International Recognition and Membership
The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic is currently recognised as a sovereign representative of Western Sahara by 58 states, mostly African and other governments in the developing world. Twenty-two states have withdrawn their former recognition, and twelve have "frozen" their diplomatic relations with the republic pending the outcome of the UN referendum. Sahrawi embassies exist in fifteen states. On the other hand, Morocco's claim to Western Sahara is supported by the Arab League.
Although it has no recognition from the United Nations, the republic has been a full member of the African Union (AU, formerly the Organisation of African Unity, OAU) since 1984. Morocco withdrew from the OAU in protest and remains the only African nation not within the AU since South Africa's admittance in 1994. The SADR is also a member of the Asian-African Strategic Partnership formed at the 2005 Asian-African Conference, despite Moroccan objections to SADR participation.
In 2006, the SADR participated in a conference of the Permanent Conference of Political Parties of the Latin American and the Caribbean (COPPAL).
In 2010, the SADR ambassador to Nicaragua participated in the opening conference of the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN).
On 27 February 2011, the 35th anniversary of the proclamation of SADR was held in Tifariti, Western Sahara. Delegations, including parliamentarians, ambassadors, NGOs and activists from many countries participated in this event.
The SADR is not a member of the Arab League, nor of the Arab Maghreb Union, both of which include Morocco as a full member. Having stated his support for the right of the State of Palestine to be admitted as a UN member, H.E. President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe called upon "Similarly, the tormented people of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic must not be forgotten. We call for immediate progress in the engagement for a solution to their long-running problem".
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