🔗 Share this article

The UN Security Council has passed a US-backed measure that supports Moroccan claim regarding the disputed Western Sahara, notwithstanding strong resistance from Algeria.

Divided Decision Bolsters Moroccan Stance

While Friday's decision was divided, the measure represents the most significant endorsement to date for Morocco's plan to maintain control over the region, which additionally has support from most European Union members and a growing number of African nation partners.

Measure Structure and Important Elements

The document refers to Moroccan plan as a basis for talks. As with earlier measures, the text makes no mention of a referendum on independence that includes sovereignty as an option, which represents the approach traditionally supported by the pro-independence Polisario movement and its supporters.

Genuine self-rule under Morocco's sovereignty could represent a very practical resolution.

Historical Context

The territory is a phosphate-rich area of coastline arid land the area of a US state which was under Spanish rule until 1975. It is claimed by both the Moroccan government and the Polisario movement, which operates from temporary settlements in south-western Algeria and asserts to speak for the Sahrawi people native to the contested region.

Voting Patterns and International Reactions

The United States, which proposed the measure, led 11 nations in voting in support, while 3 countries – Russia, China and Pakistan – abstained. Algeria, Polisario's primary supporter, did not participate.

Mike Waltz, the American ambassador to the United Nations, said the decision had been "significant" and would "advance the progress for a much-delayed resolution in Western Sahara".

Amar Bendjama, the Algerian ambassador to the UN, said that while the measure was an improvement on previous iterations, it "contains a number of shortcomings".

Security Operation and Future Review

The measure also extends the United Nations security operation in the territory for an additional year, as has been done for more than three decades. Prior extensions, however, have not contained a reference to Morocco and its allies' preferred resolution.

The UN resolution urges all parties involved to "take this unique chance for a lasting resolution." Depending on progress, it asks the UN leader to assess the operation's mandate within half a year.

Area Consequences and Current Situation

The change could unsettle a protracted situation that for many years has eluded settlement, desdespite a United Nations peacekeeping operation that was designed to be short-term. Protests have followed in indigenous refugee camps in the neighboring country this recent period, where residents have vowed not to abandon their struggle for self-determination.

The Moroccan government controls almost all of the territory, excluding a narrow strip known as the "liberated area" that lies to the east of a constructed by Morocco barrier.

Past Context and Recent Events

A 1991 truce was intended to pave the way for a vote on independence, but fighting over participation criteria blocked it from occurring.

Over the years, Morocco has transformed the disputed territory, constructing a deepwater port and a 656-mile road. Government support keep food and energy prices affordable, and the resident count has ballooned as Moroccans settle in cities such as major settlements.

The movement withdrew from the ceasefire in recent years after confrontations near a road the government was paving to neighboring Mauritania.

The movement has since frequently documented military operations, while Morocco has primarily rejected claims of open conflict. The United Nations describes it "low-level hostilities".

International Diplomacy and Coming Possibilities

In response to the proposed measure, Polisario said that it would not participate in any process intending "to 'legitimise' Moroccan illegal military occupation," saying peace "cannot happen by rewarding territorial claims".

The conflict constitutes the driving force in north African international relations. Morocco considers endorsement of its autonomy plan as a benchmark for how it assesses its allies.

Last October, the UN envoy proposed partitioning Western Sahara, a proposal no party accepted. He urged Morocco to specify what self-rule would entail and cautioned that a absence of development might question the United Nations' function and "whether there is space and readiness for us to still be effective."

The initiative to reassess the United Nations Mission comes as the US slashes funding for UN programmes and agencies, including peacekeeping.