UN Security Council backs Morocco's autonomy plan for Western Sahara

WASHINGTON

The UN Security Council on Friday approved a US-backed resolution declaring Morocco’s plan for Western Sahara is the "most feasible solution" toward resolving the long-standing dispute.

Out of the 15-member council, 11 voted in favor of the resolution, which was penned by the US. Russia, China and Pakistan abstained, while Algeria did not vote.

The council also renewed the mandate of the Western Sahara peacekeeping force, known as MINURSO, for a year.

US permanent representative to the UN, Mike Waltz, said Washington welcomed the "historic vote, which seizes upon this unique moment and builds on the momentum for a long, long overdue peace in Western Sahara."

The US is "deeply committed" to supporting a mutually acceptable solution in the Western Sahara, and to resolving the long standing issue, Waltz said.

"We urge all parties to use the coming weeks to come to the table and engage in serious discussions, using Morocco's credible and realistic autonomy proposal as the only basis for a just and lasting solution to the dispute," he added.

Amar Bendjama, Algeria's permanent representative to the UN, said Algeria did not participate in the vote on the draft resolution because it "does not sufficiently reflect" the UN doctrine with regard to decolonization.

"A just and lasting solution can only come about in presence of the respect for the inalienable right of the people of Western Sahara to decide on their own future. This is the only guarantee of genuine peace and of lasting stability in the region," Bendjama told the Council.

Separately, Morocco’s King Mohammed VI welcomed the Council’s resolution, declaring in a televised address that Rabat would update and resubmit the plan to the UN as “the sole basis for negotiations and the only viable solution to the dispute.”

The king called for dialogue with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and reaffirmed his commitment to reviving the Arab Maghreb Union.

The Western Sahara issue has been a source of tensions between Algeria and Morocco for about five decades. The issue began in 1975 after the Spanish colonial withdrawal from the region, and the conflict between Morocco and the pro-independence Polisario Front turned into an armed struggle that lasted until 1991 when a ceasefire agreement was signed.