For five decades, Western Sahara has stood as an emblematic case of protracted territorial dispute and a frozen conflict with periodic flare-ups of violence. Ever since the withdrawal of the former colonial power Spain in 1975, the territory has remained contested.

In order to shed new light on this enduring — but often neglected — issue, this Lunch Briefing will examine the background to the current situation, the claims advanced by the parties involved, as well as international responses, including the latest United Nations Security Council resolution on the issue, adopted in October 2025.

Marcelo Kohen is Professor Emeritus of International Law at the Geneva Graduate Institute. He is a Titular Member of the Institut de Droit international, and its former Secretary General. He is judge ad hoc at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and has worked as legal counsel and advocate for a number of states before the International Court of Justice. He also acts as an arbitrator. He has been Visiting Professor at several European Universities, and Rapporteur or Co-rapporteur for the International Law Association, the Council of Europe and the Institut de Droit International. He is the author of many publications in the field of International Law, in English, French and Spanish. He was awarded the Paul Guggenheim Prize in 1997 for his book Possession contestée et souveraineté territoriale (Adverse Possession and Territorial Sovereignty).

Professor Dr Bertrand G. Ramcharan, a Barrister with degrees in philosophy, history, and law, has been, in a UN career of thirty three years, Chief Speechwriter for the UN Secretary-General, Director of the International Conference on the Former Yugoslavia, Director (Africa) in the UN Political Department, and High Commissioner for Human Rights (Ag.). He has also been Professor at the Geneva Graduate Institute, Chancellor of the University of Guyana, Visiting Professor at Columbia University and at Lund University, Sweden. He is the author of Contemporary Preventive Diplomacy, Contemporary Human Rights Ideas, and The Advent of Universal Protection of Human Rights. In October 2019, the Caribbean Court of Justice Academy admitted him to its first honour roll as Eminent Caribbean international Jurist.

This event will be moderated by Dr Annyssa Bellal, Executive Director, Geneva Peacebuilding Platform