Editing Morocco (section)

=== Western Sahara status ===
{{main|Legal status of Western Sahara}}
[[File:Westernsaharamap.png|thumb|left|Morocco annexed Western Sahara in 1975. The [[Polisario Front]] control the territory east of the [[Moroccan Wall|Moroccan ''berm'' (wall)]].]]
The status of the [[Saguia el-Hamra]] and [[Río de Oro]] regions is disputed. The [[Western Sahara War]] saw the [[Polisario Front]], the Sahrawi rebel national liberation movement, battling both Morocco and Mauritania between 1976 and a ceasefire in 1991. The Moroccan government has stated that their claimed area of Western Sahara is referred to as the "Southern Provinces".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brooke-Holland |first=Louisa |date=29 November 2023 |title=Western Sahara |url=https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9906/ |website=House of Commons Library}}</ref> A United Nations mission, [[MINURSO]], is tasked with organising a referendum on whether the territory should become independent or recognised as a part of Morocco.

Part of the territory, the [[Free Zone (Western Sahara region)|Free Zone]], is a mostly uninhabited area that the Polisario Front controls as the [[Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic]]. Its administrative headquarters are located in [[Tindouf]], Algeria. {{As of|2006}}, no [[member state of the United Nations|UN member state]] had recognised Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara.<ref name="daccess-dds-ny.un.org">{{cite web |title=Paragraph 37 |url=https://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/2006/249 |work=Report of the Secretary-General on the situation concerning Western Sahara (S/2006/249) |publisher=United Nations Security Council |page=10 |access-date=29 June 2017 |archive-date=18 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018112734/http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/2006/249 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2006, the government of Morocco suggested [[autonomy for Western Sahara|autonomous]] status for the region through the Moroccan [[Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs]] (CORCAS). The project was presented to the [[United Nations Security Council]] in mid-April 2007. The proposal was encouraged by Moroccan allies such as the United States, France, and Spain.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-research-reports/report/the-western-sahara-conflict-a-fragile-path-to-negotiations/|title=The Western Sahara conflict: A fragile path to negotiations|last=Fabiani|first=Riccardo|publisher=Atlantic Council|date=August 3, 2023|website=AtlanticCouncil.org|accessdate=June 14, 2024}}</ref> The Security Council has called upon the parties to enter into direct and unconditional negotiations to reach a mutually accepted political solution.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/missions/minurso/reports.shtml|title=Report of the Secretary-General on the situation concerning Western Sahara|date=13 April 2007|access-date=18 May 2007|work=UN Security Council|archive-date=28 February 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100228172226/http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/missions/minurso/reports.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2020, the United States under the [[First presidency of Donald Trump|Trump administration]] became the first Western country to back Morocco's contested sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara region, on the agreement that Morocco would simultaneously normalise [[Israel–Morocco relations|relations with Israel]].<ref>Majid, Jacob.  "[https://www.timesofisrael.com/biden-reportedly-wont-reverse-trump-recognition-of-western-sahara-as-moroccos/ Biden reportedly won't reverse Trump recognition of Western Sahara as Morocco's] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016004918/https://www.timesofisrael.com/biden-reportedly-wont-reverse-trump-recognition-of-western-sahara-as-moroccos/|date=16 October 2021}}", ''[[The Times of Israel]]'' (1 May 2021).</ref> The Polisario later declared an end to the ceasefire; this led to occasional clashes between the two.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=McCluskey |first1=Mitchell |last2=Paget |first2=Sharif |date=2020-11-15 |title=Western Sahara independence leader declares end of 29-year ceasefire with Morocco |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/11/15/world/polisario-front-morocco-western-sahara-ceasefire-intl/index.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com |access-date=2025-02-10 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref>