🔗 Share this article

The UN Security Council has passed a US-backed resolution that endorses Morocco's claim regarding the disputed territory, notwithstanding fierce opposition from neighboring Algeria.

Split Decision Strengthens Moroccan Position

While Friday's decision was divided, the measure represents the most significant endorsement to date for Morocco's plan to maintain control over the territory, which also has backing from most European Union countries and a increasing number of African nation partners.

Resolution Structure and Key Elements

The document refers to Morocco's plan as a foundation for talks. As with previous measures, the text doesn't include a vote on self-determination that contains sovereignty as an option, which constitutes the solution long favored by the independence-seeking Polisario movement and its allies.

Genuine autonomy under Morocco's authority could represent a most feasible solution.

Background Information

The territory is a phosphate-rich area of coastal desert the area of a US state which was under Spanish control until the mid-1970s. It is asserted by both Morocco and the Polisario Front, which functions from refugee camps in southwestern Algeria and claims to represent the Sahrawi people indigenous to the contested region.

Voting Results and International Reactions

The United States, which sponsored the resolution, led 11 countries in deciding in support, while 3 nations – multiple nations – declined to vote. Algeria, the movement's primary supporter, did not participate.

The US ambassador, the American ambassador to the UN, said the vote had been "significant" and would "advance the momentum for a long, long overdue peace in Western Sahara".

The Algerian ambassador, the Algeria's ambassador to the United Nations, commented that while the resolution was an improvement on earlier versions, it "still has a number of deficiencies".

Security Mission and Upcoming Assessment

The resolution also extends the United Nations peacekeeping operation in Western Sahara for another year, as has been done for more than thirty years. Prior extensions, though, have not included a mention to Moroccan and its allies' preferred outcome.

The UN resolution urges all parties involved to "seize this unique opportunity for a lasting resolution." Based on progress, it asks the UN leader to review the peacekeeping mission's authority within half a year.

Regional Impact and Present Situation

The shift could unsettle a protracted process that for decades has eluded resolution, notwithstanding a United Nations security operation that was designed to be short-term. Protests have ensued in Sahrawi refugee camps in Algeria this recent period, where people have pledged not to give up their fight for independence.

Morocco controls nearly all of Western Sahara, except for a narrow strip called the "free zone" that lies east of a constructed by Morocco barrier.

Historical Background and Recent Developments

A 1991-era truce was meant to facilitate a vote on self-determination, but fighting over voter eligibility prevented it from taking place.

Through time, the Moroccan government has developed the contested territory, constructing a deepwater port and a 656-mile road. State subsidies keep food and energy costs affordable, and the population has ballooned as Moroccans settle in cities such as Dakhla and Laayoune.

The movement ended the truce in 2020 after confrontations near a road Morocco was constructing to neighboring Mauritania.

The movement has since regularly reported military activity, while the government has mostly rejected claims of open conflict. The UN calls it "low-level tensions".

International Diplomacy and Coming Possibilities

In response to the proposed measure, Polisario said that it would not participate in any initiative aiming "to validate Moroccan illegal presence," adding resolution "can never be achieved by rewarding expansionism".

The situation represents the driving force in north African international relations. Morocco considers support for its proposal as a benchmark for how it assesses its international partners.

Recently, the UN envoy proposed dividing the territory, a proposal no party agreed to. He encouraged the government to clarify what self-rule would involve and cautioned that a lack of progress might question the United Nations' role and "if there remains opportunity and readiness for us to remain useful."

The push to reassess the UN operation comes as the United States reduces funding for United Nations initiatives and agencies, including peacekeeping.