{"id":5031,"date":"2026-10-15T20:08:19","date_gmt":"2026-10-15T20:08:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/?p=5031"},"modified":"2026-10-16T11:11:08","modified_gmt":"2026-10-16T11:11:08","slug":"algeria-and-the-battle-over-the-moroccan-sahara-at-the-united-nations-defending-the-polisario-front-or-fearing-the-course-of-a-settlement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/algeria-and-the-battle-over-the-moroccan-sahara-at-the-united-nations-defending-the-polisario-front-or-fearing-the-course-of-a-settlement\/","title":{"rendered":"Algeria and the Battle over the Moroccan Sahara at the United Nations: Defending the Polisario Front or Fearing the Course of a Settlement?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Between opposing autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty, invoking the refugee question, and questioning the motives behind Washington\u2019s position, Algeria is seeking to consolidate its approach to the Moroccan Sahara dispute. Yet the real test of that approach lies in what negotiations can deliver, as well as in the future of the people living in the Tindouf camps and their right to choose their future free from regional political calculations.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Algerian diplomacy in New York is confronting a gradually changing equation. Morocco\u2019s autonomy proposal has become the basis for negotiations under Security Council Resolution 2797, adopted on 31 October 2025. Meanwhile, disagreements persist over the terms of a settlement, the parties that should participate in the process, and the means of guaranteeing the Sahrawis\u2019 right to determine their future.<\/p>\n<div class=\"xb57i2i x1q594ok x5lxg6s x78zum5 xdt5ytf x6ikm8r x1ja2u2z x1pq812k x1rohswg xfk6m8 x1yqm8si xjx87ck xx8ngbg xwo3gff x1n2onr6 x1oyok0e x1odjw0f x1iyjqo2 xy5w88m\">\n<div class=\"x78zum5 xdt5ytf x1iyjqo2 x1n2onr6 xaci4zi x129vozr\">\n<div class=\"html-div xdj266r x14z9mp xat24cr x1lziwak xexx8yu xyri2b x18d9i69 x1c1uobl x78zum5 xdt5ytf x1iyjqo2 x7ywyr2\">\n<div class=\"x1n2onr6 x1ja2u2z x9f619 x78zum5 xdt5ytf x2lah0s x193iq5w xyamay9\">\n<div class=\"x9f619 x1n2onr6 x1ja2u2z x78zum5 xdt5ytf x1iyjqo2 x2lwn1j\">\n<div class=\"x9f619 x1n2onr6 x1ja2u2z x78zum5 xdt5ytf x2lah0s x193iq5w xf7dkkf xv54qhq x1k70j0n xzueoph xzboxd6 x14l7nz5\">\n<div class=\"x6s0dn4 xal61yo x1obq294 x5a5i1n xde0f50 x15x8krk x78zum5 xdt5ytf x6ikm8r x10wlt62 x1n2onr6 xh8yej3\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"xl1xv1r\" src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/video.php?height=420&amp;href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Freel%2F2628615900902655%2F&amp;show_text=false&amp;width=560&amp;t=0\" width=\"560\" height=\"420\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"x78zum5 xdt5ytf x2lah0s x10wjd1d xtijo5x x1o0tod x47corl x7wzq59 x1vjfegm x1l3hj4d x3m8hty x13a6bvl x1yztbdb\">\n<div class=\"x2lah0s xlup9mm x7wzq59 x7r5tp8 x1s928wv x1a5uphr x1j6awrg x1s71c9q x4eaejv x1ey2m1c xtjevij\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"x14nfmen x1s85apg x5yr21d xtijo5x xg01cxk x10l6tqk x13vifvy x1wsgiic x19991ni xwji4o3 x1kky2od x1sd63oq\" style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-visualcompletion=\"ignore\" data-thumb=\"1\"><span style=\"text-align: justify;\">In October 2026, the issue returns to the Security Council as the deadline approaches for renewing the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), set for 31 October. This timing gives Algeria\u2019s latest statements political significance, but it does not, in itself, establish that the next resolution has already been decided or that all its provisions are known. <\/span><a style=\"text-align: justify;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.securitycouncilreport.org\/monthly-forecast\/2026-10\/western-sahara-17.php\">According to the published Security Council programme for the month<\/a><span style=\"text-align: justify;\">.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sovereignty remains one of the central points of contention. Algeria maintains that a settlement should not have its outcome predetermined and that negotiations must produce a fair and lasting solution rather than become a merely formal process leading to an outcome already decided in advance. This argument reveals the core of Algeria\u2019s objection to adopting autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty as the framework for negotiations.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">There is, however, a distinction between politically opposing the direction taken by the Security Council and claiming that Algeria rejects international legitimacy or places itself above the United Nations. Such a conclusion would require evidence beyond statements of opposition. Resolution 2797 did not end the dispute or declare a final settlement. Rather, it established Morocco\u2019s proposal as the basis for negotiations while retaining the objective of reaching a fair, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\">Algeria\u2019s stake in defining who represents the Sahrawis<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The disagreement extends beyond sovereignty to the question of representation. Who has the right to speak on behalf of the Sahrawis, and who should participate in any future negotiations?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Algeria and the Polisario Front insist on the Front\u2019s role as the representative of the Sahrawi people. Yet discussions about political participation also raise other questions concerning elected representatives in the southern provinces of the Kingdom, Sahrawis living within Morocco, members of families residing in the Tindouf camps, and other people whose futures are directly affected by the outcome of the dispute.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">It cannot be assumed that any new negotiating formula will exclude the Polisario Front or replace it with other representatives without a clear text establishing such a change. Conversely, representation should not be reduced to the position of a single party, particularly when the future of communities spread across different areas is at stake and the settlement is expected to be acceptable to the parties concerned.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The participation of elected Sahrawi representatives in the southern provinces, as well as Sahrawis who support Morocco\u2019s autonomy proposal, therefore remains part of the political debate over broadening participation. That debate should not be confused with an established decision unless an agreement or resolution precisely defines the conditions and powers governing such participation.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\">Washington and Tel Aviv: An Algerian interpretation of diplomatic change or a struggle over the balance of power?<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to the excerpts cited in the material, Algerian statements link developments in the Moroccan Sahara dispute to the trilateral agreement involving Morocco, the United States and Israel in December 2020, which included Washington\u2019s recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The statement attributed to Algeria\u2019s representative describes this development as a deal made at the expense of the Palestinians and the Sahrawis. This formulation reflects Algeria\u2019s interpretation of the relationship between the two issues. It does not, by itself, establish that the American position on the Moroccan Sahara resulted from a bargain at the Palestinians\u2019 expense, or that Washington\u2019s recognition was the sole factor behind subsequent diplomatic developments.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The American recognition in 2020 is a documented fact. So, too, is the Security Council\u2019s decision in 2025 to establish Morocco\u2019s autonomy proposal as the basis for negotiations. Between these two developments lie multiple diplomatic processes and international positions that cannot all be reduced to a single explanation.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">A comparison between the two files also requires precision when assessing Algeria\u2019s voting record at the Security Council. On 17 November 2025, Algeria voted in favour of Resolution 2803 concerning the plan to end the war in Gaza, while China and Russia abstained. This is confirmed by the official United Nations record. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/meeting-record-of-security-council-10046th-meeting-vote-on-usas-draft-resolution-s-2025-748-s-pv-10046\/\">Official voting record<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">That vote can be interpreted as a pragmatic Algerian position on Gaza. However, describing it as an attempt to win Washington\u2019s favour, or asserting that it achieved no results, remains an interpretation requiring independent evidence. A vote on a specific resolution does not, on its own, prove the existence of behind-the-scenes negotiations, nor does it necessarily reveal the full range of calculations shaping a country\u2019s foreign policy.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Likewise, relations between Morocco and the United States should not become an all-encompassing explanation for every Algerian position. Regional competition between the two countries predates the 2020 agreement and extends to questions of influence, alliances and differing conceptions of regional security. Determining the relative weight of each factor in Algeria\u2019s current position requires examining the evidence rather than relying solely on political inference.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Tindouf camps: A humanitarian issue that raises political questions<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Repeated references to refugees and declining humanitarian assistance deserve particular attention. When an Algerian official links the reduction in aid to the need to address the root causes of the dispute, the humanitarian crisis becomes part of the political argument. That connection, in turn, raises questions about the living conditions of the population, ways to improve them, and the guarantees required for any future settlement.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Tindouf camps remain one of the most sensitive aspects of the dispute. The prolonged presence of refugees, continued dependence on humanitarian assistance and limited political prospects are all issues requiring serious attention, without turning human suffering into an instrument in an exchange of accusations.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">From Morocco\u2019s perspective, a central question concerns the possibility of Sahrawis returning to their homeland as part of a political settlement under Moroccan sovereignty. Turning that vision into a practical process, however, would require clear arrangements governing voluntary return, civil rights, family reunification, security and stability guarantees, and the legal status of the people concerned.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Claims that the forthcoming United Nations resolution will call for the dismantling of the camps or impose a census distinguishing Moroccan Sahrawis from others cannot be treated as established facts without an official text containing such provisions. These are possible scenarios in the political debate, not provisions that can be attributed to the Security Council without documentary evidence.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Transparency regarding the population\u2019s numbers, living conditions and humanitarian needs remains essential to any serious response. The demand for a lasting settlement does not absolve any party of responsibility for improving current conditions, nor should the fate of the population be made dependent on waiting for a political agreement that may take years to achieve.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\">Has the direction of the next resolution already been determined?<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Algeria maintains that a solution must emerge from negotiations and that its outcome cannot be imposed in advance. Morocco, meanwhile, points to growing international support for autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty and to the provisions of the 2025 Security Council resolution establishing the autonomy proposal as the basis for negotiations.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">This divergence presents Algerian diplomacy with a genuine test: how can it preserve its approach to the dispute as the framework within which negotiations take place continues to evolve? Morocco, in turn, faces the responsibility of translating diplomatic support into a practical proposal that can be discussed and implemented, clarifying the institutions, powers and guarantees on which autonomy could be based.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Establishing the autonomy proposal as the basis for negotiations does not mean that every detail of a settlement has been decided, nor does it guarantee that the next resolution will reproduce previous wording without amendment. The Security Council negotiates its texts in light of the positions of its members, while the periodic renewal of MINURSO\u2019s mandate provides an opportunity to assess the process, the mission\u2019s responsibilities and the circumstances surrounding its work.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">For this reason, Algeria\u2019s diplomatic performance should not be declared a defeat before the resolution is adopted. Equally, references to the success of Moroccan diplomacy are not sufficient to prove that every stage of the settlement process has been completed. The more reliable measure is what the official documents establish, what the negotiations reveal, and whether the emerging process brings the region closer to a sustainable political solution.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">One element must not disappear amid this confrontation: the people directly affected by the dispute. As Rabat presents it, the future of the Moroccan Sahara is linked to autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty. Reaching a sustainable settlement, however, also requires addressing the humanitarian dimension, broadening political participation through an agreed formula, and providing guarantees that protect the rights of those concerned.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Once the new Security Council resolution is issued, comparing its actual text with the positions of the parties will be more informative than announcing the outcome in advance. Only then will it be possible to determine what has genuinely changed in the course of the dispute, what remains subject to negotiation, and whether the parties\u2019 hard-line statements have translated into new negotiating positions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Between opposing autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty, invoking the refugee question, and questioning the motives behind Washington\u2019s position, Algeria is seeking to consolidate its approach to the Moroccan Sahara dispute. Yet the real test of that approach lies in what negotiations can deliver, as well as in the future of the people living in the Tindouf [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5032,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39,43,42,41,76],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-africa","category-asia-americas","category-europe-russia","category-middle-east","category-the-maghreb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5031","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5031"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5031\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5033,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5031\/revisions\/5033"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5032"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}