The Western Sahara conflict centers on the disputed status of a sparsely populated territory on the northwest African coast, bordered by Morocco, Algeria, and Mauritania. Spain administered the area as "Spanish Sahara" until 1975, when it withdrew under pressure from Morocco's "Green March" and signed the Madrid Accords with Morocco and Mauritania, transferring administrative control without resolving sovereignty. The Polisario Front, formed in 1973, proclaimed the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) in 1976 and waged an armed insurgency, backed primarily by Algeria, which hosts Sahrawi refugee camps near Tindouf.
Mauritania renounced its claim in 1979, but Morocco extended control over most of the territory, eventually constructing a fortified sand berm separating Moroccan-administered areas (roughly 80% of the territory) from Polisario-held zones to the east. In its 1975 advisory opinion, the International Court of Justice found legal ties between the territory and both Morocco and Mauritania but rejected claims of territorial sovereignty sufficient to override the right of self-determination.
A UN-brokered ceasefire took effect in 1991, accompanied by the deployment of MINURSO (the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara), tasked with organizing a self-determination referendum that has never occurred, largely due to disagreement over voter eligibility. Successive UN envoys, including James Baker, Christopher Ross, and Staffan de Mistura, have failed to broker a settlement. Morocco proposes autonomy under its sovereignty; Polisario insists on a referendum including independence as an option.
In November 2020, Polisario declared the ceasefire broken after a Moroccan operation at the Guerguerat border crossing. In December 2020, the United States recognized Moroccan sovereignty over the territory as part of normalization with Israel. Spain shifted in 2022 to back Morocco's autonomy plan, followed by France in 2024. The African Union admits SADR as a member; the UN still classifies Western Sahara as a non-self-governing territory.
Example
In November 2020, the Polisario Front declared the 1991 UN-monitored ceasefire void after Moroccan forces moved into the Guerguerat buffer zone near the Mauritanian border.
Frequently asked questions
No. The UN lists it as a non-self-governing territory pending a self-determination process. The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic is recognized by the African Union and many states but is not a UN member.
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