New York – Algeria has confirmed it will abstain from voting on the UN Security Council resolution concerning the renewal of the mandate for the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO). The decision, announced Friday, reflects Algeria’s assessment that the current text falls short of addressing its concerns and lacks explicit reference to the proposals put forward by the Polisario Front, recognized by Algeria as the legitimate representative of the Sahrawi people.
The announcement follows intensive diplomatic efforts led by Algeria in recent days, spanning multiple capitals including Algiers, New York, and Washington. These efforts aimed to significantly amend the proposed resolution, laying a foundation for addressing the issue in accordance with international law and the UN Charter.
Sources indicate that while the initial draft of the resolution leaned heavily towards Morocco’s position, the final version reflects a more balanced approach. It reportedly opens the door to all viable proposals and emphasizes that a final resolution must be mutually acceptable and guarantee the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination. The resolution also extends MINURSO’s mandate for a full year, instead of the initial three-month period, empowering the UN Secretary-General to assess the mission’s future based on the progress of negotiations.
DZWatch has learned that Algeria successfully advocated for the inclusion of a provision mandating the Secretary-General and his Personal Envoy to implement all relevant Security Council resolutions, effectively broadening the scope beyond resolutions adopted since 2007. Diplomatic sources suggest that Algeria persuaded several council members to pressure the United States to remove language describing Morocco’s autonomy proposal as “serious, credible, and realistic,” instead framing it as one option among others within a negotiation process aimed at achieving self-determination for the Sahrawi people.
This stance underscores Algeria’s unwavering commitment to its sovereignty in decision-making and its rejection of external pressure or compromise. Algeria reaffirms its steadfast dedication to defending the rights of peoples to freedom and self-determination, particularly the right of the Sahrawi people to freely determine their future.
