International recognition of Western Sahara
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The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic was proclaimed by the Polisario Front on 27 February 1976, in Bir Lehlou, Western Sahara. SADR claims sovereignty over the entire territory of Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony; however, at present the SADR government controls only about 20–25% of the territory it claims. It calls the territories under its control the “Liberated Territories”.
As of July 2021, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic is recognized by 39 out of a total of 193 United Nations member states. At different times, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic has been recognized by 84 UN member states, but, of these, 45 have since “frozen” or “withdrawn” recognition. SADR has, at some point in time, been recognized by 43.5% of United Nations (UN) member states, 38 out of the other 54 (70%) African Union (AU) member states, 18 out of 57 (32%) Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states, and 5 out of 22 (23%) Arab League (AL) member states. Several states that do not recognize the Sahrawi Republic nonetheless recognize the Polisario Front as the legitimate representative of the population of the Western Sahara, but not as the government-in-exile of a sovereign state.