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The UN Security Council has approved a US-backed resolution that favors Morocco's claim regarding the contested territory, notwithstanding significant resistance from Algeria.

Split Decision Strengthens Moroccan Position

Although Friday's vote was divided, the resolution constitutes the strongest support to date for Moroccan proposal to retain sovereignty over the region, which also enjoys backing from the majority of EU countries and a growing number of African nation allies.

Measure Framework and Important Components

The resolution refers to Moroccan plan as a basis for talks. Similar to previous resolutions, the document makes no mention of a vote on independence that includes independence as an option, which represents the solution long supported by the pro-independence Polisario Front and its supporters.

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

Historical Context

Western Sahara is a phosphate-rich area of coastal desert the size of a US state which was under Spanish rule until the mid-1970s. It is asserted by both Morocco and the Polisario movement, which operates from temporary settlements in south-western neighboring Algeria and claims to speak for the Sahrawi people native to the contested territory.

Voting Results and Global Reactions

The US, which proposed the measure, led eleven nations in voting in favor, while 3 nations – multiple nations – abstained. Algeria, Polisario's primary supporter, did not participate.

The US ambassador, the US ambassador to the UN, said the vote had been "historic" and would "build on the progress for a much-delayed peace in Western Sahara".

Amar Bendjama, the Algerian ambassador to the United Nations, said that while the resolution was an advancement on previous versions, it "still has a series of deficiencies".

Peacekeeping Operation and Future Review

The resolution also extends the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the territory for an additional twelve months, as has been done for over thirty years. Prior renewals, though, have not included a mention to Moroccan and its allies' favored outcome.

The UN resolution calls on all sides involved to "take this unprecedented chance for a lasting peace." Depending on developments, it requests the secretary general to review the peacekeeping mission's mandate within half a year.

Area Consequences and Current Conditions

The shift could unsettle a long-stalled situation that for many years has escaped settlement, desdespite a UN peacekeeping operation that was designed to be temporary. Demonstrations have followed in indigenous settlements in Algeria this week, where residents have pledged not to give up their struggle for independence.

Morocco administers almost all of the territory, except for a thin strip known as the "liberated area" that lies east of a constructed by Morocco sand wall.

Historical Context and Current Events

A 1991-era truce was intended to facilitate a vote on independence, but fighting over participation criteria prevented it from taking place.

Over the years, Morocco has transformed the disputed territory, constructing a deepwater port and a long road. State support keep basic commodity prices low, and the population has grown significantly as Moroccan citizens settle in urban areas such as major settlements.

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

The group has subsequently regularly reported military operations, while the government has mostly rejected claims of active fighting. The United Nations calls it "low-level tensions".

Global Relations and Future Prospects

In response to the draft resolution, Polisario stated that it would not participate in any process aiming "to validate Morocco's illegal military occupation," adding resolution "can never be achieved by rewarding territorial claims".

The conflict represents the central issue in regional international relations. Morocco considers support for its autonomy plan as a standard for how it assesses its allies.

Recently, the UN representative suggested dividing Western Sahara, a suggestion no party accepted. He urged the government to specify what autonomy would entail and warned that a lack of development might raise questions about the UN's role and "whether there is space and readiness for us to still be useful."

The push to review the United Nations Mission comes as the US reduces funding for United Nations initiatives and organizations, including peacekeeping.