ABSTRACT
The organized international community has been successful in a remarkably brief period at the twin projects of ending colonialism and ensuring that the principle of self-determination has taken root, with one notable exception in Africa. Western Sahara, Africa’s last colony, remains locked in conflict, its people unable to achieve self-determination while enduring an illegal occupation after the comparable cases ofNamibia andEast Timor (Timor-Leste)were successfully resolved. The failure to realize the most basic norms of international law, including application of the UN Charter and international humanitarian law in Western Sahara, reveals the limits of international justice and the ability of the United Nations organization to act. The pillage of natural resources from the occupied area ofWestern Sahara illustrates the aspects of an ongoing denial of self-determination, due to the manner in which the resources are used and the connection they create between the world and Western Sahara. How the Saharawi people govern natural resources in such circumstances is important for the immediate realization of self-determination and the fashioning of an eventual Saharawi state independent in all dimensions.
