The UN Security Council has endorsed Morocco's Autonomy Plan as the basis for negotiating Western Sahara, marking a major diplomatic win for Rabat.

Since 2020, major powers including the United States and European partners, plus roughly two-thirds of UN members, have endorsed the plan, signaling a broad realignment on the issue.

Morocco intends to publish a detailed Autonomy Initiative to the UN as the negotiation basis, arguing it is the only viable solution.

Challenges remain from the Polisario Front and Algeria, but Morocco aims to turn the process into a model of regional reconciliation and development.

Diplomatic engagement continues in Algiers, with talks between Algeria’s foreign minister and the Sahrawi foreign affairs leader, underscoring ongoing regional dialogue.

Beyond infrastructure, Morocco’s development push spans education, renewable energy, fisheries, and eco-tourism, expanding employment and human development.

The king’s post-resolution address calls for sincere, winner-less dialogue with Algeria and reframes the Sahara issue as a regional cooperation project.

The dispute is rooted in strategic resources and trade routes, with phosphate, renewables, and a key port, giving the Sahara economic significance beyond symbolic claims.

Amnesty International reports ongoing restrictions on dissent and freedom of assembly in Western Sahara.

The status remains disputed: Polisario seeks independence and maintains the territory as non-autonomous, while the UN continues to list the area as non-autonomous.

Overall, the diplomacy centers on a negotiated autonomy within Morocco as the path to resolution, contingent on Polisario and Algerian participation, with broader regional and security implications.

The process envisions a UN-led path toward a fair settlement that guarantees Sahrawi self-determination, while the final status remains to be negotiated.