The EU approach towards the conflict of Western Sahara: the illegality of the Fisheries Partnership Agreements

Abstract

The thesis analyzes the case of Western Sahara, which still today appears in the UN list of Non-Self Governing Territories. Spain results being the de jure administering power of Western Sahara; however, Morocco is the de facto administering power of the territory due to its illegal occupation which lasts since the 1975 Green March. The right to self-determination of the Sahrawis has been denied since 40 years now; even though this is an issue which should be solved at the UN level, there are certain circumstances which do not ease this process. The EU approach towards this conflict is one of those circumstances. The present thesis is a study of the Fisheries Partnership Agreements between the EU and Morocco and aims at demonstrating that they are illegal since they include the waters of Western Sahara in their geographical scopes and this results in the crime of pillaging of the natural resources of the Sahrawis. Moreover, the EU is in breach of the duty of non-recognition of unlawful situations, since it supports through the economic activities the illegal occupation of Western Sahara by Morocco. The thesis also tries to show the political interests of the EU by analyzing the attitude of the EU institutions. Lastly, the recent annulment of the EU-Morocco Free Trade Agreement is presented.