The UN Security Council is set to vote on Friday on a U.S.-drafted resolution suggesting that autonomy for Western Sahara under Moroccan sovereignty represents “the most viable solution” to the decades-long territorial dispute.
The draft resolution calls for a one-year extension of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) and requests that the UN Secretary-General submit a strategic review of the mission’s future mandate within six months.
The proposal has drawn strong opposition from Algeria, which backs the Polisario Front and its campaign for independence, while the positions of Russia and China, both of which hold veto power, remain unclear.
For the resolution to pass, it must secure at least nine affirmative votes in the Council, provided no permanent member exercises a veto.
