Sahara: First briefing of de Mistura before Security Council amid growing support for Morocco’s Autonomy Plan

The UN Security Council holds this Wednesday a behind-closed doors meeting on the Sahara. The Council will be briefed by Minurso Chief Alexander Ivanko and UN Envoy for the Sahara Staffan de Mistura.

It is the first time that de Mistura addresses the Security Council members since his appointment as the Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Sahara in November 2021.

Morocco is upbeat. Its autonomy plan offered for the Sahara under its sovereignty continues to gain international backing and recognition. The United States, the penholder on the Sahara, Germany and Spain, former colonial power, and many other European, African and Arab countries support Morocco’s territorial integrity and full sovereign over its entire Saharan territory.

In a historical letter addressed to King Mohammed VI, Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez voiced support to the Moroccan autonomy plan, presented in 2007, describing it as the “most serious, realistic and credible basis for the resolution of the Sahara dispute”.

The move dealt a hard blow to the Algerian junta and the Polisario. UN Security Council resolution 2602 adopted in 2021 reaffirmed the pre-eminence of the Moroccan autonomy initiative for a lasting and peaceful resolution of the Sahara regional conflict.

It welcomed the “serious and credible” efforts made by Morocco for the settlement of the Sahara issue through its autonomy plan offered under its sovereignty, a plan supported by the international community.

The resolution also called on all parties to Sahara issue to cooperate with de Mistura and build on the momentum created by the UN-led round-table process but Algeria said it would not take part in new round-table meetings, challenging the Security Council.