The conflict of Western Sahara and the United Nations' role in resolving it

Seminar paper from the year 2016 in the subject Politics - Topic: Peace and Conflict, Security, grade: 1,3, Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg (Politikwisschenschaften), course: Introduction to Conflict Management, language: English, abstract: This paper deals with the question why the international community turns a blind eye to the Western Sahara conflict. Moreover, why do the United Nations fail to implement measures to resolve the conflict between Morocco and the people of the Western Sahara? The Western Sahara conflict can be added to the list of the most ambivalent conflicts in recent history. Morocco occupied the African country in 1976 and since then the population of the former Spanish colony is fighting for self-determination while living as refugees in the desert of Algeria. The United Nations acknowledged that the country belongs to the people of Western Sahara. Consequently, the Moroccan occupation is illegal, especially regarding international law. However, no change or progress has been made; all negotiation attempts have failed. Hence, the conflict could be seen as intractable.