Western Sahara: UN votes in favour of Moroccan autonomy

The UN Security Council voted to adopt Resolution 2797, which acknowledged Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara region, according to the Moroccan government-friendly North Africa Post and agencies on November 3rd.

The vote, which occurred on October 31st, acknowledged that Morocco’s autonomy plan, which would grant Western Sahara limited self-governance under Moroccan sovereignty, is the “most feasible outcome.”

It is hoped that this vote will resolve a 50-year conflict between Algeria and Morocco, which began when Spanish colonial rule ended in 1975.

Messages of support for Morocco included the UAE, which described the resolution as “an essential step toward a definitive political solution.”

US Ambassador Mike Waltz called the proposal a “credible and realistic Autonomy Proposal”, a sentiment echoed by US President Donald Trump’s senior advisor on Arab and African Affairs, Massad Boulos.

Similarly, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated King Mohammed VI, calling the resolution “a triumph for long-lasting, determined Moroccan diplomacy.”

France’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Gérôme Bonnafont, declared that “Autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty constitutes the only basis for achieving a political solution in line with the Council’s resolutions.”

Despite the autonomy proposal receiving widespread support from 130 countries, Algeria rejected the plan and called for a referendum ahead of the UN Security Council vote on October 30th.

The autonomy plan was criticised by Algerian-friendly media outlets, which accused France and the UAE of conducting a “systematic pressure campaign” that targeted 15 Security Council members using “methods that contradict diplomatic norms and UN standards.”

Both nations were accused of holding “intensive bilateral meetings” with council members to “secure votes in favour of a draft resolution that legitimises the status quo.”

Additionally, the UAE was also accused of “using its wealth to buy political influence at the expense of an entire people.” While France, the former colonising power over Algeria, reportedly endorsed Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara on April 16th.

Algeria supports the Polisario Front, a militia group which claims to fight for the self-determination of the Sahrawi people, whose ancestral homeland is the disputed Western Sahara territory. Regional tensions and strategic interests have led to both Morocco and the Polisario Front claiming the region.

The Polisario Front has refused to participate in negotiations that it believes would legitimise what it calls the “Moroccan occupier’s” illegal military rule; the group has also accused Morocco of “dividing the Sahrawi people.”

The ongoing conflict has forced thousands of Sahrawis to flee their territory, with many ending up in the Tindouf refugee camps, where they face worsening humanitarian conditions.

The Polisario Front argues that the dispute should be resolved through an independence referendum, in accordance with UN resolutions and respect for colonial-era borders.

On April 23rd, an Algerian news outlet accused Morocco of systemically displacing the territory’s inhabitants through the destruction of homes and seizures of land.

North Africa Post and agencies, Maghrebi.org