In 1963, while still under Spanish control, the Western Sahara was officially recognized as a Non-Self-Governing Territory (NSGT) by the General Assembly under the UN Charter – a legal status it retains to this day.

During Spanish colonial role no such process of decolonization took place for Western Sahara. While Spain committed to organizing a referendum in 1972, no referendum was held. Instead, it offered Western Sahara to two neighboring countries, Morocco and Mauritania, under the so-called Madrid Accords of 14 November 1975.

The Saharawi people were thus denied the opportunity to exercise their right to self-determination, a founding principle of the UN and the Organization of African Unity (OAU)/African Union (AU). As a result, the people of Western Sahara created the Frente POLISARIO to fight against colonialism

In October 1975, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) confirmed the legal right of the Saharawi to  a process of self-determination, which was to include the free and genuine expression of the will of the peoples of the Territory, and found no ties of territorial sovereignty between Western Sahara and either Morocco or Mauritania.