Summary: Western Sahara cannot accede to the Convention on Cluster Munitions due to its political status, but has expressed its support for the ban on cluster munitions. In June 2014, Western Sahara provided a voluntary transparency report for the convention, which states that it does not possess cluster munitions and has never produced them.

Policy

The sovereignty of Western Sahara remains the subject of a dispute between the government of Morocco and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguía el Hamra and Río de Oro (Polisario). Polisario’s Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) is a member of the African Union, but is not universally recognized. It has no official representation in the UN, which prevents formal accession to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

In June 2014, the SADR provided the UN with a voluntary Article 7 Report for the Convention on Cluster Munitions with a cover letter that declared “By submitting its voluntary report, the SADR would like to reaffirm its commitment to a total ban on cluster munitions as well as its willingness to accede to the Convention on Cluster Munitions and be bound by its provisions.”[1] Previously, in June 2012, a Polisario Front representative informed the Monitor of Polisario’s support for the prohibition on cluster munitions.[2]

Use, production, transfer, and stockpiling

In the voluntary Article 7 report, the SADR has declared that it possesses no stocks of cluster munitions and has never produced cluster munitions.[3] This followed a 2012 statement to the Monitor that the Polisario does not possess cluster munitions and has never used them.[4]

The Royal Moroccan Armed Forces used artillery-fired and air-dropped cluster munitions against Polisario in Western Sahara during their conflict from 1975 to 1991. SADR has reported that Royal Moroccan Armed Forces used BLU-63, M-42, and MK-118 cluster munitions at multiple locations in Dougaj, Mijek, Bir Lahlu, North Wadis, and Mehariz.[5]