Several petitioners at the United Nations have welcomed growing international support for Morocco's Autonomy Plan for the Sahara. They stated that Security Council Resolution 2797 has established the initiative as the ultimate reference framework for the UN-led political process. This development has been seen as a significant step towards finding a lasting solution to the regional dispute over the Sahara.
Former Peruvian Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Rodriguez Mackay spoke before the UN General Assembly's Fourth Committee in New York. He said that the international community is increasingly converging around autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty as a political solution to the regional dispute over the Sahara. Mackay added that more than two-thirds of UN member states now support the initiative.
Mackay emphasized that Resolution 2797 consolidated the trend of international support for Morocco's Autonomy Plan. He stated that the UN Security Council has established the plan as the sole reference framework for relaunching the political process aimed at defining the modalities for implementing an autonomy solution. This has been seen as a major breakthrough in the efforts to resolve the dispute.
Portuguese jurist Ana Roios also spoke at the Fourth Committee meeting. She said that Resolution 2797 reaffirmed the Security Council's support for Morocco's Autonomy Plan. Roios called on the parties to continue discussions on the basis of the Moroccan Autonomy Plan to reach a definitive and mutually acceptable political solution.
Roios recalled that at the 15th EU-Morocco Association Council, the European side welcomed the adoption of Resolution 2797. She added that several EU member states, including France, Germany, and Finland, have supported Morocco's initiative as the basis for a just, lasting, and negotiated solution. This has been seen as a significant show of support for the Autonomy Plan.
Senegalese geopolitical analyst Abdoul Latif Aidara said that Resolution 2797 marked a turning point in how the issue is addressed at the United Nations. He pointed to the successive recognitions of the Moroccan character of the Sahara and the successive withdrawals of recognition of the separatist entity as signs of a major realignment in international positions.
Several speakers at the Fourth Committee meeting said that Resolution 2797 confirmed an increasingly favorable international dynamic toward Morocco's Autonomy Plan. They described the plan as the preferred path toward a lasting and mutually acceptable political solution to the dispute over the Sahara. The plan is seen as offering a serious, credible, and realistic basis for reaching a definitive settlement to the regional dispute.
Key points
- Morocco's Autonomy Plan has gained support from more than two-thirds of UN member states.
- The plan has been established as the reference framework for the UN-led political process.
- Several EU member states, including France, Germany, and Finland, have supported Morocco's initiative.
