UNSC resolution a betrayal of W Sahara

In late October 2025, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 2797, renewing the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO).

- Zeenat Adam

The International Court of Justice's 1975 advisory opinion affirmed that no ties of sovereignty existed between Morocco and Western Sahara, yet 50 years later, the UN's actions contradict that judgement through procedural diplomacy.

On paper, it is a continuation of peacekeeping, while in practice, it signals a profound shift for the Saharawi people's right to self-determination, which has been subordinated to geopolitics, regional alliances and economic interests.

MINURSO was originally established in 1991 as not only a peacekeeping force, but a UN mission to oversee and organise a referendum enabling the Saharawi people to choose between independence and integration with Morocco.

That referendum, the instrument through which the Saharawi believed they could finally realise full decolonisation, is now extinguished.

Ahead of the vote on the Resolution, Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General, Staffan de Mistura, consulted with Algeria, Mauritania, Morocco, and the Polisario Front, in addition to other Security Council members.

He reported to the Council that Morocco reaffirmed that its autonomy plan should serve as the basis of negotiations on a permanent solution, while the Polisario Front maintained that the Settlement Plan jointly proposed by the UN and the then Organisation for African Unity (OAU), which calls for self-determination through a referendum, should serve as the sole reference framework for talks. Resolution 2797 however, endorsed Morocco's 2007 plan that tables a proposal for a form of autonomy for the region, while asserting that the region remains an integral part of Morocco. The plan is reinforced by the United States' "peace plan", which guarantees limited self-rule under Moroccan sovereignty but excludes independence.

MINURSO's function is reduced to a ceasefire monitor, presiding over a stalemate, while its core mandate of enabling genuine self-determination has been hollowed out.