UNSC approves resolution backing Morocco’s plan for Western Sahara

New York, Nov 1,2025: The United Nations Security Council has adopted a US-backed resolution supporting Morocco’s sovereignty over the disputed territory of Western Sahara, marking the strongest international endorsement yet of Rabat’s plan, despite opposition from Algeria.
The resolution was passed in the UNSC with 11 votes in favor and none against, with three abstentions (China, Pakistan, and the Russian Federation). Algeria did not participate in the vote. Authorizing the continued operations of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) until 31 October 2026, the 15-member organ adopted resolution 2797 (2025) (to be issued as document S/RES/2797(2025)).
The Security Council also renewed for one year the mandate of the long-standing UN peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara, referencing Morocco’s Autonomy Proposal presented in 2007—which envisions the territory as self-governing under Moroccan sovereignty—as a basis for negotiations.
Adopted on Friday, the text calls for negotiations based on Morocco’s 2007 autonomy plan. It does not mention a referendum on self-determination that includes independence—an option long supported by the pro-independence Polisario Front and its allies, including Algeria, Russia, and China.
The resolution frames the autonomy plan as the basis for resolving the decades-long conflict with the Algeria-backed Polisario Front. Western Sahara, a desert territory roughly the size of Britain, has been disputed since Spain withdrew in 1975 and Morocco annexed the region. The Polisario Front, which operates from refugee camps in southwestern Algeria, seeks an independent Sahrawi Republic.
The vote highlights broad international support for Morocco, including most European union nations and several African countries, while leaving the question of independence unresolved.
MINURSO was established by Council resolution 690 (1991) in accordance with UN–Organization of African Unity settlement proposals accepted in 1988 by Morocco and the Frente Popular para la Liberación de Saguia el-Hamra y de Río de Oro (Frente POLISARIO). The settlement proposals, as approved by the Council, provided for a transitional period to prepare a referendum in which the people of Western Sahara would choose between independence and integration with Morocco.
While the referendum has never taken place, MINURSO has continued to perform the tasks entrusted to it by the Council. In today’s text, the Council expressed “its full support for the Secretary-General and his Personal Envoy in facilitating and conducting negotiations, taking as basis Morocco’s Autonomy Proposal with a view to achieving a just, lasting and mutually acceptable resolution to the dispute, consistent with the UN Charter,” and welcomed “any constructive suggestions by the parties in response to the Autonomy Proposal.”
The 15-member organ also called upon the parties to the dispute to “engage in these discussions without preconditions, taking as basis Morocco’s Autonomy Proposal, with a view to achieving a final and mutually acceptable political solution that provides for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara.”
It also recognized that “genuine autonomy could represent a most feasible outcome” and encouraged the parties to submit ideas to support “a final mutually acceptable solution.” The Council requested the Secretary-General to submit a strategic review within six months on MINURSO’s future mandate, considering the progress of the talks.
The US representative, which drafted the text and led negotiations on it, welcomed “today’s historic vote, which seizes upon this unique moment and builds on the momentum for a long, long overdue peace in Western Sahara.” “We’ve made a genuine effort to incorporate everyone’s proposals, and they were quite numerous from across the Council,” he recalled, adding that the United States and its President Donald J. Trump are resolute in their “support for peace.”
He urged all parties to use the coming weeks to engage in serious discussions, using Morocco’s “credible and realistic” autonomy proposal as “the only basis for a just and lasting solution to the dispute.” “We believe regional peace is possible this year, and we will make every effort to facilitate progress towards this shared goal of peace and prosperity for the people of Western Sahara,” he concluded.
Algeria’s delegate, however, said the text does not faithfully or sufficiently reflect the United Nations doctrine on decolonization—a doctrine that has allowed many countries to join the UN. He quoted former US President Woodrow Wilson: “Peoples are not to be handed about from one sovereignty to another by an international conference or an understanding between rivals and antagonists. National aspirations must be respected. Peoples may now be dominated and governed only by their own consent. Self-determination is not a mere phrase; it is an imperative principle of action.”