UNSC gives nod to Morocco plan for Western Sahara autonomy
INTERNATIONAL – AFRICA
2 NOVEMBER 2025
- The UN Security Council voted in favour of a resolution backing Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara as the “most feasible” solution for the disputed territory, triggering celebrations in Rabat but angering Algeria.
- Western Sahara is a vast mineral-rich former Spanish colony that is largely controlled by Morocco but has been claimed for decades by the pro-independence Polisario Front, which is supported by Algeria.
- The Security Council had previously urged Morocco, the Polisario Front, Algeria and Mauritania to resume talks to reach a broad agreement.
- But, at the initiative of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration, the council shifted to support a plan in which Western Sahara would enjoy autonomy under Morocco’s sole sovereignty.
- The resolution, adopted by an 11-0 vote with three abstentions and Algeria refusing to participate, said autonomy for Western Sahara under Moroccan sovereignty may be the basis for future negotiations to resolve the 50-year-old conflict.
- Morocco’s King Mohammed VI lauded the vote as “historic”.
- The Western Sahara Autonomy Proposal is an initiative proposed by Morocco since 2007 to establish a Sahara Autonomous Region as a possible solution to the Western Sahara conflict.
