1975 treaty between Spain, Morocco, and Mauritania to end Spanish presence in the Sahara
The Madrid Accords transferred Spanish Sahara to joint Moroccan-Mauritanian administration, bypassing Sahrawi self-determination and triggering a lasting territorial conflict.
Key Facts
- Date signed
- November 14, 1975
- Signatories
- Spain, Morocco, Mauritania
- Days before Franco's death
- 6 days
- Published in official gazette
- No (never published in Boletín Oficial del Estado)
- Conflicting legislation
- Law on Decolonization of Sahara, ratified November 18, 1975
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Spanish Sahara had long been a Spanish province and colonial territory. As Francisco Franco's health declined in late 1975, Spain sought to extricate itself from the territory amid Moroccan and Mauritanian pressure, while the UN had called for a referendum on self-determination for the Sahrawi people.
On November 14, 1975, Spain, Morocco, and Mauritania signed the Madrid Accords, formally the Declaration of Principles on Western Sahara. The treaty established six principles to end Spanish administration and set up a temporary joint governance arrangement pending a referendum, with no provision for the Polisario Front or Sahrawi representation.
The accords divided the territory between Morocco and Mauritania, sidelining the Sahrawi population. The Polisario Front relocated from the Mauritanian border to Algeria and continued its independence struggle. The agreement conflicted with Spain's own decolonization law passed four days later, and Western Sahara's status remains disputed to the present day.
Political Outcome
Western Sahara partitioned between Morocco and Mauritania; Spanish administration ended; Sahrawi self-determination excluded from the arrangement.
Spanish Sahara under Spanish colonial administration
Territory divided between Morocco and Mauritania; Polisario Front displaced to Algeria