UN Security Council endorses Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara
The UN Security Council has approved a US-backed resolution supporting Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara as the “most feasible solution”
UNITED NATIONS (MNTV) — The UN Security Council has adopted a US-drafted resolution declaring that genuine autonomy for Western Sahara under Moroccan sovereignty offers the “most feasible solution” to Rabat’s decades-long conflict with the Algeria-backed Polisario Front.
Eleven of the 15 Council members voted in favor of the resolution, while Russia, China, and Pakistan abstained and Algeria declined to vote. The measure also extends the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission in the region, known as MINURSO, for another year.
Western Sahara, a vast desert territory roughly the size of Britain, has been at the center of Africa’s longest-running territorial dispute since Spain withdrew in 1975 and Morocco annexed the region. The Polisario Front seeks full independence and the creation of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, while Morocco proposes autonomy under its sovereignty.
US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz called the vote “a historic moment,” urging all sides “to engage in serious discussions using Morocco’s credible and realistic autonomy plan as the only basis for a just and lasting solution.”
Algeria’s UN envoy Amar Bendjama, however, rejected the resolution, arguing that it “ignores the proposals of the Polisario Front,” and stressed that “the final decision must belong to the people under colonial domination.”
Morocco’s autonomy plan, first presented to the UN in 2007, envisions a locally elected legislature, executive, and judiciary for Western Sahara, while Rabat retains control over defense, foreign affairs, and religious matters. The Polisario, by contrast, insists on a referendum that includes independence as an option.
Following the vote, Moroccan King Mohammed VI hailed the decision as “a new and victorious chapter” in affirming the Moroccan character of the Sahara. He pledged to update and resubmit the autonomy plan to the UN, urged Sahrawi refugees in Algeria’s Tindouf camps to endorse it, and renewed his call for “brotherly dialogue” with Algeria to revive the Arab Maghreb Union.
Thousands of Moroccans celebrated the UN decision in the streets, waving flags and chanting patriotic slogans.
Polisario Front representative Sidi Omar said the resolution does not recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara and that the group would announce its official response after reviewing the text.
The resolution also requests UN Secretary-General António Guterres to present a strategic review of MINURSO’s mandate within six months.
The US, France, Britain, and Spain have all publicly supported Morocco’s autonomy proposal, signaling growing international backing for Rabat’s position and a broader shift in European policy toward the dispute.
In July, US President Donald Trump reaffirmed Washington’s recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, calling the autonomy plan the “only viable solution” and urging progress toward a regional peace deal between Morocco and Algeria.
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