Western Sahara

Talks to resolve the conflict over Western Sahara should take place on the sole basis of a Moroccan plan that would give the region some autonomy under the North African kingdom's sovereignty, the Trump administration said on Tuesday.

[…] Authorizing the Mission’s continued operations until 31 October 2025, the 15-member organ adopted resolution 2756 (2024) (to be issued as document S/RES/2756) with 12 votes in favour, zero against and two abstentions (Russian Federation and Mozambique).  One State, however, did not participate in the vote.

France's President Emmanuel Macron has told Morocco's parliament that he believes Western Sahara should be under Moroccan sovereignty, and has pledged to invest French money there.

French President Emmanuel Macron will head to Morocco next week for a three-day state visit, the Moroccan royal palace said Monday, following years of strained relations. 

The U.N. envoy for Western Sahara, Staffan de Mistura, has floated the idea of dividing the territory between Morocco and the Polisario front as a solution to the near five-decades-old dispute, according to remarks seen by Reuters.

[…] The Mission’s observation activities were enhanced by better access to areas near the berm and some improvement in obtaining timely security assurances to move to sites of alleged firing incidents and aerial strikes. However, persisting challenges hampered the ability to obtain first-hand information and verify reported developments on the ground.

With France, another key country supports Morocco's claim on the disputed region. What are the consequences for the local Sahrawi people, neighboring Algeria and the volatile region as a whole? 

France has thrown its support behind Morocco's autonomy plan for the disputed Western Sahara, shifting a decades-old position and adding itself to a growing list of countries to align with Morocco as a United Nations-mediated peace process remains stalled. … Emmanuel Macron called the plan that Morocco proposed in 2007 to offer the region limited autonomy under its sovereignty the "only basis" to solve the conflict.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday (30 July) that Morocco’s Western Sahara ‘autonomy’ proposal was the only plan able to end a 30-year-long territorial sovereignty dispute, challenging the EU’s historic stance and making it harder for the Union to keep stable relationships with both Rabat and Algiers.

[…] Limited access to areas near the berm and difficulties with obtaining timely permission to move to sites of alleged firing incidents and aerial strikes continued to pose challenges for MINURSO observation activities and compromised the Mission’s ability to obtain first-hand information and verify reported developments on the ground.