In a further demonstration of the shifting balance of power surrounding the Western Sahara issue, Morocco confirms its central role and its complete control of the diplomatic, political, and institutional tempo. While other parties hesitate, procrastinate, or cling to outdated positions, the Kingdom distinguishes itself through exemplary mobilization, guided by the firm and strategic directives of King Mohammed VI. Autonomy, a Moroccan proposal since 2007 and now endorsed by the United Nations Security Council, is no longer merely a political offer but the backbone of an unprecedented relaunch of the conflict resolution process.
The acceleration achieved in recent weeks is striking proof of this. From the moment the Security Council adopted Resolution 2797 on October 31, 2025, Morocco immediately began operationalizing its initiative. The royal address delivered that same day serves as its founding document. Morocco will update and refine the autonomy proposal for subsequent submission to the United Nations. As a realistic and applicable solution, it must constitute the sole basis for negotiation, the Sovereign announced. This marks the entry into an implementation phase, where words are translated into action and national institutions are engaged in a broad and inclusive process.
On November 10, the King's advisors convened the leaders of all political parties represented in Parliament, as well as the Ministers of the Interior and Foreign Affairs, to initiate the process of implementing the autonomy plan. This meeting, revealed by a statement from the Royal Cabinet, definitively places the issue within a framework of multi-sectoral governance, where institutions and political forces are involved in developing a text intended to become the legal framework for a lasting solution. The party leaders affirmed their commitment to submitting memoranda on this subject as soon as possible, the same statement indicates, confirming the existence of a strict deadline set by the Palace. Upon inquiry, it was determined that this deadline was set at the meeting itself, between one week and a maximum of ten days. Meanwhile, even parties not represented in Parliament were also included with the same directive. This took place during a meeting subsequently chaired by the Minister of the Interior, Abdelouafi Laftit.
Political parties will have to submit their proposals this week to the Ministry of the Interior in strict confidence, Le360 has learned. Laftit's department will centralize and analyze the contributions before they are reviewed by royal advisors and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Successive Keys
This exemplary mobilization is not an isolated episode, but the culmination of a long-term strategy pursued methodically and firmly. In a policy paper dedicated to this topic, Mohammed Loulichki, former Ambassador of the Kingdom to the United Nations in Geneva and New York, former Ambassador-Coordinator of the Government to MINURSO, and Senior Fellow at the Policy Center for the New South (PCNS), notes that Morocco has succeeded, through successive steps, in demonstrating to the United Nations and its influential partners the soundness of its compromise approach. The adoption of Resolution 2797 testifies to this influence. The Security Council not only endorses autonomy as the sole basis for negotiation, but also calls upon all parties to engage in it in good faith, specifically targeting Algeria as a party to the conflict, and no longer as a mere observer.
For Loulichki, a new phase is beginning. This is the phase where, under the watchful eye of the Security Council and its American sponsor, the good faith and sense of responsibility of each party will be tested. This wording implies the uncomfortable position of Algiers and the Polisario Front. For them, it is no longer a matter of relying on slogans or blocking the process. The resolution creates an obligation to achieve results. Moreover, the Charter of the United Nations compels them to do so. The decisions of the Security Council are binding on member states, and a fortiori on the members of the Council, Loulichki reminds us.
Faced with this strict regulatory framework, Algeria, a non-permanent member of the Security Council for just a few more weeks, is reluctant. Its official reaction to Resolution 2797 was belated, hesitant, and riddled with contradictory justifications. Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf falsely speaks of the neutralization of Moroccan maneuvers and believes he is congratulating himself. This is a showy stance, far removed from the diplomatic realism demanded by the balance of power. Algeria was on the verge of voting for it, were it not for the explicit mention of Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara in the resolution, Attaf admits, implicitly acknowledging his country's isolation as the only one to have openly opposed the adoption of the text by the Council and to abstain from the vote.
On the Polisario side, there is confusion. Four days before the resolution was adopted, the separatist movement categorically rejected any solution other than traditional self-determination and denounced the American promotion of the autonomy plan. Now, under international pressure and facing increasing isolation, it says it is ready to engage in direct negotiations with the other party, subject to procedural and geographical conditions. These displayed hesitations contrast sharply with the reckless military actions of its militias, which are still attempting to launch attacks on the Mauritanian border. The latest episode: a failed incursion into Es-Smara in a grotesque attempt to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the ceasefire's breakdown.
In short, the movement is caught in a vice. The armed unrest barely masks the internal crisis gripping it. Voices are already being raised to challenge the hardline approach of the armed militia leadership, while rumors circulate about possible negotiations for a return to the 1991 ceasefire agreements. Some social media platforms even suggest that Brahim Ghali has decided to lay down his arms. This rumor was quickly denied, but it is indicative of the chaos reigning within the front.
Safeguards
Conversely, Morocco's strategy has never been so clear or so coherent. In a detailed policy paper for the same PCNS, Jamal Machrouh, a professor of international relations who teaches at the Royal College of Higher Military Studies in Kenitra and at Södertörn University in Stockholm, Sweden, emphasizes that the October 31st resolution constitutes a decisive turning point in the history of modern Morocco, but that it represents only the beginning of the end of the conflict. The battle that is now underway is legal, drafting, and technical, without losing sight of internal constitutional coherence. The autonomy text must respect a comprehensive balance, and not a minimal plan susceptible to structural amendments. He will have to clarify the notion of genuine autonomy stipulated in the latest Security Council resolution and delimit the role of Algeria, which is called upon to move – for real – from the status of stakeholder to that of third State.
Machrouh also emphasizes a crucial point of vigilance: preserving consistency between the final autonomy text and the national legal framework, given the developments since 2007, particularly the 2011 Constitution and the 2015 law on regionalization. Added to this is the requirement to link territorial integrity and national unity."Any autonomy plan for the Sahara should incorporate the preservation of national unity," he writes. This serves as both a backbone of internal legitimacy and an external signal. Once an agreement is reached at the Security Council for the implementation of autonomy as a definitive solution to this conflict, an amendment to the Moroccan Constitution is inevitable, our sources indicate.
In this shifting equation, Morocco sets the pace and dictates the agenda. On the other side, reactions oscillate between tension, resignation, and improvisation. For Algiers and the Polisario Front, the trap is closing: either they adhere to a process they have long refused to recognize, or they risk total marginalization, or even international sanctions. Morocco, for its part, remains committed to the necessity of reaching a solution that saves face for all parties, as King Mohammed VI reiterated in his latest speech on October 31, 2025. A message imbued with political lucidity. But also, now, with firmness. Take your seat at the table, or history will be made without you.
