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The UN Security Council has approved a US-backed resolution that endorses Moroccan position regarding the contested territory, notwithstanding significant resistance from Algeria.

Divided Vote Bolsters Moroccan Position

Although Friday's vote was divided, the resolution represents the strongest support yet for Moroccan proposal to retain sovereignty over the territory, which also enjoys support from most European Union countries and a increasing number of African nation partners.

Resolution Structure and Important Components

The resolution describes Moroccan plan as a basis for talks. Similar to earlier measures, the document doesn't include a referendum on self-determination that includes independence as an choice, which constitutes the solution traditionally favored by the pro-independence Polisario movement and its allies.

Genuine autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty could represent a most practical solution.

Historical Information

The territory is a mineral-rich stretch of coastal arid land the size of Colorado which was under Spain's control until 1975. It is asserted by both the Moroccan government and the Polisario movement, which operates from refugee camps in south-western neighboring Algeria and claims to speak for the Sahrawi people native to the contested region.

Voting Patterns and Global Reactions

The US, which proposed the resolution, guided 11 nations in voting in support, while three nations – Russia, China and Pakistan – abstained. The neighboring country, Polisario's primary supporter, did not participate.

The US ambassador, the US ambassador to the United Nations, stated the decision had been "significant" and would "advance the momentum for a long, long overdue resolution in Western Sahara".

Amar Bendjama, the Algerian ambassador to the United Nations, said that while the resolution was an improvement on previous versions, it "still has a number of deficiencies".

Security Operation and Future Assessment

The resolution also extends the UN peacekeeping operation in Western Sahara for another year, as has been implemented for over three decades. Prior extensions, however, have not contained a mention to Moroccan and its supporters' favored outcome.

The UN resolution calls on all parties participating to "seize this unprecedented chance for a lasting peace." Based on developments, it asks the UN leader to review the operation's authority within half a year.

Area Impact and Current Conditions

The change could unsettle a long-stalled situation that for many years has escaped settlement, desdespite a UN peacekeeping mission that was designed to be temporary. Protests have followed in Sahrawi settlements in the neighboring country this recent period, where residents have vowed not to give up their struggle for self-determination.

Morocco administers nearly all of the territory, except for a thin area called the "liberated area" that lies east of a Moroccan-built sand wall.

Historical Background and Recent Events

A 1991 truce was intended to facilitate a vote on independence, but fighting over participation criteria blocked it from taking place.

Over the years, Morocco has transformed the disputed region, building a maritime facility and a 656-mile highway. State subsidies keep basic commodity prices low, and the population has grown significantly as Moroccans establish homes in cities such as Dakhla and Laayoune.

The movement withdrew from the ceasefire in recent years after clashes near a route the government was constructing to Mauritania.

The group has since regularly documented security activity, while Morocco has mostly rejected claims of open conflict. The United Nations describes it "limited tensions".

Global Relations and Coming Prospects

In response to the draft resolution, Polisario said that it would not join any process aiming "to 'legitimise' Moroccan illegal presence," saying resolution "cannot happen by rewarding territorial claims".

The conflict represents the driving force in regional international relations. Morocco views support for its proposal as a standard for how it gauges its allies.

Recently, the UN envoy proposed dividing the territory, a proposal no party agreed to. He encouraged Morocco to clarify what autonomy would entail and warned that a absence of progress might raise questions about the United Nations' role and "whether there is space and willingness for us to remain useful."

The initiative to review the United Nations Mission comes as the United States reduces funding for United Nations initiatives and agencies, including peacekeeping.