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The United States has submitted the draft resolution on the Sahara issue to the members of the UN Security Council and Spain for adoption on October 30. The text, reviewed by Yabiladi, is largely consistent with previous resolutions.
Morocco and the Polisario are mentioned six times, Algeria five times, and Mauritania four times. The US calls on the members of the Security Council to reaffirm their traditional support for the UN Secretary-General's Personal Envoy for Western Sahara «to advance the political process, building on the progress made by the former Personal Envoy», referring to Germany's Horst Kohler.
In the following paragraph, the U.S. urges other members of the UN's executive body to «welcome the momentum created by the first roundtable on December 5-6, 2018, and the second on March 21-22, 2019, and the engagement of Morocco, the Frente Polisario, Algeria, and Mauritania in the UN political process on Western Sahara in a serious and respectful manner to identify elements of convergence». Algeria, however, rejected this framework, demanding direct negotiations between the Kingdom and the Polisario.
Sahara partition proposal left unmentioned
The draft, crafted by the Biden administration, commended Staffan de Mistura’s «efforts» to bring the parties’ positions closer together, noting the «informal consultations with Morocco, the Polisario Front, Algeria, Mauritania, as well as France, the Russian Federation, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States at the United Nations headquarters from March 27 to 31, 2023». However, the Americans did not mention De Mistura's meetings in September during the 79th session of the UN General Assembly with representatives of Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania, and the Polisario.
The draft encourages continued consultations between the Personal Envoy and the parties and reiterates its call for Morocco, the Frente Polisario, Algeria, and Mauritania to further cooperate among themselves, build confidence, and strengthen their involvement in the political process toward a solution.
Notably, the draft resolution does not refer to the partition of Western Sahara, which was proposed by Staffan de Mistura during his October 16 presentation to the Security Council, an option rejected by both Morocco and the Polisario. The U.S. State Department declined to comment on De Mistura’s proposal, while the UN spokesperson deferred the issue back to the Security Council.
Additionally, the text makes no mention of De Mistura’s critique of the Moroccan autonomy plan, which had sparked anger from Nasser Bourita. The document encourages the Security Council to take note of Morocco’s autonomy proposal, presented to the UN Secretary-General on April 11, 2007, and acknowledges Morocco’s «serious and credible efforts» to move the process forward. On the other hand, the draft briefly takes note of the Polisario’s proposal, submitted on April 10, 2007.
Finally, the draft emphasizes that a «political solution to this long-standing dispute» will enhance cooperation among the Arab Maghreb Union states and contribute to stability in the Sahel region. It also recommends extending the mandate of MINURSO until October 30, 2025.
