The Western Sahara issue is one of the most neglected political disputes in the world. The region, a former Spanish colony to the south of Morocco was annexed by the Moroccan government1975 when the government moved thousands of Moroccan settlers in to the area. After a war between Morocco and the POLISARIO ended sovereignty ended in a 1991 UN-brokered cease-fire; a UN-organized referendum on the territory's final status has been repeatedly postponed.