Do you know how many countries currently exist in Africa? There are 54 members of the United Nations, and the African Union (AU), which just recently admitted Morocco to membership, has55 countriesis. What does this mean? The key is Western Sahara, located in northwestern Africa. Western Sahara isPopulation 567,000; Area 252,120 square kilometersThe region is located south of Morocco in the Western Sahara is not a member of the United Nations. However, Western Sahara is a member of the AU as a state. Thus, the number of countries in Africa changes depending on one's perspective between the UN, etc. and the AU.

Landscape of Western Sahara (SHUKASAMI/shutterstock.com)

Why is this the current situation? It has to do with the history of Western Sahara: in 1975, Spain was preparing to withdraw from its colony of Western Sahara. However, Spain did not recognize Western Sahara's autonomy, and instead signed a secret treaty with Morocco and Mauritania, dividing and governing the northern part of Western Sahara between Morocco and Mauritania, and the southern part between Morocco and Mauritania. In contrast, for the independence of Western SaharaPolisario Frontwas born, and the Polisario Front began an armed struggle with both sides. In 1991, the Polisario Front signed a cease-fire agreement with Mauritania, and Mauritania relinquished its southern territory, but Morocco annexed that area as well, which further antagonized Morocco and the Polisario Front. independence.local referendumThe decision was to be made by the However, the referendum has yet to be held due to issues over the definition of voting Western Saharan residents due to the large number of Moroccans who had been relocated to Western Sahara by the Moroccan side.

Legal by the United Nations, including the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs.opinionThen "Western Sahara does not belong to Morocco". The UN General Assembly has also made Western Sahara a non-colonial territory. However, Morocco is in fact a huge area of about 2,700 km."Sand wall" and occupies about two-thirds of the territory of Western Sahara as its own. Morocco has also buried many mines and other objects around its sand wall, which is considered the longest minefield in the world.

Sand wall minefield (Lukas Hlavac/shutterstock.com)

In Morocco, fisheries and mineral resources are important to the national economy. Morocco's fishing industry is a major foreign exchange earner, employing more than 100,000 Moroccans. And Morocco is also the largest fish market in Africa. The mining industry, on the other hand, is centered on phosphate, which has the world's largest reserves. Mineral resources are concentrated in the fault zone of the Atlas Mountains, and are thought to be the result of orogenic activity in the Atlas Mountains. So, are these fisheries and mineral resources produced only in Morocco? The Western Sahara, occupied by Morocco, has a coastline, and the fisheries that Morocco produces55%.is believed to be taken from the waters of the Western Sahara. It also includes phosphate mines. And, in fact, in terms of reserves, Western Sahara is the world'sSecond placeand of Morocco's phosphorus production.10%is said to be due to mining in the Western Sahara.

In Morocco's fisheries, trading partners are not immune to this problem. For example, the United States and Japan, Morocco's largest trading partners in fisheries, are heavily involved in this issue. Japan is the largest importer of octopus and other frozen octopus from Morocco.Approximately 70% of the totalcomes from Morocco. Given the above, octopus from the waters of Western Sahara should be included, but the packages of octopus in stores are only labeled "from Morocco," not "from Western Sahara.

The same is true in the case of mineral resources. In mineral resources, Morocco's largest trading partners areIndiafollowed by China and Canada. As in the fishing industry, India and other countries also use "Western Sahara" phosphate as a "Moroccan (product)The label is shown as "1.

Fishing boats in the Western Sahara By YoTuT [CC-BY-2.0]

The EU, which has signed a fisheries agreement, and its trading partners, the United States and Japan, have both tacitly approved of the Moroccan occupation and, as a result, are contributing to it. In terms of mineral resources, India and China have taken over the role. Morocco's 1996 FTA with the EU entered into force in 2000, and the EU is Morocco's largest trading partner. And the EU accounted for 55.71 TP3T in Morocco's trade in 2015, and in Morocco's exports61%Morocco is the largest trading partner of the EU, followed by Spain. On a country-by-country basis, France is Morocco's largest trading partner, followed by Spain, both of which are also central countries in the EU. From the EU's perspective, Morocco is a key player in preventing migration. From the above perspectives, it is clear that the EU wants to have friendly relations with Morocco, which explains why it has deliberately ignored the issue of Western Sahara until now.

But finally, last December 21, 2016, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled against the issuejudgmentThe court ruled that the The outcome of the ruling was that the trade agreement between the EU and Morocco did not apply to Western Sahara. Since Morocco had been exporting fishery and other products to the EU, including sub-Saharan products, the ECJ's decision will have significant implications not only for trade but also for politics.

It is clear that Morocco will have to make important decisions in the future on the diplomatic front as a result of this ruling. Morocco could undermine its relations with its most important export markets. It could shift its focus to larger trading partners that do not see the occupation of Western Sahara as a problem. Also, with Morocco's reinstatement in the AU, what progress will be made? And how will Morocco respond in the future now that the previously ambiguous territorial issue of Western Sahara has been clearly denied in terms of trade; will the EU ruling have any impact on countries like the US and Japan that do not respect Western Sahara's position under international law? These are just a few of the many issues that must continue to concern us.

Writer: Sota Kamei
Graphic: Mai Ishikawa