Polisario Front

The Polisario Front is a Sahrawi political and armed movement founded in 1973 to end Spanish rule and seek independence for Western Sahara.

Western Sahara: A disputed territory on the Atlantic coast of northwestern Africa, formerly administered by Spain. The territory whose independence the Polisario Front seeks.
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic: A state proclaimed by the Polisario Front in 1976 and recognized by some countries and the African Union. It is the statehood project the movement established in pursuit of independence.
Western Sahara conflict: A conflict over sovereignty in Western Sahara involving Morocco, the Polisario Front, and other parties. The Polisario Front is a principal party to this protracted dispute.
Moroccan autonomy plan for Western Sahara: A Moroccan proposal to grant Western Sahara autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty. It offers autonomy within Morocco instead of the independence sought by the Polisario Front.
Spanish Sahara: The name for Western Sahara when it was a Spanish colony and province. The colonial territory whose rule the movement was founded to end.
Sahrawi National Council: The legislative body of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. It gives the movement’s state project a representative legislative institution.
Morocco: A country in northwestern Africa that controls most of Western Sahara and claims sovereignty over it. Its claim to the territory directly conflicts with the Polisario Front’s independence goal.
Self-determination: The principle that peoples may determine their political status and pursue their economic, social, and cultural development. The movement invokes this principle to justify a choice over Western Sahara’s status.
Sahrawi people: The people indigenous to Western Sahara and neighboring parts of northwestern Africa. The movement presents itself as representing Sahrawi national aspirations.
Sahrawi refugee camps: Camps near Tindouf, Algeria, that have housed Sahrawi refugees displaced by the Western Sahara conflict. The Polisario Front administers institutions and services in the camps.

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