The UN takes the lead at Western Sahara summit
UN envoy for the Western Sahara Staffan de Mistura chaired the second round of negotiations involving officials from Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania and the Polisario, Front, reports Morocco-friendly Atalayar on 26th February. It was co-chaired by US ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz and Trump’s advisor for the Middle East and Africa Massad Boulos, who had also attended previous meetings.
The summit was held in Washington at the request of president Trump, after the first meeting in the US embassy in Madrid in mid-February ended without clear progress. It focused mainly on the new Moroccan proposal for Sahrawi autonomy under the Kingdom’s sovereignty. Since the UN Security Council vote on the issue in October 2025, which recognised the Moroccan plan as “most feasible”, over 100 countries have added their support and sided with the Kingdom over the Polisario’s demands for independence.
The revised proposals would give the Sahrawi a high level of autonomy, with their own parliament and regional leader, and self-governance on issues such as health and education. However, Morocco would retain control of foreign policy and security matters. The current negotiations have confirmed the Moroccan proposal as the only one of the table, to the dismay of Algeria and the Polisario Front. However, progress seems to have been made on contentious issues: the region’s president would be elected by the local parliament and be officially appointed by King Moroccan Mohammed VI. The Polisario will also be one of the groups represented, along with Moroccans living in the Western Sahara and the Sahrawi community.
Several key points have been agreed upon; notably, the Polisario Front’s security services would be integrated into national services, and a committee would be formed to support the return of Sahrawi refugees. Furthermore, economic partnerships and investments would support the development of local economy, to improve living standards.
The Trump administration has been pushing for a quick resolution to the conflict, as part of its wider “peace-promoting” efforts in Africa: Trump received the Congolese and Rwandan leaders in Washington in December 2025 to broker a peace deal, and his Board of Peace for Gaza has ambitions beyond the Palestinian issue.
Atalayar, Maghrebi.org
Want to chase the pulse of North Africa?
Subscribe to receive our FREE weekly PDF magazine
