Althrogh most of the world 196 countries have joined forces to take global issues like global warming, trade policy and human rights and humanitarian issues through joined the united nation as U.N member states, two countries are not member of the U.N Palistine and the Holy See (Vatican City)

Both however as considered non member States of the United Nation, which means they have permanent invitition to particpate as observers of the Genral Assembly and are provided free access to documents of the United Nation

Non-member parmenent observers status has been recognized as a matter of practice in the U.N swince 1946 when the Swiss Goverment was given the status by the Secretary-Genral.

More often than not permanent observers later joined the United Nation as full member when their independance has been recognized by more members and their goverment and economy have stablized enough to be able to provide financial, military or humanitarian support for international intatives of the United nation

Palestine

Plesine area of the eastern mediterranean region, ccomprising parts of modern Israel and the palestinian tarritories of the Gaza strip (along the cost of the Mediterranean Sea) and the West Bank (the area west of Jorden River)

The team Palistine has been associated variously and something controversially with the small region, which some have arrested also includes Jordan, Both the geographic area designated by the name and the political status of it have changed over the course of some three millennia. The region (or at least a part of it) is also known as the Holy land and is held secred among jews, Christians and Muslims

Land

Coastal lowlands of varying widths front the Mediterraneas the most nertherly in the plain of Akko (Acre) which extends with a breadth of 5 to 9 miles (8 to 14 km) for about 20 miles (32 km) from the Lebanom border in the north to the Carmel promontory, is Israel, in the south, where it narrow to a mere 600 feet (180 metres) father southward the lowland opens out rapidly into the plains of Sharon, about 8 miles (13 km) wide and extending south to the latitude of Tel Aviv - Yafo. Once covered with marshes, the Sharon plain was reclaimed in the post-Exilic and Hellenistic period and is now a settled area fields and fruits groves and laid out between scattered sandstone ridges, on which villlagers have grown up south of the spur of low hills that approaches that coast at about Yafo (jaffa) the plain widens into a fertile region knownin piblical times as philistia, a district of orange groves irrgated orchards and feilds of grain

Farther northwards the plain of Esderaelon format by subsidence along lines of faults, separated the hills of southern galilee from the mountains of samaria. The plain 16 mile (26 km) wide at most, narrow to the northwest, where the Qishan River breaks through to the plain of 'Akko', and the Southest, where the Horod River-which rises at the spring of Harod has carved the plain into the side of the Jordan Vally Covered with rich basaltic soils washed down from the Galilean hills, Esdraelum in important both of its fertility and for the great highway it opens from the Mediterranean to the land across the Jorden. The maritime plain connects with Esdaelon by the pass of Migiddo and several lesser routes between the mountain spurs of Carmel and Gilboa.

People

The social geography of modern Palestine, especially the area west of the Jorden River, has been greatly affected by the dramatic political changes and wars that have brought this small region to the attention of the world. In the early 21 century, Israel Jews constituted roughly half of the population west of the Jorden, while Palestinian Arabs-Muslim, Christian and Druze and other smaller minorities accounted for the rest. The Jewish population is increasingly composed of persons born in Israel itself, although millions of immigrants composed of persons born in Israel itself, although millions of immigrants have arrived since the founding of the State of Israel in 1948. The Arab population is descended from Arabs who lived in the area during the mandate period and, in most cases for centuries before that time. The majority of both Jews and Arabs are now unbanized.

According to Jewish nationalists (Zionists), Judaism constitutes a basic for both religious and national (ethnic) identety. Palestine nationalists usually emphasize that their shared identety as Arabs transcend, the religious diversity of their community about 18 percent of the Israel population are Christian Arabs, about 2 percent, identify themselves in the first instance as Arabs

Vatican City

Vatican City, in full State of the Vatican City, Italian Stato della Città del Vaticano, ecclesiastical state, seat of the Roman Catholic Church, and an enclave in Rome, situated on the west bank of the Tiber River. Vatican City is the world’s smallest fully independent nation-state. Its medieval and Renaissance walls form its boundaries except on the southeast at St. Peter’s Square (Piazza San Pietro). Of the six entrances, only three—the piazza, the Arco delle Campane (Arch of the Bells) in the facade of St. Peter’s Basilica, and the entrance to the Vatican Museums and Galleries in the north wall—are open to the public. The most imposing building is St. Peter’s Basilica, built during the 4th century and rebuilt during the 16th century. Erected over the tomb of St. Peter the Apostle, it is the second largest religious building (after Yamoussoukro Basilica) in Christendom.

The Vatican palace is the residence of the pope within the city walls. The Holy See is the name given to the government of the Roman Catholic Church, which is led by the pope as the bishop of Rome. As such, the Holy See’s authority extends over Catholics throughout the world. Since 1929 it has resided in Vatican City, which was established as an independent state to enable the pope to exercise his universal authority.

Vatican City has its own telephone system, post office, gardens, astronomical observatory, radio station, banking system, and pharmacy, as well as a contingent of Swiss Guards responsible for the personal safety of the pope since 1506. Almost all supplies—including food, water, electricity, and gas—must be imported. There is no income tax and no restriction on the import or export of funds. As the Holy See, it derives its income from the voluntary contributions of more than one billion Roman Catholics worldwide, as well as interest on investments and the sale of stamps, coins, and publications. Banking operations and expenditures have been reported publicly since the early 1980s.

During the period from the 4th century to 1870, the Vatican gained control of territory around Rome and served as capital of the Papal States. In 1929 Vatican City’s independent sovereignty was recognized by the Fascist Italian government in the Lateran Treaty. Sovereignty is exercised by the pope upon his election as the head of the Roman Catholic Church. He has absolute executive, legislative, and judicial powers within the city. In 1984 a major reshuffle of offices in the Roman Curia resulted in the delegation of the routine administration of Vatican City to a pontifically appointed commission of five cardinals headed by the Secretariat of State. The inhabitants of Vatican City, the majority of whom are priests and nuns, also include several hundred laypersons engaged in secretarial, domestic, trade, and service occupations.

Vatican cultural life has much declined since the Renaissance, when the popes were among Italy’s foremost patrons of the arts. The Vatican Museums and Galleries, the frescoes by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel, the frescoes by Pinturicchio in the Borgia Apartment, and Raphael’s Stanze (“Rooms”) nevertheless attract critics, artists, and flocks of tourists from throughout the world. Years of restoration work on the Sistine Chapel frescoes were completed in 1994, making it possible to view Michelangelo’s work in full vibrant colours. In 2000 the millennial Jubilee focused world attention on Vatican City.

The Vatican Apostolic Library contains a priceless collection of some 150,000 manuscripts and 1.6 million printed books, many from pre-Christian and early Christian times. The Vatican publishes its own influential daily newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, and its press can print books and pamphlets in any of 30 languages, from old Ecclesiastical Georgian to Indian Tamil. Since 1983 the Vatican has produced its own television programming. Its radio broadcasts are heard in some 40 languages in many parts of the world. Vatican City was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1984.

State are not recognized by the U.N

Name Recognized By

1- KOSOVO 102 U.N Members states

2-Western Sahara 44 U.N Members states

3-Tiwan 16 U.N Members states

4-South Ossetia 5 U.N Members states

5-Abkhazia 5 U.N Members states

6-Northen Cyprus 1 U.N Members states

KOSOVO

Kosovo, self-declared independent country in the Balkans region of Europe. Although the United States and most members of the European Union (EU) recognized Kosovo’s declaration of independence from Serbia in 2008, Serbia, Russia, and a significant number of other countries—including several EU members—did not. Given this lack of international consensus, Kosovo was not immediately admitted to the United Nations (UN). In 2010 the International Court of Justice ruled that Kosovo’s declaration of independence did not violate international law, but Serbia rejected that decision.

Official Name-

Republika e Kosovës (Albanian); Republika Kosovo (Serbian) (Republic of Kosovo)¹

^{Political Status-

multiparty transitional republic² with one legislative house (Assembly of Kosovo [120³])

International Athorities

UN Interim Administrator}

Head of state

President: Hashim Thaçi

Head of Goverment

Prime Minister: Avdullah Hoti

Capital

Pristina

Official Languages

Albanian; Serbian

Official Religion

none

Monetery Unit

Euro

Population

(2019 est.) 1,821,000

The name Kosovo is derived from a Serbian place-name meaning “field of blackbirds.” After serving as the centre of a medieval Serbian empire, Kosovo was ruled by the Ottoman Empire from the mid-15th to the early 20th century, a period when Islam grew in importance and the population of Albanian speakers in the region increased. In the early 20th century Kosovo was incorporated into Serbia (later part of Yugoslavia). By the second half of the century, the largely Muslim ethnic Albanians outnumbered the predominantly Eastern Orthodox Serbs in Kosovo, and interethnic tensions frequently roiled the province.

In 1998 an ethnic Albanian-led secessionist rebellion escalated into an international crisis (see Kosovo conflict), which culminated in 1999 in an air bombardment of Yugoslavia—by then a rump of the former federal state, comprising only Serbia and Montenegro—by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Following the restoration of peace, Kosovo was administered by the UN Interim Administrative Mission in Kosovo. Throughout this period—in the course of which Yugoslavia changed its name to Serbia and Montenegro (2003) and then separated into those independent states (2006)—Serbia continued to consider Kosovo part of its territory. Nevertheless, under UN supervision, Kosovo developed the structures of an independent country, and in February 2008 it formally declared independence from Serbia. An EU mission charged with overseeing police, judicial, and customs activities largely replaced the UN presence later that year. Pristina (Albanian: Prishtinë; Serbian: Priština) is the capital and largest city.

Land

A landlocked country, Kosovo is bordered by Serbia to the north and east, North Macedonia to the south, Albania to the west, and Montenegro to the northwest. Kosovo, about the same size as Jamaica or Lebanon, is the smallest country in the Balkans.

Relief, drainage, and soils

The borders of Kosovo are largely mountainous, characterized by sharp peaks and narrow valleys. The Sharr (Serbian: Šar) Mountains lie along the southern border with North Macedonia, while the Kopaonik Mountains are situated along the northeastern border with Serbia. The highest point is Mount Gjeravica (Ðeravica), at 8,714 feet (2,656 metres), on the western border with Albania. The interior terrain comprises high plains and rolling hills; about three-fourths of the country lies between about 1,600 and 5,000 feet (500 and 1,500 metres) above sea level. Limestone caves are found in several parts of the country.

A range of hills running north-south through central Kosovo separates the Kosovo Plain in the east from the Dukagjin (Metohija) Plain in the west. These plains constitute the country’s two main basins. The Kosovo Plain is drained by the northward-flowing Sitnicë (Sitnica) River, a tributary of the Ibër (Ibar) River. The Dukagjin Plain is drained by the southward-flowing Drini i Bardhë, or White Drin (Beli Drim). The soils of the plains are among the most fertile in the Balkans and support the cultivation of grains, fruits, and vegetables.

Climate

In general, Kosovo has a moderate continental climate, although the proximity of the Mediterranean Sea has a tempering effect, especially in the southwest. Summers are warm, with average high temperatures reaching the low 80s F (upper 20s C); average highs during the winter months are in the low 40s F (about 5 °C). The country receives more than 25 inches (650 mm) of precipitation annually, with significant snowfall occurring in the winter. Mountainous areas experience both colder temperatures and greater precipitation.

Plant and animal life

Despite its small area, Kosovo boasts a rich assortment of plant species, including about a dozen that are found only in Kosovo. Forests cover about two-fifths of the land, with oak trees predominating in lower elevations and pines growing in the mountains. Animal life is relatively diverse as well. Brown bears, Eurasian lynx, wildcats, gray wolves, foxes, chamois (a goatlike animal), roe deer, and red deer are among the mammals that inhabit the mountainous border regions. More than 200 species of birds live in Kosovo or migrate there seasonally. Among them are the Old World blackbirds for which Kosovo Polje (“Field of the Blackbirds”), site of the 1389 Battle of Kosovo, was named.

People

Ethnic groups

In the second half of the 20th century, as a result of Serbian out-migration and higher Albanian birth rates, there was a dramatic shift in the ethnic composition of Kosovo. The Albanian share of the population rose from about half in 1946 to about four-fifths by the 1990s. Meanwhile, the proportion of Serbs fell to less than one-fifth. After the Kosovo conflict of 1998–99, additional Serbs emigrated. Thus, in the early 21st century, the population makeup was approximately nine-tenths Albanian and less than one-tenth Serb, with the remainder comprising Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims), traditionally itinerant peoples (i.e., Roma and two other groups, Ashkali and Egyptians [also called Balkan Egyptians], that are commonly classified as Roma but regard themselves as distinct), Turks, Gorani (a Muslim South Slavic people), Croats, and Montenegrins. The Serbs are concentrated in northern Kosovo, particularly in Mitrovicë (Mitrovica), as well as around Shtërpcë (Štrpce), on the North Macedonian border

Languages

Albanian and Serbian are the official languages of Kosovo. According to the 2008 constitution, Turkish,Bosnian, and Romany also have official status in relevant municipalities. The Albanian spoken in Kosovo is a subvariety of the Gheg dialect; it is commonly known as kosovarce. Standard literary Albanian is used in written communication and in the broadcast media. Serbo-Croatian, also known as Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian (BCS), is the language spoken by Serbs, Bosniaks, Croats, and Montenegrins. However, speakers of BCS tend to refer to their own language as Serbian, Bosnian, Croatian, or Montenegrin, depending on their ethnicity, and consider it to be distinct from the other groups’ languages, despite mutual intelligibility. The Roma speak Serbian or Romany, while the Ashkali and the Egyptians speak Albanian. Turkish is spoken by the Turks as well as by some Albanians. The Gorani people speak their own South Slavic dialect, akin to BCS and Macedonian.

Religion

Kosovo does not have an official religion. More than nine-tenths of the people, including most Albanians, are Muslim. A significant proportion of Muslims are only nominally so; many do not regularly attend mosque services, although fasting for Ramadan is widely practiced. Most of the Serbs and some Roma are Eastern Orthodox. A small minority of the population, consisting mainly of Albanians and Croats, are Roman Catholic.

Despite early competition with Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy became the predominant faith in Kosovo in the Middle Ages, when the region was the centre of a Serbian empire. In the 13th century Peć (Albanian: Pejë) was established as a Serbian Orthodox archbishopric, and in the 14th century it was raised to the status of autonomous patriarchate. This historical importance helps to explain the special role that Kosovo plays in Serbian tradition. Islam arrived with the conquering Ottoman Turks, who, from the mid-15th century, controlled the region for more than four centuries. Although much of the population eventually became Muslim, the region retained its Orthodox heritage, and the patriarchate was restored from 1557 to 1766. The lack of religious tension during much of the Ottoman period may be explained in part by the concessions offered to Muslim converts and in part by the attitude of many peasants, who welcomed diverse forms of religious ritual as means to ward off evil. Thus, converted Muslims often maintained certain Christian practices, leading to religious syncretism.

Economy

Kosovo has long been one of the poorest, least-developed regions of the Balkans. During the second half of the 20th century, when Kosovo was a part of the republic of Serbia, a number of the Yugoslav republics objected to the federal economic support given to Kosovo. This controversy ultimately contributed to the dissolution of Yugoslavia in 1991. Following the 1998–99 conflict, Kosovo’s economy was boosted by the large installation of international administrators. In addition, the use of the euro—which Kosovo unofficially adopted in 2002 and continued to use after declaring independence in 2008—helped to bridle inflation. Although the postindependence government worked to strengthen the market economy, particularly by privatizing state-controlled businesses, Kosovo continued to rely heavily on remittances from Kosovars working abroad as well as on international aid. Moreover, the economy has been highly susceptible to fluctuations in prices for imported commodities—especially food and fuel—on which Kosovo remains dependent. Unemployment and poverty are still intractable problems. In the years immediately following independence, about two-fifths of the labour force was unemployed, with rural areas especially affected, and about one-third of Kosovo’s citizens lived below the poverty line. This rampant poverty and unemployment fostered a significant black market.

Government And Society

Constitutional framework

In 1971 amendments to the Yugoslav constitution granted Serbia’s two autonomous provinces, Kosovo and Vojvodina, nearly equal status with the six republics of Yugoslavia. In 1974 a new Yugoslav constitution enshrined the provinces’ equal status and gave them the right to issue their own constitutions. However, following the rise to power of Slobodan Milošević (president of Serbia from 1989), the government in Belgrade revoked the provinces’ autonomy and retook political control. Kosovo thus was administered by Serbia until the conflict of 1998–99, after which Serbian and Yugoslav forces withdrew and the UN oversaw the installment of an interim administration. Under the guidance of the UN mission, Kosovar Albanians established central and municipal government institutions, while the UN worked to resolve Kosovo’s future status. Multilateral talks on the subject led to a plan—developed by UN special envoy Martti Ahtisaari and supported by Kosovar Albanians—whereby Kosovo would eventually gain independence. But because Serbia strongly opposed the idea of Kosovar independence, Russia blocked UN approval of the Ahtisaari Plan in 2007. Further talks failed to produce any agreement, and on Feb. 17, 2008, Kosovo unilaterally declared its independence. That April a Kosovar assembly approved a constitution, which took effect on June 15, 2008.

Although the constitution granted local self-government to Kosovo’s Serb communities and offered special protection for Serb cultural and religious sites, many Serbs rejected both the declaration of independence and the new government. Numerous Serbs boycotted subsequent elections, preferring to support the parallel administrative structures organized by Serb groups and backed by Belgrade—structures that the Kosovar government deemed illegal.

According to the 2008 constitution, the executive branch of government is led by a president (head of state) and a prime minister (head of government). The president is elected by the Assembly of Kosovo for a five-year term, with the right to be reelected to one additional term. The president appoints the prime minister upon a recommendation by the majority party or coalition in the Assembly. The Assembly is a unicameral legislature composed of 120 deputies directly elected by voters for four-year terms. Of the 120 seats in the Assembly, 100 are distributed on the basis of proportional representation, at least 10 are guaranteed for Kosovar Serbs, and 10 are reserved for members of the Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim), Turkish, Roma, Ashkali, Egyptian, and Gorani communities.

Local government

Municipalities are the basic units of local government. Each municipality is administered by a mayor and a municipal assembly, elected every four years by proportional representation. Municipalities have the right to associate with each other and to participate in the selection of local police commanders. Some municipalities with predominantly Serb populations have special rights, such as the operation of a secondary health system, oversight of postsecondary education, and management of cultural and religious sites.

Justice

The Supreme Court of Kosovo is the highest judicial authority for all matters except constitutional questions, which are decided by the Constitutional Court. For the Supreme Court and lower courts of appeal, at least 15 percent of the judges must hail from minority communities. An independent judicial council ensures the impartiality of the judicial system. The judicial council also recommends candidates for the judiciary to the president of Kosovo, who makes the appointments.

Education

A small number of multiethnic schools were established after the 1998–99 conflict, but ethnic tensions jeopardized their success. At the primary and secondary levels, most children attend separate Albanian or Serb schools. The language divide between these groups is reinforced by vastly different lessons on geography and history. Due to a dearth of classrooms and qualified teachers, students in some schools attend one of several shifts each day. The University of Pristina, founded in 1970, is the major public university in Kosovo. It is now primarily an Albanian-language institution that also serves Albanian populations in Serbia, North Macedonia, and Montenegro. The Serb component of the university relocated to Mitrovicë (Mitrovica) in the early 21st century; there it became known as the University of Mitrovica, although many Serbs continue to refer to it as the University of Pristina. The English-language American University in Kosovo is a private postsecondary institution that was founded in 2003. Although the literacy rate for both men and women is above 90 percent, it lags behind the nearly universal literacy predominant in the rest

Western Sahara

Western Sahara, Arabic Al-Ṣaḥrāʾ al-Gharbiyyah, formerly (1958–76) Spanish Sahara, territory occupying an extensive desert Atlantic-coastal area (97,344 square miles [252,120 square km]) of northwest Africa. It is composed of the geographic regions of Río de Oro (“River of Gold”), occupying the southern two-thirds of the region (between Cape Blanco and Cape Bojador), and Saguia el-Hamra, occupying the northern third. It is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the west and northwest, by Morocco on the north, by Algeria for a few miles in the northeast, and by Mauritania on the east and south. Pop. (2007 est.) 489,000.

Region

Africa

Official Name

Western Sahara; Al-Ṣaḥrāʾ al-Gharbīyah (Arabic)

Population

(2019 est.) 566,100

Total Area (sq km)

252,120

Geography

Western Sahara is virtually all desert and is very sparsely inhabited. The Kasbah and mosque in the town of Semara (Smara) are among the major Muslim monuments in Western Sahara. The principal city is Laayoune, the old colonial capital. There is little agriculture in the region; camels, goats, and sheep are raised, and dried fish is exported to the Canary Islands. Sources of potash and iron ore are at Agracha and elsewhere, and vast phosphate deposits are at Bu Craa, southeast of Laayoune. Phosphate extraction, however, presents problems because of the shortage of water. A conveyor belt more than 60 miles (100 km) long, meant to carry phosphate from the mines to the piers southwest of Laayoune, was frequently damaged after 1976 during the guerrilla warfare conducted by the Sahrawis against Morocco. Motorable tracks abound in the country’s extremely flat terrain, but there are few paved roads. There is regular air service between Laayoune and Al-Dakhla (formerly Villa Cisneros) and between Laayoune and Las Palmas (in the Canary Islands), Nouakchott (in Mauritania), and Casablanca (in Morocco).

History

Little is known of the prehistory of Western Sahara, although Neolithic (New Stone Age) rock engravings in Saguia el-Hamra and in isolated locations in the south suggest that it was occupied by a succession of hunting and pastoral groups, with some agriculturists in favoured locales, prior to a gradual process of desertification that began about 2500 BCE. By the 4th century BCE there was trade between Western Sahara and Europe across the Mediterranean; the Phoenicians sailed along the west coast of Africa in this period. The Romans also had some contact with the Saharan peoples. By medieval times this part of the Sahara was occupied by Ṣanhajāh Amazigh (Berber) peoples who were later dominated by Arabic-speaking Muslim Bedouins from about 1000 CE.

In 1346 the Portuguese discovered a bay that they mistakenly identified with a more southerly Río de Oro, probably the Sénégal River. The coastal region was little explored by Europeans until Scottish and Spanish merchants arrived in the mid-19th century, although in 1476 a short-lived trading post, Santa Cruz de Mar Pequeña, was established by Diego García de Herrera, a Spaniard. In 1884 Emilio Bonelli, of the Sociedad Española de Africanistas y Colonistas (“Spanish Society of Africanists and Colonists”), went to Río de Oro bay and signed treaties with the coastal peoples. Subsequently, the Spanish government claimed a protectorate over the coastal zone. Further Spanish penetration was hindered by French claims to Mauritania and by partisans of Sheikh Māʾ al-ʿAynayn, who between 1898 and 1902 constructed the town of Semara at an inland oasis. Cape Juby (Ṭarfāyah) was occupied for Spain by Col. Francisco Bens in 1916, Güera was occupied in 1920, and Semara and the rest of the interior were occupied in 1934.

In 1957 the territory was claimed by Morocco, which itself had just reached independence the previous year. Spanish troops succeeded in repelling Moroccan military incursions into the territory, and in 1958 Spain formally united Río de Oro and Saguia el-Hamra into a Spanish province known as Spanish Sahara. However, the situation was further complicated by newly independent Mauritania’s claims to the province in 1960, and in 1963 huge phosphate deposits were discovered at Bu Craa in the northern portion of the Spanish Sahara, which made the province a potentially economically valuable prize for any country that could firmly establish possession of it. Mining of the deposits at Bu Craa began in 1972.

Decades of social and economic change caused by drought, desertification, and the impact of the phosphate discoveries resulted in an increase in national consciousness and anticolonial sentiment. A guerrilla insurgency by the Spanish Sahara’s indigenous inhabitants, the nomadic Sahrawis, sprang up in the early 1970s, calling itself the Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Río de Oro (Polisario Front). The insurgency led Spain to declare in 1975 that it would withdraw from the area. Faced with consistent pressure from Morocco and Mauritania and itself undergoing a period of domestic uncertainty, Spain agreed to the partition of Western Sahara between the two countries despite a World Court ruling that Morocco’s and Mauritania’s legal claims to the Spanish Sahara were tenuous and did not negate the right to self-determination by the Sahrawis. Morocco gained the northern two-thirds of the area and, consequently, control over the phosphates; Mauritania gained the southern third. Sporadic fighting developed between the Polisario Front, which was supported by and based in Algeria, and the Moroccan forces. In 1976 the Polisario Front declared a government-in-exile of what it called the Saharan Arab Democratic Republic (a government recognized by some 70 countries), and it continued to raid Mauritanian and Moroccan outposts in Western Sahara.

Mauritania bowed out of the fighting and reached a peace agreement with the Polisario Front in 1979, but in response Morocco promptly annexed Mauritania’s portion of Western Sahara. Morocco fortified the vital triangle formed by the Bu Craa mines, Laayoune, and Semara while the Polisario Front guerrillas continued their raids. A United Nations (UN) peace proposal in 1988 specified a referendum for the indigenous Sahrawis to decide whether they wanted an independent Western Sahara under Polisario Front leadership or whether the territory would officially become part of Morocco. This peace proposal was accepted by both Morocco and the Polisario Front, and the two sides agreed to a cease-fire in 1991. As a UN administrative and peacekeeping force arrived in Western Sahara to prepare to conduct the referendum, however, Morocco moved tens of thousands of “settlers” into the territory and insisted that they have their voting qualifications assessed. This drawn-out procedure, which involved questions regarding the definition of who among the traditionally nomadic Sahrawis would be entitled to cast a ballot, continued throughout the 1990s and into the early 21st century. Meanwhile, Morocco continued to expand its physical infrastructure in Western Sahara despite widespread protests against its presence in the areas under its control.

During this time the Polisario Front continued its campaign despite a number of setbacks. Among the challenges were defections from the organization and a reduction in support by its primary backer, Algeria, as that country was forced to concentrate on its own internal problems. Algeria’s diplomatic campaign on behalf of Sahrawi self-determination, however, continued unabated. By 2001 tens of thousands of Sahrawis, including numerous Polisario Front soldiers, had relocated to semipermanent refugee camps in Algeria

The turn of the century brought with it a change in approach toward peace and self-determination. After the death of Moroccan King Hassan II, Muḥammad VI took the throne and announced in 2001 that Morocco would no longer agree to hold a referendum in Western Sahara. The UN likewise began to explore alternative solutions to the 1988 proposal. In 2003 it proposed autonomy for the territory for five years, followed by a referendum, but Morocco rejected the proposal. In 2007 Morocco proposed autonomy but made no offer for a referendum. After the United States insisted in 2018 that the continued presence of UN peacekeeping forces be contingent on progress made toward settling the long-running dispute, Morocco and the Polisario Front met in December of that year to renew discussion over the situation.

Tiwan

Taiwan, Chinese (Wade-Giles romanization) T’ai-wan or (Pinyin) Taiwan, Portuguese Formosa, island in the western Pacific Ocean that lies roughly 100 miles (160 km) off the coast of southeastern China. It is approximately 245 miles (395 km) long (north-south) and 90 miles (145 km) across at its widest point. Taipei, in the north, is the seat of government of the Republic of China (ROC; Nationalist China). In addition to the main island, the ROC government has jurisdiction over 22 islands in the Taiwan group and 64 islands to the west in the P’eng-hu (Pescadores) archipelago. Two island groups controlled by the ROC government, Matsu and Quemoy, lie just off the coast of China’s Fujian (Fukien) province. In the East China Sea, the ROC claims the group of islands it calls Diaoyutai, which also are claimed by Japan as Senkaku and by the People’s Republic of China as Diaoyu. Moreover, in the South China Sea, the ROC’s claim to the Paracels is disputed with the People’s Republic of China and Vietnam, whereas a larger group of countries—the People’s Republic of China, Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines, in addition to the ROC—all claim the Spratly Islands.

Tiwan

SELF-GOVERNING ISLAND, ASIA

Official Name

Chung-hua Min-kuo (Republic of China)