The United Nations Security Council is due to vote on Friday on a resolution stating that genuine autonomy for\u00a0Western Sahara\u00a0under Moroccan sovereignty “could constitute a most feasible solution” to the 50-year-long conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Morocco\u00a0considers the territory as its own and is pitted against the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, which seeks an independent state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The autonomy plan – first presented by Morocco to the United Nations in 2007 – would establish a local legislative, executive, and judicial authority for Western Sahara elected by its residents, while Rabat would control defence, foreign affairs, and religion. The Polisario instead wants to hold a referendum with independence as an option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was not immediately clear if the U.S.-drafted resolution, seen by Reuters<\/em>, had won the support of veto powers Russia and China. A resolution needs at least nine votes in favour and no vetoes by Russia, China, the U.S., Britain or France to be adopted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The draft text supports Morocco’s autonomy proposal as a basis for negotiations between the parties. Algeria is currently serving a two-year term on the U.N. Security Council and pushed for the removal of that language, diplomats said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The draft resolution would also renew for one year the mandate of the U.N. peacekeeping force in Western Sahara, known as MINURSO. An earlier text seen by Reuters <\/em>would have only extended the mission for six months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, the draft due to be voted on by the council would also ask U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to “provide a strategic review regarding MINURSO’s future mandate, taking into account the outcome of the negotiations” within six months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The current mandate for the long-running peacekeeping operation expires on Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n U.S. President Donald Trump reaffirmed support for Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara in July, saying a Moroccan autonomy plan for the territory was the sole solution. Trump\u2019s envoy Steve Witkoff had said the U.S. is working on a peace deal between Algeria and Morocco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n France took a similar move recognising Rabat’s sovereignty over the territory\u00a0and greenlighting investments there. Then in June, the UK became the third Security Council member to back autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Spain, the former colonial power in Western Sahara, has also backed Rabat’s position, along with an increasing number of European states, signalling a shift in EU member state foreign policy on the issue.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The United Nations Security Council is due to vote on Friday on a resolution stating that genuine autonomy for\u00a0Western Sahara\u00a0under Moroccan sovereignty “could constitute a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3220,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38,4,7,354,8],"tags":[213,412,41,413,303],"class_list":["post-3219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-africa","category-international","category-mena","category-morocco","category-politics","tag-moroccan","tag-moroccan-sovereignty","tag-morocco","tag-un","tag-united-nations"],"yoast_head":"\n