UN Backs Morocco's Western Sahara Plan in Resolution

2 days ago7 min read

In a move that signals a profound recalibration of long-standing diplomatic alignments, the United Nations Security Council has formally endorsed Morocco's claim over the disputed territory of Western Sahara, passing a resolution with the decisive backing of the United States. This is not merely a procedural update; it is a tectonic shift in the international community's posture, one that echoes the grand strategic realignments of the Cold War era.For decades, the question of Western Sahara has been a festering wound on the world stage, a remnant of the colonial scramble for Africa. Since Spain withdrew in 1975, the territory has been contested between Morocco, which effectively administers about eighty percent of it, and the Polisario Front, which fought a guerrilla war for independence until a 1991 ceasefire and continues to advocate for a referendum on self-determination—a vote that has been perpetually stalled.The UN's mission, MINURSO, has been on the ground for over thirty years, a testament to the intractability of this conflict. This new resolution, therefore, is akin to a chess grandmaster sacrificing a long-defended pawn to seize control of the board's center.The U. S.support is particularly consequential, reversing the previous administration's stance and cementing the Trump-era recognition of Moroccan sovereignty in exchange for normalized relations with Israel. This realpolitik bargain, reminiscent of the Kissingerian diplomacy that reshaped the Middle East in the 1970s, places Washington's strategic interests in Arab-Israeli détente and North African stability above the principle of self-determination.Analysts are now watching Algeria, the primary backer of the Polisario Front and a regional rival to Morocco, which has condemned the resolution as a violation of international law. The potential consequences are vast: this could either force the Polisario to the negotiating table under significantly weakened terms or escalate tensions in a region already fraught with instability, from the Sahel to the Mediterranean.Furthermore, it sets a dangerous precedent, suggesting that territorial disputes can be resolved through powerful patrons in the Security Council rather than through the established, albeit flawed, mechanisms of international law and referendums. The resolution's passage is a stark reminder that in the arena of global politics, principles are often subordinate to power, and the maps of the world are still being redrawn not by the people who live on the land, but in the corridors of distant capitals.

#featured

#UN Security Council

#Western Sahara

#Morocco

#US

#resolution

#international recognition