Western Sahara is located on the northwest coast of Africa and is bordered by Morocco, Mauritania and Algeria. It was administered by Spain until 1976. Spain withdrew from the territory on February 26, 1976, stating that it considered itself released from international responsibility towards the territory. However, it indicated that it did not believe that the people of Western Sahara had exercised their right to self-determination. 

Both Morocco and Mauritania affirmed their claim to the territory, a claim opposed by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Rio de Oro (Frente POLISARIO). On February 27th, Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim received a message, through Morocco, from the President of the Jema'a informing him that the Jema'a, a local assembly of the Saharan population, had approved the "reintegration" of the territory with Morocco and Mauritania. In March, the Frente POLISARIO proclaimed the "Saharan Arab Democratic Republic" and stated that it would engage in an armed struggle to achieve the right of self-determination for the people of the territory. In April, Mauritania and Morocco announced an agreement whereby the northern two-thirds of the territory would be integrated with Morocco and the southern part with Mauritania. The Frente POLISARIO and Algeria opposed the arrangement, maintaining that the Jema'a had not been democratically elected.

Following a change of government in 1979, Mauritania signed a peace agreement in Algiers with the Frente POLISARIO by which it renounced all claims to Western Sahara. Morocco declared the accord null and void and Moroccan troops took over the Mauritanian sector of Western Sahara. The Frente POLISARIO stepped up its attacks on Moroccan forces and fighting in the territory was reported in the following years.

In 1985, Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar and the Chairman of the OAU (Organization of African Unity) began a joint good offices mission for Western Sahara. After extensive negotiations, a settlement plan was reached between Morocco and the Frente POLISARIO on August 30, 1988. The agreement provided for a cease-fire and a referendum to choose between independence and integration with Morocco. On September 20th, the Security Council adopted resolution 621. The resolution authorized the Secretary-General to appoint a Special Representative for Western Sahara. The Secretary-General was also requested to report on the holding of a referendum for self-determination and on ways to ensure the organization and supervision of such a referendum by the United Nations in cooperation with the OAU.

In June 1990, the Secretary-General submitted a report to the Security Council containing his proposals for implementing the plan set forth in resolution 621. The plan provided for a transitional period, during which a Special Representative of the Secretary-General would have sole responsibility for all matters relating to the referendum. It proposed the creation of a United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO). An Identification Commission was also established to prepare the process of identification and registration of voters. On June 27th, the Security Council approved the Secretary-General's plan in resolution 658. However, MINURSO was not formally established until the Security Council adopted resolution 690 on April 29, 1991. 

The registration of voters took several years. By the summer of 1994, the United Nations had finally succeeded in registering the first voters in Western Sahara's long-delayed referendum on self-determination. However, by early July, the Commission had processed only 20,000 of the 76,000 applications. In addition, Morocco had disputed the impartiality of OAU observers sent to monitor the work of the Commission. As a result, Morocco prevented the OAU observers from interviewing individual applicants, a crucial step in determining voter eligibility. These developments forced Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali to delay the referendum from December 1994 to February 1995.

In May 1996, the Security Council suspended the identification process. The suspension will remain in effect until both Morocco and POLISARIO demonstrate their commitment to resuming the identification process without further obstacles. However, the Security Council remains committed to holding a referendum to enable the people of Western Sahara to choose between independence and integration with Morocco. The Security Council extended the mission of MINURSO through 1997.

Source: A Global Agenda: Issues Before the 49th General Assembly of the United Nations. Copyright 1994 by the United Nations Association of the United States of America. Published by University Press of America, Inc.