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UN's top security body has adopted a US-backed resolution that supports Moroccan position regarding the contested territory, notwithstanding fierce resistance from Algeria.

Split Decision Bolsters Moroccan Stance

While the recent decision was divided, the resolution represents the most significant endorsement yet for Moroccan proposal to retain control over the territory, which also enjoys support from most EU countries and a growing number of African nation partners.

Resolution Framework and Important Elements

The resolution refers to Morocco's plan as a basis for talks. As with earlier measures, the document makes no mention of a referendum on self-determination that includes sovereignty as an choice, which represents the solution long supported by the pro-independence Polisario movement and its supporters.

Genuine autonomy under Morocco's sovereignty could constitute a most feasible solution.

Historical Context

Western Sahara is a mineral-rich area of coastal desert the size of Colorado which was under Spanish control until the mid-1970s. It is asserted by both Morocco and the Polisario movement, which functions from refugee camps in south-western neighboring Algeria and claims to represent the Sahrawi people native to the disputed territory.

Voting Results and Global Reactions

The US, which proposed the resolution, guided 11 countries in deciding in favor, while three countries – Russia, China and Pakistan – declined to vote. Algeria, Polisario's main supporter, did not vote.

Mike Waltz, the American representative to the UN, said the decision had been "significant" and would "advance the momentum for a much-delayed resolution in Western Sahara".

The Algerian ambassador, the Algerian ambassador to the UN, said that while the measure was an advancement on earlier versions, it "still has a number of shortcomings".

Peacekeeping Mission and Upcoming Assessment

The measure also extends the UN security mission in Western Sahara for an additional twelve months, as has been done for over three decades. Previous extensions, however, have not included a mention to Moroccan and its supporters' preferred outcome.

The measure urges all parties participating to "take this unprecedented opportunity for a lasting peace." Based on developments, it asks the secretary general to assess the operation's mandate within half a year.

Regional Impact and Present Situation

The shift could disrupt a long-stalled situation that for decades has escaped resolution, desdespite a United Nations security operation that was designed to be temporary. Protests have followed in indigenous settlements in the neighboring country this week, where people have pledged not to abandon their fight for independence.

Morocco controls almost all of Western Sahara, except for a thin area known as the "free zone" that lies east of a Moroccan-built barrier.

Past Context and Current Developments

A 1991 truce was intended to facilitate a referendum on self-determination, but fighting over participation criteria blocked it from occurring.

Over the years, the Moroccan government has developed the contested region, building a deepwater port and a long highway. Government support keep food and energy costs low, and the resident count has grown significantly as Moroccans establish homes in cities such as Dakhla and Laayoune.

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

The group has subsequently regularly reported security activity, while the government has mostly rejected claims of active fighting. The United Nations calls it "limited hostilities".

Global Diplomacy and Future Prospects

Reacting to the draft resolution, Polisario said that it would not join any process intending "to 'legitimise' Moroccan unauthorized presence," saying peace "cannot happen by rewarding expansionism".

The conflict represents the driving force in regional international relations. The Moroccan government views endorsement of its proposal as a standard for how it gauges its allies.

Last October, the UN representative proposed partitioning Western Sahara, a suggestion neither side agreed to. He encouraged Morocco to clarify what autonomy would involve and warned that a absence of development might raise questions about the United Nations' role and "if there remains opportunity and readiness for us to still be effective."

The initiative to review the United Nations Mission comes as the United States reduces funding for UN programmes and agencies, covering peacekeeping.