This Friday marks the 50th anniversary of the Madrid Tripartite Agreement in 1975, in which Spain ceded territory in Western Sahara to Morocco and Mauritania. The United Nations has never recognized the validity of these agreements and is still reviewing them. … The Sahara is a territory pending decolonization, with Spain becoming the administrative authority of the territory. All UN resolutions reaffirm the Saharawi people’s right to self-determination and independence.
In 1991, with the advance of the Polisario Front, Morocco accepted the signing of a ceasefire. The United Nations created a mission (Minurso) aimed at preparing a self-determination referendum that never took place. The armed conflict resumed in November 2020, but Morocco remained silent.
The recent Security Council resolution 2797 (2025), which extends the Minurso mandate for another year until 31 October 2026, signals a change in focus: the resolution urges the parties to resume negotiations on the autonomy proposal proposed by Morocco, with the aim of reaching a final and mutually acceptable political solution providing for self-determination for the people of Western Sahara, through the celebration of the aforementioned Sahrawi referendum. Self-determination.
It is no coincidence that in the same year 2025, the European Commission announced its intention to negotiate a new fisheries agreement with Morocco, despite the fact that the Court of Justice of the European Union itself invalidated the previous agreement that applied to the territory and waters of Western Sahara without the consent of the Saharawi people. The economic benefits of the area are not limited to fishing. Western Sahara contains the world’s largest reserves of high-quality phosphate, essential to the global agri-food industry. Morocco is promoting solar and wind energy projects in Sahrawi territory with support from European companies, making Western Sahara key to the Maghreb-European energy corridor. Deposits of rare earths, lithium and other strategic minerals have also been identified.
As ironic as it may seem to us, one of the main problems of the Sahrawi people lies in the fact that their territory is rich in natural resources and at the same time has high geopolitical value. Otherwise, the conflict would have been resolved after the UN-planned referendum on self-determination was held in 1992.
Damian López López. Cañada Rosal (Seville)
Estimation
Since Monday, information has been circulating about a formal complaint filed against Bishop Cadiz 35 years ago for allegedly abusing a minor. I am reminded of the George Pell case in Australia in 2017, which ended in an acquittal.
Isidro Kobo. Cadiz
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