International Law and the question of Western Sahara

In follow-up to the Conference on this subject at ISS in October 2006, the book on International Law and the Question of Western Sahara is now available. According to former US Ambassador and former deputy Chairman of the UN Peacekeeping Mission for Western Sahara Frank Ruddy, the volume edited by Karin Arts of the Institute of Social Studies and Pedro Pinto Leite of the International Platform of Jurists for East Timor “goes a long way to putting Western Sahara on the geo-political map for those unfamiliar with the issues, and for the rest of us, it explains why this 30 year old conflict is so important, not only to the Sahrawis but to the great powers. It also emphasizes why Western Sahara is not a sideshow to be patronized by the U.N. as it concentrates on other hot spots in the world.” The situation in Western Sahara brings up highly complex and challenging questions which among others relate to the status of the territory under international law, the implications of the right to self-determination, respect for human rights and protection against human rights violations, and the lawfulness and/or legitimacy of natural resource exploitation.