Malta will be hosting a United Nations-led meeting on the Western Sahara territory, which has been the subject of an ongoing dispute between Morocco and the Polisario Front, which is supported by Algeria.

The territory lies on the north-west African coast and borders with Morocco, Algeria and Mauritania. It is mainly desert territory that is rich in phosphate and thought to have offshore oil deposits.

It was a Spanish colony between 1884 and 1976, and both Morocco and Mauritania had laid claim to it in 1963.

But the International Court of Justice, in a 1975 opinion requested by the UN General Assembly, had rejected both countries’ claims of territorial sovereignty.

In 1979 the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) called for a referendum allowing the people of the territory, referred to as nomadic Saharans or Saharawis, to exercise their right to self-determination.

In 1981 Morocco agreed to a ceasefire and to an internationally supervised referendum, but it made it clear that it would not negotiate directly with Polisario.

A year later 26 OAU member states recognised the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic proclaimed by Polisario in 1976.

In 1983 and 1984 the UN General Assembly reaffirmed that the people of the territory had yet to exercise their right to self-determination and independence, and that the parties should negotiate a ceasefire that would allow for a referendum.

In 1990 the UN Security Council approved the secretary-general’s proposal that, during a transitional period a special representative would be responsible for all matters relating to the referendum, assisted by the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (Minurso).

Minurso was established by the UN Security Council resolution 690 of 29 April 1991 in accordance with settlement proposals accepted on 30 August 1988 by Morocco and Polisario.

While the organisation of the referendum has not yet been possible, other requirements of the mandate have been pursued successfully.

Minurso continues to monitor the ceasefire, reduce the threat of mines, and support the confidence-building measures.

Minurso’s mandate has been extended by the UN Security Council until the end of next month.

Negotiations on the settlement plan, the referendum and other matters will continue in a fifth round of informal talks in Malta between Monday and Wednesday.