UN Security Council Resolution highlights primacy of Morocco’s autonomy plan for Sahara

The UN Security Council is about to adopt a resolution that considers 2007 as the reference year as far as the Sahara conflict is concerned, thus confirming the primacy of Morocco’s autonomy plan for the territory.

The draft resolution, seen by Moroccan media le360, calls for the implementation of all Security Council resolutions on the regional dispute from 2007 to 2023.

The year 2007 marks the submission by Morocco of its autonomy plan for the southern provinces as a lasting political solution to the dispute with Algerian proxy militias, the Polisario.

In this respect, the 2024 resolution, which extends the UN peacekeeping mission in the territory for another year, highlights Morocco’s “serious and credible” efforts to settle the dispute based on the autonomy plan.

Much to the disappointment of Algeria, the resolution omits any reference to the obsolete and unfeasible referendum option. Since 2007, the UN has stopped calling for a referendum.

The resolution also condemns the Polisario’s breach of the 1991 ceasefire deal as part of low intensity skirmishes east of Morocco-built security wall.

It also calls on Algeria to return to the round tables process, launched in 2018, underscoring its role as the main adversary to Morocco on the Sahara issue.