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The UN Security Council has approved a US-backed measure that favors Moroccan position 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 support yet for Moroccan plan to retain sovereignty over the region, which additionally enjoys support from most EU members and a increasing number of African partners.

Measure Structure and Key Components

The resolution refers to Moroccan plan as a basis for talks. As with earlier measures, the text makes no mention of a vote on independence that contains sovereignty as an choice, which constitutes the approach traditionally supported by the pro-independence Polisario movement and its allies.

Genuine autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty could represent a most feasible resolution.

Historical Information

Western Sahara is a mineral-rich area of coastline arid land the area of a US state which was under Spain's control until the mid-1970s. It is asserted by both Morocco and the Polisario movement, which functions from refugee camps in south-western Algeria and asserts to represent the Sahrawi people indigenous to the disputed region.

Decision Results and Global Responses

The United States, which sponsored the resolution, led 11 countries in voting in favor, while three nations – Russia, China and Pakistan – declined to vote. The neighboring country, the movement's primary benefactor, did not vote.

Mike Waltz, the American representative to the UN, stated the decision had been "significant" and would "build on the momentum for a long, long overdue peace in the region".

The Algerian ambassador, the Algeria's ambassador to the United Nations, commented that while the resolution was an advancement on earlier versions, it "still has a series of deficiencies".

Peacekeeping Mission and Future Review

The resolution also renews the United Nations peacekeeping operation in Western Sahara for an additional year, as has been done for over three decades. Prior renewals, however, have not contained a reference to Morocco and its supporters' preferred resolution.

The UN resolution urges all parties participating to "seize this unprecedented opportunity for a enduring peace." Depending on progress, it asks the UN leader to review the peacekeeping mission's mandate within six months.

Regional Consequences and Present Conditions

The shift could disrupt a protracted situation that for decades has escaped settlement, notwithstanding a UN peacekeeping operation that was intended to be short-term. Demonstrations have followed in Sahrawi settlements in Algeria this week, where residents have vowed not to give up their struggle for independence.

Morocco administers almost all of Western Sahara, excluding a thin strip called the "liberated area" that lies to the east of a Moroccan-built barrier.

Past Background and Recent Events

A 1991-era ceasefire was intended to facilitate a referendum on independence, but disagreements over voter eligibility prevented it from occurring.

Over the years, Morocco has transformed the disputed territory, constructing a deepwater port and a 656-mile highway. State subsidies keep basic commodity prices affordable, and the resident count has ballooned as Moroccans settle in urban areas such as Dakhla and Laayoune.

Polisario withdrew from the truce in 2020 after clashes near a route Morocco was paving to neighboring Mauritania.

The group has subsequently frequently documented security activity, while the government has primarily denied open conflict. The UN describes it "low-level tensions".

International Relations and Future Prospects

In response to the draft resolution, the movement said that it would not participate in any initiative intending "to validate Morocco's unauthorized military occupation," adding resolution "cannot happen by supporting expansionism".

The situation constitutes the central issue in north African international relations. Morocco considers endorsement of its proposal as a standard for how it assesses its allies.

Recently, the UN envoy proposed partitioning the territory, a proposal no party agreed to. He urged the government to clarify what self-rule would involve and warned that a lack of progress might raise questions about the United Nations' role and "whether there is space and readiness for us to remain effective."

The push to review the United Nations Mission comes as the United States slashes funding for UN programmes and agencies, including peacekeeping.