Algeria’s diplomatic push to influence the United Nations Security Council over the Sahara file has failed to gain traction, with major powers rejecting proposed changes to the US-drafted resolution expected to be put to a vote Thursday.
According to diplomatic sources in New York, the revised draft maintains its main lines, reaffirming Morocco’s autonomy initiative as a “serious and credible” basis for resolving the regional dispute.
Why it matters:
The US draft marks the first time a Security Council text explicitly frames Morocco’s autonomy plan as the central basis for a political settlement under Moroccan sovereignty. By pairing that language with a longer MINURSO mandate, Washington shifts the Council’s role from procedural renewal to implicit policy endorsement, treating the autonomy plan not as one option among many, but as the practical framework guiding future talks.
Council members focused on technical points, including renewed calls for all parties to respect the 1991 cease-fire agreement and the addition of a clause addressing funding shortfalls for Tindouf camps.
The text also reiterates the need to register and count Sahrawi refugees in line with the UN Secretary-General’s recommendations.
Diplomatic sources said members reached a preliminary consensus to extend MINURSO’s mandate for six months, until April 30, 2026, double the three-month renewal initially proposed in the American draft.
The decision comes as Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf sought Chinese backing through a phone call with his counterpart Wang Yi, part of a late effort to rally opposition to Morocco’s position.
But the talks came too late to alter the balance within the Council, which retained the draft’s original framework supporting a political, realistic, and lasting solution under Moroccan sovereignty.
add your comment
Terms of publication : Not to offend the writer, people, sacred things, or attack religions or the divine self, and refrain from racist incitement and insults.