Security Council Resolution 2797: the Solution of Self-Governance, Which has won Widespread Support

Eighteen years after its submission to the Security Council as Morocco's contribution to resolving the regional dispute over the Moroccan Sahara, the autonomy proposal was endorsed and ratified on October 31, 2025 by Council resolution S/2797/2025, by a comfortable majority and as the sole basis for negotiating a definitive solution to this dispute. Morocco's reaction was swift: in the middle of the adoption session, just as the delegations of the Council's member states were explaining their vote, His Majesty the King addressed a speech to the Nation, welcoming this historic change, which marks "a pivotal stage and a decisive turning point in the history of modern Morocco".

In his speech, the Sovereign expressed his gratitude to all the countries that had supported the Moroccan autonomy proposal, reserving a special mention for the United States of America, France, the United Kingdom and Spain, whose efforts had helped to make this development possible.

The Sovereign then invited the populations of the Tindouf camps to seize this historic opportunity to rejoin their homeland and participate, on an equal footing with their compatriots settled in our Southern Provinces, in national development within the framework of autonomy, and addressed a "fraternal appeal to Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune" for a sincere and constructive dialogue, with a view to building renewed relations and relaunching the Maghreb Union on the basis of mutual respect, cooperation and complementarity."

Internationally recognized autonomy

Resolution 2797 is historic in many respects. Firstly, the exclusive nature of autonomy as the sole negotiating framework for a political solution definitively settles the question of sovereignty, insofar as the option of independence is automatically ruled out, and the only issue at stake in the forthcoming negotiations will be the extent of the powers devolved by Morocco to the autonomous Sahara region. As a result, the question of the Sahara's attachment to the national territory will no longer arise in terms of international conventions, and will henceforth be a matter for the European Court of Justice and any other body. The only forum to deal with this dispute will be the United Nations, under whose auspices the negotiations will take place.

Secondly, resolution S/2797/2025 marks a clear break with previous resolutions, both in its conciseness and in the exclusivity, it confers on the Moroccan autonomy proposal as the framework for a political solution to this dispute. In so doing, the Council is giving a new impetus to the United Nations' efforts to bring about a definitive settlement of this dispute, which dates back half a century.

In its form, scope and implications, the new resolution represents a turning point in the management of this issue by the United Nations and no longer just the Security Council, and suggests an acceleration of the process of its settlement on the basis of negotiated autonomy within the framework of the Kingdom's sovereignty.

In terms of form, the new resolution marked a complete departure from the practice followed until now in drafting Council resolutions. Indeed, typically, the drafter of a given resolution - often a permanent member - takes the previous resolution as a starting point to incorporate new factual elements, taking care not to alter the structure or language of the text, which is the result of an accumulation, over the years, of numerous compromises that were often fiercely negotiated.

The UN tradition, when it comes to dealing with long-standing issues on the Organization's agenda, is characterized by an approach marked by prudence and continuity. The decision-making process moves slowly, not out of inertia, but out of a concern to preserve the fragile balances patiently established within the corpus of resolutions, the culmination of years - even decades - of painstaking negotiation.

Over time, these texts acquire a form of diplomatic sanctity, conferring on their structure and language an implicit immunity from profound questioning or substantial revision. The almost ritual repetition of the same formulations thus became the norm, reflecting the search for a lasting consensus and the desire to avoid any risk of reopening sensitive debates.

In this context, the modifications accepted are generally of a technical nature: updating dates, changing the names of Special Envoys or Representatives, or inserting neutral references to recent events. The overall structure of the text, however, remains unchanged, reflecting a concern for prudence and balance, in which the stability of the structure and language of the resolution becomes an end in itself, even when it does not faithfully reflect reality.

This year, 2025, the American delegation, which drafted the resolution, shook up this tradition by innovating in terms of structure, wording and content.

In terms of structure, the American delegation has revolutionized the 2025 text by drastically reducing the number of preambular and operative paragraphs. The preamble, which until now comprised twenty-six (26) paragraphs, now has just eight, while the operative part, which had seventeen paragraphs, has been reduced to six, i.e. a two-thirds reduction in the two components of the text.

In terms of its approach, the US delegation deliberately set the bar very high, circulating an initial version reflecting the broad international support for the Moroccan initiative, calling it the only legitimate framework for negotiations, in order to reserve significant room for maneuver during negotiations with the main antagonist, Russia, and also to absorb requests for changes that would not ultimately harm the ultimate objective, in this case that of enshrining the autonomy initiative. It should also be noted that both the initial text and the final resolution make no mention of the proposal submitted by the Polisario in 2007, nor of the text it submitted to the Council on October 20, 2025.

Autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty

In the Preamble, the new resolution simply recalls and reaffirms all previous resolutions, without listing or singling out any of them. On the basis of this approach, it did not deem it necessary to reiterate the reference to previous round-table meetings between the parties, nor the technical considerations concerning Minurso's performance and the rationalization of its management, in line with other peacekeeping operations, nor finally the ceasefire violations by the Polisario.

Admittedly, the principle of the right of peoples to self-determination provided for in previous resolutions, but also in the Moroccan Autonomy Initiative, is mentioned both in the Preamble and in the operative part, but at no point is there any mention of a referendum, outdated since 2001, when the Council decided to move towards a compromise political solution.

The resolution "notes the support expressed by many member states for the Moroccan autonomy initiative as the basis for a just, lasting and mutually acceptable solution to the dispute", and "affirms that genuine autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty is the most realistic and workable solution".

Finally, the Council "welcomes the readiness of the United States to host negotiations as part of the Personal Envoy's mission to find a solution for Western Sahara and the region".

With the aim of getting the Council to adopt an action-oriented, autonomy-focused resolution, the operative part of the resolution has been reduced to six paragraphs, two of which are substantial:

Paragraph 2 "fully supports the efforts of the Secretary-General and his Personal Envoy to facilitate and conduct negotiations on the basis of the autonomy plan proposed by Morocco to achieve a just, lasting and mutually acceptable settlement of the dispute, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, and looks forward to receiving constructive proposals on the autonomy plan from the parties".

With this paragraph, the Security Council is now directing the efforts of UN officials towards negotiations based on the notion of autonomy, in response to the Moroccan Initiative and not in detachment from it. As a result, any competing or modifying proposal to the Moroccan project, such as the "Proposal for a mutually acceptable political solution providing for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara and the restoration of regional peace and stability", hastily presented by the Polisario on October 20, 2025 via the South African Mission to the UN, is automatically excluded from the UN process, as it goes beyond the framework and logic defined by the Council. This requirement is confirmed and reiterated in paragraph 3 of the resolution.

The latter "calls on the parties to engage in discussions without preconditions and on the basis of the autonomy plan proposed by Morocco in order to achieve a final and mutually acceptable political solution that ensures the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara, considers that genuine autonomy could represent a most realistic solution and encourages the parties to share their ideas in support of a final mutually acceptable solution.

In using the adjective "genuine" to describe the autonomy plan proposed by the Moroccan Initiative, the Council considers that the Moroccan proposal as presented in April 2007 is not sufficiently detailed and deserves further development and explanation to make it more attractive to the other parties and to the populations of the Tindouf camps. While Morocco has so far refrained from responding to this request from the UN and the major powers, before the other parties agreed to enter into negotiations on the basis of negotiated autonomy, the situation changed after October 31, when the Council endorsed Morocco's initiative as the basis for negotiations. Indeed, the commitment to respond favorably to this request was solemnly expressed by the Sovereign when he announced immediately after the adoption of resolution 2797 that 'in line with the UN Resolution, Morocco will proceed with the updating and detailed formulation of the Autonomy Proposal with a view to its subsequent submission to the United Nations. As a realistic and workable solution, it should constitute the sole basis for negotiation."

Finally, to ensure follow-up and monitoring of the parties' implementation of the resolution, and to hold each of them accountable, the Council invited the Secretary-General to report to it whenever he deemed it useful during the mandate period, and to submit to it, within six months of the extension of the mandate, a strategic review of Minurso's future mandate, taking into account the outcome of the negotiations (paragraph 5 of the resolution). Consequently, it cannot be ruled out that the Council's assessment of progress or lack of progress in the new process initiated by the new resolution could have an impact on the nature of Minurso's activities and mandate.

This evaluation will be carried out by a Council whose membership will be renewed as of January 1, 2026, with the departure of Algeria, South Korea, Guyana, Sierra Leone and Slovenia, and the entry of Bahrain, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Latvia and Liberia.

The vote on the resolution and the explanations that followed show the firm commitment of most of the Council's current members around a hard core made up of the three permanent Western members, the caution of others, and the intransigence and even hostility of a strict minority of members.

Algeria: the bitter taste of the end of a mandate

The resolution was adopted with 11 votes in favor (Denmark, France, Greece, Guyana, Panama, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Somalia, South Korea, United Kingdom and United States), three abstentions (China, Pakistan and Russia) and one non-participation (Algeria). While the important thing is that the Council adopts the resolution regardless of the majority or statements made before or after the vote, the explanations of vote make it easier to appreciate everyone's position, especially when a permanent member is involved, and to anticipate the rest of the process.

Following a practice of listening first to the delegation that led the negotiations in its capacity as the bearer of the feather, the American representative welcomed today's "historic vote", which "seizes this unique moment and builds on the momentum for a long-awaited peace in Western Sahara".

He recalled that the United States had "made a sincere effort to integrate everyone's numerous and varied proposals, emanating from all Council members", adding that the United States and its President, Donald J. Trump, remain resolutely committed to peace. He then called on all parties to take advantage of the coming weeks to engage in serious discussions, based on Morocco's autonomy proposal, which he described as "credible and realistic", and as "the only basis for a just and lasting solution to the dispute". Finally, he expressed his country's conviction "that regional peace is possible this year, and we will do our utmost to foster progress towards this shared goal of peace and prosperity for the people of Western Sahara."

Immediately after the American delegate, the Algerian ambassador, who had decided as last year not to take part in the vote, took the floor to explain that his vote consisted of "distancing ourselves from a text that does not reflect the United Nations doctrine on decolonization". After recalling a thought by former US President Woodrow Wilson on the historic importance of the principle of self-determination, he criticized the resolution for proposing a narrow negotiating framework "which clearly emphasizes the territorial ambitions of one party to the dispute, while ignoring the legitimate aspirations of the people of Western Sahara".

After pointing out that the resolution ignores the proposal that the Polisario transmitted to the UN Secretary-General and his Personal Envoy on October 20 and had published as an official document of the General Assembly and the Council (under cover of the South African Mission), Algeria considered that the resolution adopted raises the most serious legal questions (without specifying which) and risks "cracking the international order". Finally, it expressed its regret that President Trump's initiative to bring peace and détente to the region, which had aroused interest and hopes, could not take off with the support of all parties".

The French representative reaffirmed his country's constant position that "the present and future of the Western Sahara lie within the framework of Moroccan sovereignty" and that "autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty is the framework within which this issue must be resolved".

The UK representative welcomed the adoption of the resolution, which highlights Morocco's autonomy proposal as "the most credible, viable and pragmatic", and looked forward to "a Moroccan development effort" to contribute to a mutually acceptable political solution.

As for Slovenia, the Republic of South Korea, Denmark and Guyana, their delegates stressed that any future solution would have to take into account the right to self-determination of the Saharan populations, underlining the need for all parties to cooperate more closely with the Secretary-General's Personal Envoy. In a similar vein, Pakistan, mindful of its dispute with India over Kashmir, stressed the "sacrosanct nature of the principle of the right of peoples to self-determination" and the need for "the involvement, on an equal footing, of all parties" in the search for a solution to this dispute.

Finally, the Russian Ambassador and Chairman of the Council for the month of October deplored the fact that the United States had, in "a cowboy approach", used the Security Council to privilege a national strategy, describing the American approach as "a monologue that politicizes the search for a mutually acceptable solution, the substance and parameters of which are to be found only in the relevant Security Council resolutions". He acknowledged that a final negotiating effort "made it possible to avoid a negative vote", and that Russia "did not choose to block the extension of the Security Council's mandate".

Minurso in order to give the peace process a chance."

The premises of this position were already apparent in Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's press conference of October 13, 2025, during which he declared that "any solution will only be acceptable when not just one, but all the parties concerned really feel that a solution has been found on the basis of a fair balance of interests". It follows that, whatever the merits and fairness of a proposal, each party, or those considered as such, has a real veto power to prevent any progress in the search for a political solution wanted and desired by all.

China, whose position was expected to change this year, decided to abstain on resolution 2797, whereas it had voted in favor of resolutions 2023 and 2024. Its representative tried to justify this change of vote by the inadequacy of the American delegation's efforts to achieve a consensus text, while reiterating the classic parameters of Chinese diplomacy on the attachment to dialogue and negotiation for a just and lasting solution.

Contrasting reactions to the Council resolution

Following the adoption of the resolution, the Sovereign expressed his feelings of satisfaction and humility, and Morocco's determination to work with the United Nations to bring this issue to a definitive close, while respecting its commitments, before declaring, through its Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf, that the resolution "safeguards the Saharawi people's right to self-determination", "neutralizes certain maneuvers by Morocco to dismantle or radically transform Minurso's mandate" and "eliminates or marginalizes the idea of a referendum on self-determination for the Saharawi people". He credited his country for the absence of any reference to Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara in the "substance of the text", and while admitting that "Algeria was very close to voting in favor of the resolution", he explained that his country ultimately decided not to take part in the vote because the mention of Moroccan sovereignty in the preamble had not been removed.

It is important to remember, however, that under Article 25 of the UN Charter, "the members of the Organization agree to accept and carry out the decisions of the Security Council in accordance with the present Charter". If these decisions are binding on member states, they are a fortiori and even more so on the members of the Council; and non-participation in the vote on a decision cannot exonerate a member of the Council from the responsibility of honoring this obligation.

For its part, the Polisario timidly reacted to the resolution, simply taking "note of certain elements of the text, which constitute a very dangerous and unprecedented departure from the basis on which the Security Council treats the issue "as a question of decolonization". "It subsequently declared itself "ready to engage positively in the peace process and to conclude direct negotiations with the other party on the basis of the spirit and content of its expanded proposal and in accordance with General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) and other relevant UN resolutions".

However, four days before the adoption of the resolution, the Polisario had "categorically rejected any initiative such as the draft resolution promoted by the United States "aimed at imposing the Moroccan autonomy plan or limiting the inalienable right of the Saharawi people to freely decide their future"; the Polisario said it "will not participate in any political process or negotiation seeking to legitimize the illegal military occupation of Western Sahara or to empty the principle of self-determination, a cornerstone of international law, of its substance".

Resolution 2797 clearly set out the parameters and framework for negotiations, for which Morocco has made sustained efforts since 2007. Patiently and in small steps, it has succeeded in asserting to the United Nations and its influential partners the soundness of its compromise approach, whose ultimate objective remains the strengthening of national unity and the preservation of good neighborliness. A new phase is therefore about to begin, during which the willingness, good faith and sense of responsibility and commitment of each of the parties to contribute to the Maghreb edifice will be tested before the eyes of the Security Council and the American sponsor.

For Morocco, a new arena for reflection and creativity is opening up, a space where the foundations of a centuries-old state, strong in its historical constants, its spiritual and cultural values, as well as its institutional and societal peculiarities, intersect and intertwine; just as the great monarchies of Europe possess ancestral traditions and political and organizational structures, rooted in their history and underpinning the functioning of their societies, so too does Morocco have its own, and it cannot in any way deviate from them. This project therefore offers an opportunity to reaffirm the virtues that have shaped its pluralistic identity, consolidated its national unity, honored its commitments, and, consequently, preserved its sovereignty as well as its territorial integrity.