Geneva, December 6 (RHC)-- In Geneva, United Nations-brokered talks opened Wednesday between the Kingdom of Morocco and the Western Saharan liberation movement known as the Polisario Front, aimed at resolving the 43-year conflict. 

Morocco has occupied Western Sahara since 1975, and no other country on Earth recognizes its sovereignty over the territory.  Thousands of Western Sahara’s indigenous people—the Sahrawi—have since been tortured, imprisoned, killed and disappeared while resisting the Moroccan occupation. 

This week’s talks also include representatives from Mauritania and Algeria. They are the first direct negotiations between the parties since 2012. Sahrawis are demanding a referendum on the status of the territory.