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The UN Security Council has approved a US-backed resolution that favors Moroccan claim regarding the contested territory, despite significant resistance from neighboring Algeria.

Split Vote Strengthens Morocco's Position

While the recent decision was divided, the resolution represents the strongest endorsement to date for Moroccan proposal to retain control over the territory, which also enjoys backing from most EU members and a growing number of African allies.

Resolution Framework and Important Elements

The resolution refers to Morocco's plan as a foundation for talks. As with previous measures, the document doesn't include a vote on self-determination that contains sovereignty as an option, which constitutes the approach long supported by the independence-seeking Polisario movement and its allies.

Real autonomy under Moroccan authority could constitute a very feasible resolution.

Background Information

The territory is a mineral-rich area of coastline arid land the area of a US state which was under Spanish rule until 1975. It is asserted by both the Moroccan government and the Polisario movement, which operates from refugee camps in south-western neighboring Algeria and asserts to represent the indigenous people native to the disputed territory.

Decision Results and International Responses

The US, which sponsored the resolution, guided eleven countries in voting in favor, while three countries – Russia, China and Pakistan – abstained. The neighboring country, the movement's main supporter, did not participate.

Mike Waltz, the US ambassador to the United Nations, said the decision had been "historic" and would "build on the progress for a long, long overdue resolution in Western Sahara".

The Algerian ambassador, the Algeria's representative to the United Nations, commented that while the resolution was an improvement on previous iterations, it "contains a series of deficiencies".

Peacekeeping Mission and Upcoming Assessment

The measure also extends the UN peacekeeping operation in Western Sahara for another year, as has been done for more than thirty years. Prior renewals, though, have not included a reference to Moroccan and its supporters' favored resolution.

The UN resolution calls on all parties participating to "take this unique chance for a lasting peace." Depending on developments, it asks the secretary general to assess the peacekeeping mission's mandate within half a year.

Area Impact and Present Situation

The shift could unsettle a protracted process that for many years has eluded settlement, desdespite a United Nations peacekeeping mission that was designed to be short-term. Demonstrations have followed in indigenous settlements in Algeria this week, where people have pledged not to give up their fight for independence.

Morocco controls almost all of the territory, except for a thin strip known as the "free zone" that lies east of a Moroccan-built sand wall.

Past Background and Current Developments

A 1991-era ceasefire was intended to facilitate a referendum on independence, but disagreements over participation criteria blocked it from taking place.

Over the years, the Moroccan government has transformed the disputed territory, constructing a deepwater port and a long highway. State support keep basic commodity costs affordable, and the population has ballooned as Moroccans settle in cities such as Dakhla and Laayoune.

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

The movement has since frequently documented security operations, while the government has mostly rejected claims of open conflict. The UN calls it "low-level tensions".

International Diplomacy and Future Possibilities

Reacting to the proposed measure, the movement said that it would not participate in any initiative aiming "to validate Moroccan unauthorized presence," adding resolution "can never be achieved by rewarding territorial claims".

The situation represents the central issue in north African international relations. The Moroccan government views endorsement of its autonomy plan as a standard for how it gauges its international partners.

Last October, the UN envoy proposed dividing the territory, a suggestion neither side accepted. He encouraged Morocco to clarify what self-rule would entail and warned that a absence of progress might raise questions about the United Nations' function and "if there remains opportunity and willingness for us to still be effective."

The push to review the UN operation comes as the US slashes financial support for United Nations initiatives and agencies, including peacekeeping.