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The UN Security Council has passed a American-supported resolution that favors Moroccan claim regarding the disputed territory, despite strong resistance from Algeria.

Split Decision Bolsters Moroccan Position

While the recent decision was divided, the measure constitutes the strongest support to date for Morocco's plan to maintain control over the region, which also enjoys support from most European Union countries and a growing number of African nation partners.

Resolution Framework and Important Elements

The resolution describes Moroccan proposal as a foundation for negotiation. Similar to previous measures, the text doesn't include a vote on self-determination that contains sovereignty as an choice, which represents the approach traditionally favored by the pro-independence Polisario movement and its supporters.

Genuine self-rule under Moroccan sovereignty could represent a most feasible resolution.

Background Information

The territory is a mineral-rich stretch of coastal desert the area of a US state which was under Spain's rule until 1975. It is claimed by both the Moroccan government and the Polisario movement, which operates from refugee camps in southwestern Algeria and asserts to speak for the Sahrawi people indigenous to the contested region.

Voting Results and Global Responses

The US, which sponsored the resolution, led eleven nations in voting in support, while three nations – multiple nations – declined to vote. Algeria, the movement's main benefactor, did not participate.

The US ambassador, the American ambassador to the UN, said the decision had been "historic" and would "advance the progress for a long, long overdue resolution in Western Sahara".

The Algerian ambassador, the Algeria's representative to the UN, commented that while the measure was an improvement on earlier iterations, it "still has a series of shortcomings".

Security Mission and Future Assessment

The resolution also renews the United Nations peacekeeping operation in Western Sahara for an additional twelve months, as has been implemented for more than thirty years. Previous extensions, however, have not contained a reference to Moroccan and its supporters' favored resolution.

The measure urges all sides participating to "seize this unique opportunity for a enduring peace." Depending on developments, it asks the UN leader to assess the operation's mandate within six months.

Area Impact and Current Conditions

The change could unsettle a protracted process that for decades has eluded settlement, notwithstanding a UN peacekeeping mission that was intended to be short-term. Protests have followed in Sahrawi refugee camps in Algeria this week, where residents have pledged not to give up their struggle for self-determination.

The Moroccan government controls nearly all of the territory, except for a narrow area called the "free zone" that lies to the east of a Moroccan-built sand wall.

Historical Background and Recent Developments

A 1991-era truce was intended to facilitate a vote on independence, but disagreements over participation criteria blocked it from occurring.

Through time, Morocco has transformed the contested territory, building a deepwater port and a long highway. State subsidies keep food and energy costs low, and the resident count has ballooned as Moroccan citizens establish homes in cities such as Dakhla and Laayoune.

Polisario withdrew from the ceasefire in 2020 after confrontations near a route the government was constructing to neighboring Mauritania.

The movement has since regularly reported military operations, while Morocco has mostly rejected claims of open conflict. The UN describes it "limited hostilities".

Global Relations and Future Possibilities

Reacting to the proposed measure, Polisario said that it would not participate in any initiative intending "to validate Moroccan illegal presence," adding peace "cannot happen by rewarding territorial claims".

The situation represents the central issue in north African diplomacy. The Moroccan government views support for its autonomy plan as a standard for how it gauges its allies.

Last October, the UN representative proposed partitioning the territory, a suggestion neither side agreed to. He encouraged the government to specify what autonomy would involve and cautioned that a absence of development might raise questions about the UN's role and "if there remains opportunity and readiness for us to still be useful."

The push to review the United Nations Mission comes as the US slashes financial support for UN programmes and agencies, covering peacekeeping.