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The UN Security Council voted today on Resolution 2797, extending the mandate of MINURSO, the peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara, until October 2026.
This one-year extension comes after converging reports had suggested that the resolution would renew the mandate of MINURSO for only six months.
The UN Security Council adopted a similar approach in 2018 and 2019, renewing MINURSO’s mandate for only six months instead of the usual one-year term.
Not only does the latest resolution distance itself from Polisario’s self-determination claims, but it has notably adopted a more explicit stance in support of the Moroccan Autonomy Plan, describing it as a “genuine” initiative to end the 50-year-old conflict. The resolution mentioned the autonomy initiative six times.
Paragraph four of the resolution recalled the growing cohort of international support for Morocco’s Autonomy Proposal, with many countries — most notably including permanent UNSC members France, the UK, and the US — having recently embraced the Moroccan plan as the most credible basis for a just, lasting, and mutually acceptable political solution.
The resolution further stressed support for the UN-led political process under Secretary General Antonio Guteress’ leadership and the efforts by his Personal Envoy, Staffan de Mistura, in conducting compromise-based negotiations.
Notably, the resolution once again dealt the Algerian regime a severe blow as it urged all parties to the Sahara dispute to engage in discussions without preconditions and with Morocco’s autonomy plan as the basis of discussions. The resolution also welcomed the US’ readiness to host negotiations to contribute to the UN envoy’s mission of achieving a lasting solution to the Western Sahara dispute.
Eleven Member States voted in favor of the vote, including the UK, France, and the US, while three abstained from voting, and none voted against. Russia, China and Pakistan abstained, while Algeria did not vote.
Despite recent signals of positive developments and encouraging momentum in Moscow-Rabat relations, it was very likely that Russia, given its history with the US and its decades-long alliance with Algeria, would uphold its traditional stance.
In fact, prior to the vote, Algeria’s regime specifically and repeatedly urged Russia to use its status as holder of the veto power to either radically change the resolution away from endorsing the current pro-Morocco momentum, or at least amend it in a way that makes the momentum questionable and far from irreversible. Judging from the resolution’s language and recommendations, however, it appears this relentless lobbying by Algiers has not been as effective as the Algerian establishment would have liked.
The text has notably remained unchanged, once again consecrating the ongoing momentum as Russia neither used its veto nor attempted to amend the resolution to Algeria’s liking.
Russia was instead one of the three UNSC members that abstained from voting, indicating that, just as last year when it also abstained, Moscow wants to refrain from frustrating its longtime Algerian ally even as it looks to further deepen relations with Rabat.
Earlier this month, Russia’s Sergey Lavrov signaled that his country’s position could shift towards positive neutrality or support for Morocco’s autonomy initiative.
He openly described Morocco’s autonomy initiative as a “form of self-determination,” suggesting that, if it is accepted by all parties, the proposal could offer a genuine route to ending the dispute.
During a high-level meeting between Lavrov and his Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita, Russia and Morocco signaled there would be bilateral talks in the near future to discuss the Western Sahara question.
The new resolution also emphasized President Trump’s efforts to end the decades-long dispute, renewing appeals to engage all parties in constructive UN-sponsored talks to contribute to finding a mutually acceptable political solution to the dispute over Western Sahara.
This means that it reaffirms the international community’s prevailing stance, shattering Algeria’s unproductive attempts to distance itself from the dispute.
Algeria continues to hamper development in the UN-led political process, with the country refusing to genuinely engage in the political process. Although it finances, hosts, harbors, and arms the Polisario Front, the Algerian regime describes itself as a mere observer and a “concerned neighbor,” claiming that any solution to the dispute should be settled between Polisario and Morocco.
The pressing need to formalize Algeria’s involvement in the Sahara dossier was particularly highlighted in paragraph 5, which called for maintaining the tradition of organizing roundtable discussions with all four parties to the conflict — Algeria, Mauritania, Morocco and Polisario.
“Welcoming the initiative of the Personal Envoy to convene the parties to build on momentum and seize this unprecedented opportunity for a lasting peace; urging full support for and good faith engagement in the negotiations; and expressing appreciation to the United States for its readiness to host negotiations in furtherance of the Personal Envoy’s mission to achieve a solution for Western Sahara and the region,” the new resolution said.
It also omitted any reference or mention of a referendum, which is the main talking point and aspiration of the Polisario Front and its sponsors in Algiers. Since 2001, none of the Security Council resolutions have mentioned the referendum as credible basis to end the Sahara dispute.
Instead, they have stressed the centrality of compromise while calling for a realistic, pragmatic, and politically negotiated solution to the dispute over the Sahara.
Extending this compromise-based tradition, the newly adopted resolution also stresses the importance of avoiding any act that could jeopardize the political process and underlines the need to respect the ceasefire in full. This references Polisario’s repeated terrorist threats, seeking to undermine stability not only in Morocco but in the whole region. Polisario has been breaching the ceasefire for years, especially in November 2020, when it declared a “war” against Morocco.
The separatist group’s threats came after Morocco’s peaceful intervention to end its weeks-long blockade in the border town of Guerguerat
International support
Morocco’s position has been strengthening for years as over 120 countries have continued to express support for the Moroccan Autonomy Plan as the most viable path to a political resolution of the dispute.
In 2022, Spain and Germany endorsed the autonomy initiative as a good basis to end the dispute. Meanwhile, France fully recognized Morocco’s sovereignty over its southern provinces in July 2024.
A group of European countries has also recently expressed or renewed its support for Morocco’s initiative, including the Netherlands, Slovenia, Estonia, Croatia, Hungary, and Slovakia, among several others.
At the same time, nearly 40% of African countries have officially spoken out in support of Morocco’s autonomy initiative and opened consulates in either Laayoune or Dakhla, the two main cities of the Western Sahara region in southern Morocco.
The Arab world also constantly reaffirms support for the Moroccan territorial integrity, reaffirming its position at local, regional, and international support for the Moroccan position.
Nearly 50 countries have revoked recognition of the self-proclaimed SADR over the past two decades, tellingly indicating that the separatist thesis has remarkably grown out of relevance.
In fact, given Morocco’s growing continental leadership and the strategically invaluable support it has garnered from the likes of France and the US, most observers believe it is only a matter of time before the Sahara dispute is once and for all settled in line with Morocco’s territorial integrity.
