Moroccan king welcomes UN support for its Western Sahara autonomy plan

Moroccans have been celebrating support from the United Nations for the country’s claim to the disputed Western Sahara.

Although Friday’s vote by the Security Council was divided, it was the strongest endorsement yet for Rabat’s plan to keep sovereignty over the territory.

The UN resolution said that genuine autonomy for Western Sahara under Morocco, might be the most feasible solution to the longstanding conflict.

The Western Sahara has been the scene of Africa's longest-running territorial dispute since the departure of colonial power Spain in 1975.

Morocco considers the territory its own while the Algeria-backed Polisario Front wants to establish an independent state called the Sahrawi Republic.

In a rare televised address, Morocco’s King Mohamed VI welcomed the Security Council’s support of its autonomy plan, first presented to the UN in 2007.

He also called for dialogue with Algeria’s President Abdelmadjid Tebboune.

“After 50 years of sacrifice, we are turning a new page towards the consecration of the Moroccan character of the Sahara and the definitive settlement of this artificial conflict, through a consensual solution based on the Autonomy Initiative,” he said.

“It is a source of pride that this historic transformation coincides with the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of Morocco's independence.”

The UN resolution called for the parties to engage in negotiations based on Rabat’s autonomy plan, which also has backing from most European Union nations and a growing number of African countries.

As with similar resolutions in previous years, the text makes no mention of a referendum on self-determination that includes independence as an option.

This is the solution long favoured by the pro-independence Polisario Front and its allies, including Algeria, Russia, and China.

The United States, which sponsored the resolution, led 11 countries in voting in favour, while three countries — Russia, China, and Pakistan - abstained. Algeria, did not vote.

The resolution called on all parties involved to “seize this unprecedented opportunity for a lasting peace”.

It also renewed the UN peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara for another year, as has been done for more than three decades