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Today, we are putting the spotlight on Western Sahara, which is a sparsely-populated area of mostly desert situated on the northwest coast of Africa. It was a former Spanish colony, and then it was annexed by Morocco in 1975. Since then it has been the subject of a long-running territorial dispute between Morocco and its indigenous Saharawi people, led by the Polisario Front. Although under the administrative control of Morocco, the status and sovereignty of Western Sahara remain unresolved and numerous direct talks have failed to break the political deadlock. The Saharan Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), declared by the Polisario Front in 1976, is now recognised by many governments and is a full member of the African Union. (Source:BBC) Also, at the root of the problem is the phosphate reserves and rich fishing grounds off its coast, Western Sahara is also believed to have as yet untapped offshore oil deposits. Our guest today is Frank Willems of WSRW (i.e. Western Sahara Resource Watch) a platform connected with events in that area.