The UN positions itself in favor of Morocco. The United Nations Security Council endorsed, this Friday, October 31, the autonomy plan for Western Sahara proposed by the kingdom. This vote is a real “historical change” for the King of Morocco, Mohamed VI: “We are opening a new victorious chapter in the process of consecrating the Moroccan character of the Sahara, intended to definitively close this issue. »
The monarch specified in his speech that the autonomy plan would be updated and formalized in order to submit it soon to the UN “as a realistic and applicable solution”, which will constitute “the only basis for negotiation”.
A long battle
Western Sahara, located in the south of the kingdom, has been disputed for decades by Rabat and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic – a state proclaimed by the Polisario Front in 1976, but not recognized by most of the international community. In July 2024, Emmanuel Macron recognized the sovereignty of Morocco, triggering a diplomatic crisis with Algiers, a fervent supporter of the Polisario Front.
The UN Security Council called for the resumption of negotiations, interrupted since 2019, until Donald Trump intervened in the crisis in October 2025 and wanted to resolve this burning issue. Washington also welcomed this “momentum” towards peace. The French ambassador to the UN, for his part, mentioned a “collective success”.
The UN Security Council has just recognized, by a very large majority, the autonomy plan for Western Sahara supported by Morocco for many years. It is therefore under Moroccan authority and sovereignty that this will be implemented.
I address the king… https://t.co/uF5gcJo6xe
— Marine Le Pen (@MLP_officiel) October 31, 2025
Some French political leaders also reacted, like Marine Le Pen. The president of the RN deputies sent her ” Congratulations “ to the Moroccan sovereign for “this brilliant success”.
Algeria sees red
After the UN position was taken, the Algerian ambassador, Amar Benjama, judged that this text was “below the legitimate expectations and aspirations of the people of Western Sahara represented by the Polisario Front”. He recalls that his country did not take part in the vote at the UN: “By this absence and with all responsibility, Algeria wanted to illustrate its distance from a text which does not faithfully reflect, which does not sufficiently reflect the UN doctrine on decolonization. »
Despite this, the UN calls on all parties to resume negotiations “without preconditions”And “on the basis” of the plan proposed by Morocco in 2007. This resolution also extends by one year the UN peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara (Minurso).
