces, respectively. ...

National holidays

• February 27 - Independence Day
• May 10 - Foundation of Polisario
• May 20 - Beginning of the armed struggle
• June 5 - Day of the Disappeared
• June 9 - Day of the Martyrs
• June 17 - Zemla Intifada
• October 12 - Day of National Unity (see Ain Ben Tili)

February 27 is the 58th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... May 10 is the 130th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (131st in leap years). ... The Polisario, Polisario Front, or Frente Polisario, from the Spanish abbreviation of Frente Popular de Liberación de Saguía el Hamra y Río de Oro (Peoples Liberation Front of Saguia el-Hamra and Rio de Oro) is an army and political movement in the Western Sahara, comprising... 20 May is the 140th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (141st in leap years). ... June 5 is the 156th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (157th in leap years), with 209 days remaining. ... A Forced disappearance occurs when an organization (usually a ruling government and that is usually a police state or dictatorship) forces a person to disappear from public view. ... June 9 is the 160th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (161st in leap years), with 205 days remaining. ... Historically, a martyr is a person who dies for their convictions or religious faith, such as during the persecution of early Christians in the Roman Empire. ... June 17 is the 168th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (169th in leap years), with 197 days remaining. ... The Zemla Intifada (Intifada means uprising) is the name for the disturbances of June 17, 1970, which culminated in a massacre by Spanish forces in the Zemla quarters of El-Aaiun, Western Sahara (then Spanish Sahara). ... October 12 is the 285th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (286th in leap years). ... Ain Ben Tili is a small town in North East Mauritania, on the border of Western Sahara, in the Sahara desert. ...

See also

• Elections in Western Sahara
• Politics of Western Sahara
• Polisario Front

Elections in Western Sahara gives information on election and election results in Western Sahara. ... Country name: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Western Sahara former: Spanish Sahara Data code: WI Government type: legal status of territory and question of sovereignty unresolved; territory contested by Morocco and Polisario Front (Popular Front for the Liberation of the Saguia el Hamra and Rio de Oro), which... The Polisario, Polisario Front, or Frente Polisario, from the Spanish abbreviation of Frente Popular de Liberación de Saguía el Hamra y Río de Oro (Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Rio de Oro) is a Sahrawi movement working for the independence of Western...

External links

• Sahara Press Service (SPS) Official SADR press agency.
• RASD TV Official TV channel (mostly in Spanish)
• SADR National Radio Official radio channel (Arabic)
• Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic Page in Arabic
• SADR Oil & Gas 2005 SADR oil and gas licensing offer.
• Western Sahara Online
• Association for a Free and Fair Referendum in Western Sahara