Western Sahara: UN Security Council Extends MINURSO Mandate by One Year, Shuts Down Algeria’s Hostility

The UN Security Council voted today on Resolution 2756, extending the mandate of MINURSO, the peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara, for another year.

The resolution received 12 votes for, while two abstained. Russia, a permanent member, and Mozambique (a non-permanent member) are the two countries that abstained from the vote. Algeria, a non-permanent member, boycotted the vote.

One of the highlights during the vote was the UN Security Council’s rejection of amendments proposed by Algeria to the draft resolution.

An Algerian representative reportedly interrupted the Security Council vote on the resolution to request the inclusion of two amendments, including one on human rights in the Sahara.

The second amendment relates to the peacekeeping mission.

“You have certainly noticed that Algeria decided fully, responsibly not to participate in this resolution,” the Algerian representative said, citing the “attitude of the penholder” — the US.

“Over the past week, views which have been noted and documented and well-founded … were deliberately ignored and this surprised us,” the representative said.

Algeria’s attempt to disrupt the UN vote reflects the regime’s ongoing hostility toward Morocco and its integrity and its continued maneuvers to undermine the country’s position as it consistently attempts to influence international forums to further its own agenda.

The resolution vote witnessed momentum support for Morocco’s efforts, including from France, which recently joined the chorus of countries that recognized Morocco’s territorial integrity.

In addition to recognizing Morocco’s full sovereignty, France again upset Algeria’s regime by opposing the two hostile amendments the Algerian representative sought to add to the resolution. “France welcomed the adoption of the resolution… France did not vote in favor of the amendments of Algeria because we believe that the MINURSO mandate is adapted to the situation in the Sahara,” the French representative said during the vote.

In addition to France, Algeria’s long-time ally Russia opposed the Algerian attempts to add human rights-centered amendments to the resolution.

The resolution shattered Algeria’s attempts to distance itself from the dispute, urging “all parties” to engage in the UN-led political process to contribute to finding a mutually acceptable political solution to the Western Sahara dossier.

Like the previous resolutions, Resolution 2756 acknowledges Morocco’s Autonomy Plan for the region and its viability to unlock the political deadlock.

The resolution addresses Algeria’s ongoing refusal to accept its role in the dispute.

The resolution omits any reference to Staffan de Mistura’s controversial partition plan. Earlier this month, the UN envoy for the Sahara attempted to revive a plan that Morocco has repeatedly rejected since its inception by James Baker under Algeria’s proposal.

It notably mentioned Algeria several times, urging the Algerian regime to engage in the UN-led political process to seek a mutually accepted political solution as a main party to the dispute.

The pressing need for Algeria’s involvement was also present in the resolution, which emphasized the importance of the former roundtable discussions held at the initiative of former UN Personal Envoy for Western Sahara Horst Kohler.

It also omitted any reference or mention to a referendum, which is a much sought-after claim by the Polisario Front and its supporter Algeria.

None of the past 35 Security Council resolutions have mentioned the referendum.

Instead, the resolutions have been opting for a political, realistic, pragmatic, and compromise-based solution to the dispute over the Sahara

Last year’s resolution called on all parties to engage in the UN-led political process and to support UN Personal Envoy Staffan de Mistura and his efforts to find an agreed upon and mutually acceptable solution to the Western Sahara dispute.

The lingering dispute is marked by a deadlock, particularly due to Algeria’s reluctance and rejection to shoulder its responsibility for the dispute.

The UN has repeatedly expressed mounting concerns over the impasse, acknowledging Algeria’s regime rejection but has failed to urge Algeria to engage in the UN-led political process to contribute to achieving a mutually acceptable political solution.

Despite the impasse, Morocco’s intensified efforts – including its Autonomy Plan – have gained international traction.

Notably, many countries, including Spain, Hungary, Finland, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, and more have repeatedly renewed support for Morocco’s initiative as the most viable path to a lasting and pragmatic solution to the conflict.

Beyond Europe, many African and Arab countries have embraced the Moroccan plan and described it as the most realistic political solution to the Sahara dispute.

Other countries, however, chose to express definite and unwavering support by recognizing Morocco’s sovereignty over its southern provinces in Western Sahara, including France and the US – two permanent members in the UN Security Council.

France joined the US in July to recognize Morocco’s sovereignty. In a historic speech before the parliament on a State visit this week, Emmanuel Macron reaffirmed this support, noting that the future and present of the dispute falls within Morocco’s sovereignty.

He also addressed criticism and anti-Morocco rhetoric led by Polisario and its supporters during his speech, stressing that France’s decision is not hostile to anyone.

“Rooted in history, respectful of realities, and promising for the future, this position is what France will implement to support Morocco in international forums. And I also say here that this position is not hostile to anyone,” Macron said in his address to the parliament on Tuesday.

He said that the position allows for “a new chapter between us and with all those who wish to act within a framework of regional cooperation, in the Mediterranean, with Morocco’s neighboring countries, and with the European Union.”

The US renewed support for Morocco’s autonomy, with its UN representative recalling Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s recent remarks promoting the Moroccan autonomy initiative.

“It is more urgent than ever to reach a political solution for Western Sahara. As Secretary Blinen has recently reaffirmed, the United States continues to view Morocco’s Autonomy Proposal as serious, credible, and realistic,” the US representative to the UN said during the vote.

The US ambassador also renewed concerns about the humanitarian conditions in the Tindouf camps.

Remarkably, one of the new resolution’s recommendations concern the importance of conducting a census in the Tindouf camps, which are run by the separatist Polisario on Algerian soil.

Algeria continues to hamper all attempts and actions seeking to enable a Tindouf census, something that would allow the UN to accurately assess the number of refugees in the camps, which is currently estimated at around 90,000.

This latest resolution comes amid concerns over the situation in the Polisario-run camps, where Sahrawis have long been documented to face dire living conditions, including disease spread and malnutrition.

Despite the well-documented situation in converging reports, many by UN bodies and the UN chief himself, the international community has alarmingly failed to urge Algeria to allow an actual census in the region.

As the situation worsens in the camps, many former Polisario members have attributed the tragedy of the camp residents to the fact that only 20% of the local population are genuine Sahrawis while 80% of them come from other tribes that hailed from neighboring countries, including Algeria, Mali, and Mauritania.