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The UN Security Council has approved a US-backed resolution that supports Morocco's position regarding the disputed Western Sahara, notwithstanding strong opposition from neighboring Algeria.

Divided Decision Bolsters Morocco's Stance

Although Friday's vote was split, the measure constitutes the most significant support to date for Moroccan plan to maintain control over the territory, which also has backing from the majority of European Union countries and a increasing number of African nation partners.

Resolution Framework and Key Elements

The resolution describes Moroccan plan as a basis for talks. As with previous measures, the document makes no mention of a vote on self-determination that contains independence as an option, which represents the solution long favored by the pro-independence Polisario movement and its allies.

Real autonomy under Morocco's authority could constitute a most practical resolution.

Background Context

The territory is a phosphate-rich area of coastline desert the area of Colorado which was under Spanish control until 1975. It is claimed by both the Moroccan government and the Polisario Front, which functions from refugee camps in south-western neighboring Algeria and claims to represent the Sahrawi people indigenous to the contested region.

Decision Patterns and International Responses

The US, which sponsored the resolution, guided 11 countries in deciding in favor, while three nations – Russia, China and Pakistan – declined to vote. Algeria, the movement's main benefactor, did not vote.

The US ambassador, the US ambassador to the United Nations, said the vote had been "significant" and would "advance the momentum for a long, long overdue resolution in Western Sahara".

Amar Bendjama, the Algeria's representative to the United Nations, commented that while the resolution was an improvement on previous versions, it "still has a series of deficiencies".

Security Mission and Upcoming Review

The measure also extends the UN security operation in Western Sahara for an additional twelve months, as has been implemented for more than thirty years. Prior extensions, though, have not included a mention to Morocco and its supporters' preferred outcome.

The measure urges all parties participating to "take this unprecedented chance for a lasting resolution." Depending on progress, it requests the UN leader to assess the operation's authority within half a year.

Regional Consequences and Present Conditions

The shift could unsettle a long-stalled process that for decades has escaped settlement, desdespite a United Nations peacekeeping operation that was intended to be temporary. Demonstrations have followed in Sahrawi settlements in the neighboring country this recent period, where people have vowed not to abandon their fight for independence.

Morocco controls almost all of the territory, except for a thin area known as the "free zone" that lies to the east of a Moroccan-built barrier.

Past Context and Recent Developments

A 1991-era ceasefire was intended to pave the way for a vote on self-determination, but disagreements over participation criteria blocked it from occurring.

Over the years, the Moroccan government has transformed the disputed region, building a maritime facility and a long road. State subsidies keep basic commodity prices affordable, and the resident count has ballooned as Moroccan citizens establish homes in cities such as Dakhla and Laayoune.

The movement withdrew from the truce in 2020 after clashes near a route the government was paving to Mauritania.

The movement has since frequently documented security operations, while Morocco has mostly rejected claims of open conflict. The UN calls it "low-level tensions".

International Diplomacy and Future Prospects

In response to the proposed measure, Polisario said that it would not join any process aiming "to validate Moroccan illegal military occupation," adding peace "can never be achieved by rewarding expansionism".

The conflict constitutes the driving force in regional international relations. Morocco considers endorsement of its autonomy plan as a standard for how it gauges its international partners.

Last October, the UN envoy suggested partitioning Western Sahara, a suggestion no party accepted. He encouraged the government to specify what autonomy would involve and warned that a absence of development might question the United Nations' function and "whether there is space and readiness for us to remain useful."

The push to review the UN operation comes as the US slashes funding for United Nations initiatives and organizations, covering security operations.