Yossi Schwartz ISL (RCIT section in Israel/Occupied Palestine) 11.04.2025
The UN security council has approved a US-backed resolution supporting Morocco’s claim to the disputed Western Sahara, despite fierce opposition from Algeria.
Western Sahara’s native population is roughly half a million, but it is home to rich phosphate, a vital component in fertilizer production, which became a strategically important commodity following the war in Ukraine. The territory also has rich fishing waters along its coastline on the Atlantic Ocean.
Although last Friday’s vote was divided, the resolution offers the strongest endorsement yet for Morocco’s claim to sovereignty over the territory, which also has backing from most European Union members and a growing number of African servants of imperialism.
The resolution refers to Morocco’s plan as a basis for negotiation. As with similar resolutions in previous years, the text makes no mention of a referendum on self-determination that includes independence as an option, which is the solution long favoured by the pro-independence Polisario Front and its allay, Algeria,
Western Sahara is a phosphate-rich stretch of coastal desert the size of Colorado that was under Spanish rule until 1975. It is claimed by Morocco and the Polisario Front, which operates from refugee camps in south-western Algeria which represents the Sahrawi people indigenous to the territory.
The US, which sponsored the resolution, led 11 countries in voting in favour, while three countries – Russia, China and Pakistan – abstained. Algeria, Polisario’s primary benefactor, opposed the measure.
Mike Waltz, the US ambassador to the UN, said the vote had been “historic” and would “build on the momentum for a long, long overdue peace in Western Sahara.”. The measure also renews the UN peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara for another year, as has been done for more than three decades.
Along with the UN General Assembly, several international courts including the International Court of Justice have ruled that colonization in Western Sahara is still pending and Morocco’s efforts to annex it are illegal. However, the UN is controlled by the Western imperialists and Trump who terrorize anyone who opposes him. Israel officially recognized Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara, making Israel the second country (after the United States under the Trump administration) to back Rabat’s claims.
The Trump administration’s recognition of Rabat’s claims over Western Sahara in 2020 was part of the Abraham Accord, a project aimed at bringing Israel and Arab countries together through a series of trade deals. The relations between Rabat and Tel Aviv continued to improve, with Morocco purchasing an increased military equipment from both the United States and Israel
Over the years, Morocco has transformed the disputed territory, constructing a deepwater port and a 656-mile (1,055-km) highway, and Moroccans settle in cities such as Dakhla and Laayoune. Polisario ended the ceasefire in 2020 after clashes near a road Morocco was paving to Mauritania. The Polisario front has since regularly engaged in guerilla war, while Morocco has mostly denied open conflict while stealing the rich phosphate mines.
In response to the resolution, Polisario said that it would not join any process aiming “to ‘legitimise’ Morocco’s illegal military occupation,” saying peace “can never be achieved by rewarding expansionism”.
The ISL supports the right of self- determination of the indigenous Sahrawi people. In the case of a military conflict, we call for victory for the Polisario without giving it political support.
Dow with Abraham accords!
Victory for the Polisario!
Kick out the imperialists!