🔗 Share this article

The UN Security Council has passed a American-supported resolution that supports Moroccan position regarding the disputed Western Sahara, notwithstanding fierce opposition from neighboring Algeria.

Split Decision Bolsters Moroccan Stance

Although the recent decision was split, the measure constitutes the strongest endorsement to date for Morocco's plan to retain sovereignty over the region, which additionally has backing from most European Union countries and a increasing number of African allies.

Measure Structure and Key Components

The resolution refers to Moroccan proposal as a foundation for talks. As with earlier measures, the text doesn't include a referendum on independence that contains independence as an option, which represents the solution traditionally favored by the independence-seeking Polisario movement and its allies.

Genuine autonomy under Morocco's authority could represent a very practical resolution.

Historical Context

The territory is a phosphate-rich area of coastline arid land the size of Colorado which was under Spain's rule until the mid-1970s. It is claimed by both Morocco and the Polisario movement, which operates from refugee camps in south-western Algeria and asserts to speak for the Sahrawi people indigenous to the disputed region.

Decision Patterns and Global Reactions

The US, which proposed the measure, guided eleven nations in deciding in favor, while three countries – multiple nations – declined to vote. The neighboring country, Polisario's main supporter, did not participate.

Mike Waltz, the US ambassador to the United Nations, said the vote had been "historic" and would "advance the progress for a long, long overdue peace in the region".

Amar Bendjama, the Algeria's ambassador to the UN, commented that while the resolution was an advancement on earlier iterations, it "contains a series of deficiencies".

Security Operation and Future Assessment

The measure also extends the UN peacekeeping operation in Western Sahara for an additional twelve months, as has been done for over three decades. Prior extensions, however, have not contained a mention to Morocco and its allies' favored outcome.

The measure calls on all parties participating to "take this unprecedented opportunity for a enduring resolution." Depending on progress, it asks the UN leader to review the peacekeeping mission's authority within half a year.

Area Consequences and Present Situation

The change could unsettle a long-stalled situation that for many years has escaped settlement, desdespite a United Nations security mission that was designed to be short-term. Demonstrations have ensued in indigenous refugee camps in the neighboring country this week, where residents have vowed not to abandon their struggle for self-determination.

Morocco controls almost all of Western Sahara, excluding a narrow strip known as the "liberated area" that lies east of a Moroccan-built barrier.

Historical Background and Recent Developments

A 1991-era truce was intended to facilitate a vote on independence, but disagreements over voter eligibility blocked it from taking place.

Through time, the Moroccan government has developed the disputed region, constructing a maritime facility and a 656-mile road. State subsidies keep food and energy costs affordable, and the resident count has ballooned as Moroccan citizens establish homes in cities such as Dakhla and Laayoune.

The movement withdrew from the truce in 2020 after clashes near a route the government was paving to neighboring Mauritania.

The movement has since frequently documented military operations, while Morocco has mostly denied open conflict. The UN describes it "limited hostilities".

International Relations and Future Possibilities

In response to the draft resolution, the movement said that it would not join any initiative intending "to 'legitimise' Morocco's unauthorized military occupation," adding peace "cannot happen by rewarding expansionism".

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

Last October, the UN envoy proposed partitioning the territory, a suggestion neither side agreed to. He encouraged the government to clarify what autonomy would entail and cautioned that a absence of development might raise questions about the United Nations' role and "if there remains opportunity and readiness for us to still be effective."

The push to review the UN operation comes as the United States slashes funding for UN programmes and agencies, covering peacekeeping.