The US recognition of the Moroccan annexation of Western Sahara in context: legal and political implications

Abstract

The decision of US President D. Trump to proceed in December 2020 to recognize the annexation by Morocco of the territory of Western Sahara has led to a profound alteration in US policy in relation to the situation. The work examines both the form and the content of the American proclamation, the context in which it has been adopted and its political and legal implications - including its eventual revocability - both in domestic law and in international law. In this sense, special attention is paid to the obligation of non-recognition that international law establishes insofar as the decision of the United States constitutes a clear breach of an obligation derived from a peremptory norm of international law such as that relating to self-determination of the peoples. The analysis developed -supported by a careful examination of international practice, both general and related to the specific case- concludes by noting that despite the firmness of the principle of non-recognition in International Law, the intrinsic weakness of the rules related to its content in accordance with the art. 41 of the draft articles of the ILC (2001) on State responsibility for internationally wrongful acts, prevent to extract sound legal consequences in the event of its violation.