On the evening of 31 October, Morocco erupted in celebration from Tangier to Lagouira. The UN Security Council had just adopted Resolution 2797 with near unanimity—an endorsement widely interpreted as consolidating Morocco's sovereignty claims over the Western Sahara. The timing was significant: it came just days before the 50th anniversary of the Green March, the 1975 mass mobilisation of 350,000 Moroccans who marched peacefully into the territory in what Rabat framed as a return of lands linked to the kingdom prior to the Spanish colonisation of the late 19th Century.
This diplomatic outcome followed weeks of intense negotiations. Morocco's foreign minister spoke of the Security Council's "complex composition," a reference to clashing global agendas among permanent and non-permanent members. According to diplomatic sources, only six states initially backed the U.S.-sponsored text. The final count reached eleven after a round of urgent outreach in which King Mohammed VI personally contacted world leaders, staying engaged until the decisive hours.
The resolution reaffirmed that forthcoming consultations between Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania, and the Sahrawi independence movement (Polisario) will proceed on the basis of Morocco's autonomy plan, aiming for a "just, lasting and mutually acceptable" political solution offering equal rights as well as a degree of self-rule to Sahrawis under Moroccan sovereignty. Talks are expected to take place in the United States, although Algeria and the Polisario rejected the resolution. Meanwhile, the mandate of MINURSO—the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara, responsible for monitoring the ceasefire and ensuring stability—was extended until October 2026.
That same night, King Mohammed VI declared the opening of "a new, victorious chapter in consolidating the Moroccan identity of the Sahara—one destined to close this dossier once and for all."
Origins of a half-century conflict
The Western Sahara—a 266,000 km² territory, sparsely populated yet rich in phosphates and fisheries—has a complex legal status. Although Spain left in 1975 with the Madrid Accords, allowing Morocco and Mauritania to gain presence in the territory, Madrid is still recognised by the UN as the de jure administering power. De facto, however, Morocco controls around 80% of it after besting local armed resistance and Mauritania relinquishing all territorial claims in 1979.
Moroccans and Sahrawis closely fought against colonial powers France and Spain up until 1958. By then, Rabat had become independent from Paris for two years and needed to focus resources on state-building instead of actively supporting surrounding decolonial movements. Consequently, Western Sahara’s revolts were serially quelled by the Spaniards.
