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

Divided Vote Strengthens Moroccan Position

While the recent decision was divided, the measure represents the strongest endorsement yet for Moroccan proposal to maintain sovereignty over the region, which also has support from the majority of European Union countries and a increasing number of African partners.

Measure Framework and Important Elements

The document refers to Morocco's proposal as a basis for talks. As with earlier resolutions, the document makes no mention of a referendum on self-determination that contains sovereignty as an option, which constitutes the solution long favored by the independence-seeking Polisario Front and its allies.

Real self-rule under Morocco's authority could represent a very feasible solution.

Historical Context

The territory is a phosphate-rich area of coastline desert the area of a US state which was under Spain's rule until the mid-1970s. It is claimed by both the Moroccan government and the Polisario movement, which operates from temporary settlements in south-western neighboring Algeria and asserts to represent the Sahrawi people indigenous to the disputed region.

Decision Results and International Responses

The US, which proposed the measure, guided 11 countries in deciding in support, while 3 countries – Russia, China and Pakistan – abstained. Algeria, the movement's main supporter, did not vote.

The US ambassador, the US ambassador to the UN, said the decision had been "significant" and would "advance the momentum for a long, long overdue resolution in the region".

Amar Bendjama, the Algeria's representative to the United Nations, commented that while the resolution was an improvement on previous versions, it "still has a series of deficiencies".

Peacekeeping Mission and Upcoming Assessment

The resolution also renews the United Nations security operation in Western Sahara for an additional year, as has been done for more than thirty years. Prior extensions, though, have not contained a mention to Morocco and its allies' favored resolution.

The UN resolution urges all sides participating to "take this unprecedented chance for a lasting resolution." Based on progress, it requests the UN leader to assess the peacekeeping mission's mandate within half a year.

Regional Impact and Current Conditions

The change could disrupt a protracted situation that for decades has escaped resolution, desdespite a UN security mission that was intended to be short-term. Demonstrations have followed in Sahrawi refugee camps in Algeria this recent period, where residents have pledged not to give up their struggle for self-determination.

Morocco controls almost all of the territory, except for a thin area called the "liberated area" that lies east of a constructed by Morocco sand wall.

Past Context and Current Developments

A 1991-era truce was intended to facilitate a referendum on self-determination, but disagreements over voter eligibility blocked it from occurring.

Through time, the Moroccan government has transformed the contested territory, constructing a maritime facility and a 656-mile highway. Government subsidies keep basic commodity costs low, and the resident count has grown significantly as Moroccan citizens establish homes in cities such as major settlements.

Polisario ended the truce in 2020 after clashes near a road the government was paving to Mauritania.

The group has subsequently frequently reported security operations, while the government has mostly rejected claims of open conflict. The United Nations calls it "limited tensions".

International Relations and Coming Possibilities

In response to the proposed measure, the movement stated that it would not join any process aiming "to validate Moroccan unauthorized presence," saying resolution "cannot happen by supporting expansionism".

The situation represents the central issue in north African international relations. The Moroccan government views endorsement of its proposal as a standard for how it assesses its allies.

Last October, the UN representative proposed partitioning Western Sahara, a suggestion no party accepted. He encouraged the government to clarify what self-rule would involve and warned that a absence of development might question the United Nations' role and "if there remains opportunity and willingness for us to still be effective."

The push to review the UN operation comes as the United States slashes funding for UN programmes and agencies, including security operations.