31 October 2025 marked 50 years of the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara. Since their territory was invaded by Morocco in 1975, the Saharawi people have waged a persistent struggle against the repressive regime. Today, the Saharawi people suffer discrimination in access to housing and land while around 400,000 Moroccan settlers benefit from state subsidies. More than 170,000 Saharawis live in refugee camps in south-west Algeria, surviving on humanitarian aid.
Spain colonised the region from 1884 to 1975, during which time the Saharawi resisted colonialism and developed a movement for liberation. The UN classified Western Sahara as a non-self-governing (colonised) territory in 1963 and therefore entitled to independence; UN Resolution 2354 (1967) affirmed that Western Sahara must be decolonised through a referendum, but no such referendum has been held. Throughout most of the Spanish period, Morocco did not treat the Sahara as part of its national territory. In 1970 the Moroccan king even joined the leaders of Algeria and Mauritania in publicly supporting Saharawi self-determination. Yet Morocco had already begun expressing regional ambitions, demanding in 1957 at the UN the annexation of both Mauritania and Western Sahara.
In 1975, after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) rejected Morocco’s territorial claims and affirmed the Saharawi right to self-determination, the king launched the ‘Green March’, sending 350,000 civilians and troops into the territory.
Spain, Morocco and Mauritania then signed the Madrid Accords, partitioning Western Sahara without the consent of its people. Mauritania withdrew in 1979, but Morocco immediately annexed its share, entrenching the occupation by accelerating settler projects, intensifying repression, and obstructing the promised referendum.
Only one-fifth of the territory was left unoccupied, controlled by the Saharawi people and called the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic. Under the leadership of the Polisario Front, the armed struggle for self-determination continued until a UN-brokered ceasefire in 1991 established the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara, with the central task of organising a referendum on independence or integration with Morocco. Morocco insists its settlers should vote but the Polisario reject what they see as an engineered demographic manipulation.
Despite the ICJ’s ruling and historic UN resolutions, the occupation persists. In 2020, as part of the Abraham Accords, the United States recognised Morocco’s claim of sovereignty over Western Sahara in exchange for Morocco normalising its diplomatic relations with Israel. Other states have followed, with British foreign minister David Lammy in June of this year endorsing Morocco’s plan, referring to it as ‘the most credible, viable and pragmatic basis for a lasting resolution of the dispute’. The plan would give Saharawis limited authority over local matters such as housing and education but place defence, security and external affairs fully under Moroccan control. Britain and Morocco simultaneously announced new partner-ships and investments – from ports and water infrastructure to preparations for the 2030 FIFA World Cup.
Then, on 31 October 2025, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2797. The resolution described Morocco’s autonomy plan as the ‘best solution’ although still reaffirming the need for a referendum. After the resolution was determined, celebrations erupted across Morocco, with people taking to the streets with the flag to celebrate the colonial occupation.
Signalling his true ambitions, King Mohammed VI proclaimed a ‘united Morocco, from Tangier to Lagouira’, a claim unsupported by any recognised international borders or legal authority. The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled repeatedly since 2018 that trade deals cannot include Western Sahara’s resources because Morocco has no sovereignty over the territory. In 2019, the UK High Court reached the same conclusion regarding preferential tariffs. In 2022, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights reaffirmed that Western Sahara remains a non-self-governing territory under occupation, and that Morocco’s claims have ‘never been accepted by the international community’.
Morocco controls around 80% of Western Sahara behind a 2,700km fortified berm, the second longest wall in the world. Built with the assistance of US companies Northrop and Westinghouse, and surrounded by the world’s longest continuous minefield, the berm protects Morocco’s hold over phosphate reserves, rich fishing grounds, renewable energy projects, and lucrative sand extraction. It was also built to protect the occupation forces from guerrilla attacks by the Polisario.
Western Sahara mirrors the struggle of Palestine: settler colonialism, illegal occupation, resource plunder and deals that override indigenous rights. The ICJ rejected Morocco’s claims in 1975 and, like in Palestine, its ruling remains ignored.
The Saharawi people have an inalienable right to self-determination. Fifty years on, that right remains the heart of the struggle.
Ameera Mahmoud
