UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council approved a resolution Friday backing Morocco’s claims to disputed waters Western Sahara,and Trump administration support for North African countries.
Despite the divisive vote, the resolution provides the strongest support yet for Morocco's plan to retain territorial sovereignty, which also has the support of a majority of countries European Union members and a growing number of African allies.
Speaking after the vote, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Walz said: “The United States welcomes today's historic vote, which captures this unique moment and builds momentum for long-overdue peace in Western Sahara.”
This resolution refers to Morocco's plan serve as the basis for negotiations. Like similar resolutions in previous years, the text makes no mention of a self-determination referendum that would include independence, a solution long favored by the pro-independence Polisario Front and its allies, including Algeria, Russia and China.
In a rare speech on Moroccan television after the vote, King Mohammed VI celebrated the results and promised to supplement Morocco's proposal with more details. He also called for dialogue with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune.
“We are opening a new chapter in consolidating the Moroccan identity of the Sahara and putting an end to this fabricated conflict once and for all,” the king said.
The United States, the sponsor of the resolution, led 11 countries to vote in favor, while three countries, Russia, China and Pakistan, abstained from voting. Algeria, a major Polisario donor, did not vote.
Sidi Mohamed Omar, Polisaro's ambassador to the United Nations, thanked allies who abstained and Algeria for protesting the vote, saying it “makes it very clear that today's resolution does not mean recognition of Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara.”
“In other words, in plain English, this does not mean recognition of Morocco's illegal military occupation of Western Sahara,” he added.
Western Sahara is a phosphate-rich coastal desert the size of Colorado that was under Spanish rule until 1975. Both countries claim the area Morocco The Polisario Front operates out of refugee camps in southwestern Algeria and claims to represent the Sahrawi indigenous people in the disputed territory.
Amal Benjama, Algeria's ambassador to the United Nations, said that while the resolution was an improvement over previous versions, “there are still some flaws.”
The resolution states that “genuine autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty may constitute the most feasible solution.”
The measure would also extend the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara by one year, as it has been for more than three decades. However, previous extensions did not mention the preferred outcome of Morocco and its allies.
Trump envoy reiterates support for Morocco
The vote comes weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff shocked the region by suggesting on CBS's “60 Minutes” that peace between Morocco and Algeria could be achieved within 60 days. The neighbors are not at war, but have not established diplomatic relations for four years.
Trump's senior adviser on Africa, Massad Boulos, reiterated U.S. support for Morocco's plans in an interview with Sky News Arabia this week.
The UN resolution calls on all parties to “seize this unprecedented opportunity to achieve lasting peace.” Depending on progress, it asked Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to review the peacekeeping mission's mandate within six months.
This shift can be unsettling long stalled process Despite the ad hoc nature of UN peacekeeping missions, the problem has remained unresolved for decades. Demonstrations erupted in Algeria's Sahrawi refugee camps this week as people vowed not to give up their fight for self-determination.
a lasting stalemate
Morocco controls nearly all of Western Sahara except for a narrow strip of land known as the “Free Zone” east of a Moroccan-built sand wall.
The 1991 ceasefire was intended to pave the way for a self-determination referendum, but disputes over voter eligibility prevented it from taking place.
Over the years, Morocco has transformed the disputed territory, building a deep-water port and a 656-mile (1,055-kilometer) highway. State subsidies kept food and energy prices low, and the population surged as Moroccans settled in cities like Dakhla and Laayoune.
Polisario withdrew from a ceasefire in 2020 after clashes near Morocco's road to Mauritania.
The group has since regularly reported military activity, while Morocco has mostly denied overt conflict. The United Nations called it “low-level hostilities.”
Pressure mounts as priorities shift
Conflict is the driving force of North African diplomacy. Morocco views support for its autonomy plans as a benchmark against which allies are measured.
Last October, UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura Proposed partition of Western Saharaneither party accepted the offer. He urged Morocco to clarify what autonomy means and warned that the lack of progress could raise questions about the role of the United Nations and “whether we have the space and will to continue to play a role.”
The push to reassess the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara comes as the United States Cut funding For United Nations programs and agencies, including peacekeeping.
U.S. officials are taking A la carte financingchoosing which actions and institutions they believe are consistent with Trump’s agenda and which no longer serve U.S. interests. They believe the UN's budget and agencies are bloated. They pledged to halt new donations pending a review of every UN agency and program.
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Metz reported from Rabat, Morocco.