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UN's top security body has approved a US-backed resolution that favors Morocco's position regarding the disputed territory, notwithstanding fierce opposition from Algeria.

Split Decision Strengthens Moroccan Position

Although Friday's decision was divided, the measure represents the strongest support to date for Moroccan proposal to maintain sovereignty over the territory, which also has support from most EU members and a increasing number of African nation partners.

Measure Structure and Key Elements

The resolution refers to Morocco's proposal as a basis for talks. Similar to earlier resolutions, the text makes no mention of a vote on independence that contains sovereignty as an option, which constitutes the approach traditionally favored by the independence-seeking Polisario Front and its supporters.

Genuine self-rule under Morocco's sovereignty could constitute a very practical resolution.

Background Information

The territory is a mineral-rich area of coastline desert the size of Colorado which was under Spain's rule until 1975. It is asserted by both Morocco and the Polisario Front, which functions from temporary settlements in south-western Algeria and asserts to represent the Sahrawi people indigenous to the disputed region.

Voting Patterns and International Reactions

The United States, which proposed the resolution, guided 11 nations in voting in favor, while three countries – multiple nations – abstained. The neighboring country, the movement's primary supporter, did not vote.

Mike Waltz, the US representative to the UN, said the decision had been "significant" and would "build on the momentum for a long, long overdue resolution in Western Sahara".

The Algerian ambassador, the Algeria's representative to the UN, commented that while the resolution was an improvement on earlier iterations, it "contains a series of deficiencies".

Security Mission and Upcoming Assessment

The measure also renews the UN peacekeeping mission in the territory for another twelve months, as has been implemented for over thirty years. Prior renewals, however, have not contained a mention to Morocco and its allies' favored resolution.

The measure urges all parties participating to "seize this unique chance for a lasting resolution." Based on progress, it asks the secretary general to review the operation's authority within six months.

Area Consequences and Present Conditions

The shift could unsettle a protracted situation that for decades has eluded resolution, desdespite a UN peacekeeping operation that was intended to be temporary. Protests have followed in Sahrawi refugee camps in the neighboring country this week, where residents have vowed not to abandon their fight for independence.

The Moroccan government controls almost all of Western Sahara, except for a thin strip called the "liberated area" that lies to the east of a Moroccan-built barrier.

Historical Background and Recent Developments

A 1991-era truce was meant to pave the way for a referendum on independence, but fighting over voter eligibility prevented it from taking place.

Over the years, the Moroccan government has transformed the disputed region, building a maritime facility and a 656-mile highway. Government support keep basic commodity prices affordable, and the population has ballooned as Moroccans settle in urban areas such as Dakhla and Laayoune.

Polisario ended the truce in recent years after confrontations near a route the government was paving to neighboring Mauritania.

The group has subsequently regularly documented military activity, while the government has mostly denied active fighting. The United Nations calls it "low-level hostilities".

International Diplomacy and Future Possibilities

In response to the proposed measure, the movement said that it would not join any initiative intending "to validate Moroccan unauthorized military occupation," saying peace "cannot happen by supporting expansionism".

The conflict constitutes the central issue in north African international relations. Morocco considers support for its proposal as a standard for how it assesses its allies.

Last October, the UN envoy proposed partitioning Western Sahara, a proposal neither side accepted. He encouraged the government to clarify what autonomy would entail and warned that a absence of development might question the UN's role and "whether there is space and readiness for us to remain useful."

The push to reassess the UN operation comes as the United States reduces financial support for UN programmes and agencies, covering peacekeeping.