Raised by Staffan de Mistura, United Nations envoy responsible for the question of Western Sahara, the possibility of a partition of this African territory whose postcolonial status is still not resolved, was rejected by the separatists of the Polisario Front, supported by Algeria and Morocco.
“Unacceptable” for Morocco
The UN envoy declared during a United Nations Council which was held behind closed doors on Wednesday October 16, according to Agence France Presse (AFP), having “with all discretion, resumed and reactivated with all the parties concerned the concept of territorial partition”. This concept of territorial partition had already been put on the table by his predecessor in 2002. Concretely, he proposes to “allow the creation of an independent State in the southern part and, on the other hand, the integration of the rest territory within Morocco, whose sovereignty over it would be internationally recognized. On October 18, Farhan Haq, deputy spokesperson for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, has however required to qualify in front of the press that it was not a “submission of a proposal”, but that Staffan de Mistura was only informing the Council of his work.
During a press briefing this Monday, October 21, the Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita, reacted to this possibility of territorial sharing, describing it as “unacceptable”. According to him, it is a “false novelty” which will not be listened to because it “comes into conflict with the principled position of the kingdom and all Moroccans, that the Sahara is Moroccan and is an integral part of Moroccan soil”, according to comments reported by the media Young Africa. “Morocco does not negotiate its Sahara, does not negotiate its sovereignty over the Sahara and does not negotiate its national unity,” he said.
The Polisario Front still demands self-determination
In an official statement from its national secretariat, also cited by Jeune Afrique, the Polisario Front for its part assured of opposing a “firm total and categorical rejection by the Sahrawi party of any ‘proposal’ or ‘initiative’, which would not guarantee the self-determination of the Sahrawi people.
Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony, is considered a “non-autonomous territory” by the UN, of which Morocco now controls 80%. The kingdom has been in conflict since 1975 with the Polisario Front, Sahrawi separatists, supported by Algeria. Since 2007, he has proposed an autonomy plan, but under his sovereignty. The Polisario Front, for its part, wants a referendum on self-determination, planned when a ceasefire was signed in 1991, “a possibility that everyone considers dead”, according to the spanish daily newspaper El Paíseven though it gave its name to Minurso, the UN mission created on this occasion, “acronym for United Nations Mission for the organization of a referendum in Western Sahara”.
“Difficult progress” according to Antonio Guterres
In recent years, several UN states have recognized Morocco’s sovereignty over the territory of Western Sahara. The United States, with recognition by Donald Trump in 2020, but also Israel in 2023 or, more recently, France through the voice of Emmanuel Macron on July 30 in a letter addressed to the King of Morocco, Mohammed VI, a declaration deemed “inopportune” by Algeria.
A resolution adopted by the 4th Committee of the UN General Assembly, which was held in New York from October 3 to 17, supports the negotiation process and welcomes “the efforts made by the Secretary General and his personal envoy to find to the dispute a political solution which is mutually acceptable and ensures the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara”. In his annual report on the issue published last week, Antonio Guterres estimated that “progress in the political process remained difficult” and that the situation had become “more urgent than ever”. It calls for “achieving a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution that allows the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara.” Minurso should be renewed at the end of the month until October 31, 2025.