Madrid Accords

The 1975 agreements by which Spain arranged to transfer administration of Spanish Sahara to Morocco and Mauritania, without settling sovereignty over the territory.

Spanish Sahara: A territory on Africa’s Atlantic coast administered by Spain until its withdrawal in 1976. The accords concerned Spain’s withdrawal from this territory and its transfer of administrative responsibilities.
Tripartite Agreement of Madrid: The November 1975 declaration by Spain, Morocco, and Mauritania establishing a temporary administration for Spanish Sahara. This declaration set out the three parties’ administrative arrangement at the heart of the accords.
Polisario Front: A Sahrawi national liberation movement founded in 1973 to seek independence for Western Sahara. The movement rejected the transfer and fought the forces that took control after Spain’s departure.
Self-determination: The principle that peoples may freely determine their political status and pursue their economic, social, and cultural development. The accords transferred administration without giving Sahrawis a direct decision on sovereignty.
Green March: A mass march of Moroccan civilians into Spanish Sahara in November 1975, organized by King Hassan II. The march intensified pressure on Spain while negotiations over the territory’s future were underway.
Yemaa: The General Assembly of Spanish Sahara, a local political body formed under Spanish administration. The accords envisaged consulting this assembly about the territory’s future, but it did not determine sovereignty.
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic: A state proclaimed by the Polisario Front in 1976 and recognized by some countries. Its proclamation asserted Sahrawi self-determination after Spain ended its administration.
Moroccan Western Sahara autonomy proposal: Morocco’s proposal to grant Western Sahara autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty. It offers a later political framework unlike the accords’ temporary division of administrative control.
Francoist Spain: The authoritarian Spanish state led by Francisco Franco from 1939 until the transition to democracy. Spain negotiated the accords during Franco’s final illness and a succession crisis.
Spanish withdrawal from Western Sahara: Spain’s departure from Western Sahara, completed in February 1976 after its colonial administration ended. The agreements provided the framework for Spain’s exit and the transfer of administrative control.

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