[2] The Congress' slogan is "The independent Sahrawi state is the solution" (Arabic: الدولة الصحراوية المستقلة هي الحل, Spanish: Un Estado saharaui independiente es la solución).

[3] The Congress was held a year after the Gdeim Izik protest camp and amid the context of the Arab Spring and the instability in the Sahara region.

The Congress was also marked by the kidnapping of two Spaniard and one Italian international cooperants from the Sahrawi refugee camps in October 2011, which led to increased security measures.

Some of the countries included are: Algeria, Mauritania, South Africa, Nigeria, Angola, Spain, Italy, Slovenia, Ukraine, Belgium, Hungary, Portugal, Cuba, Mexico, El Salvador, Colombia, Timor-Leste, Russia, Venezuela, Brazil; apart from unspecified delegations from Asia; the European Parliament and a Moroccan journalist.

[6] Abdelaziz was re-elected as Secretary-General of the Polisario Front and President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic for a three-year term.