UN calls for Western Sahara talks

UNITED NATIONS:

The United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution on Friday stating that genuine autonomy for Western Sahara under Moroccan sovereignty could be the most feasible solution to Rabat's 50-year conflict with the Algeria-backed Polisario Front.

Western Sahara, a tract of desert the size of Britain, has been the scene of Africa's longest-running territorial dispute since colonial power Spain left in 1975.

The UN Security Council, in a US-drafted text, called for the parties to engage in negotiations based on an autonomy plan first presented by Morocco to the United Nations in 2007. Morocco considers the territory its own while the Polisario Front seeks to establish an independent state called the Sahrawi Republic.

"We urge all parties to use the coming weeks to come to the table and engage in serious discussions," US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz told the council after the vote. "We believe regional peace is possible this year, and we will make every effort to facilitate progress."

Russia, China and Pakistan abstained, while Algeria did not vote. The remaining 11 council members voted in favor of the resolution, which also renewed for one year the mandate of the UN peacekeeping force in Western Sahara, known as MINURSO.

"The final decision on the future cannot, must not, belong to anyone other than the people under colonial domination," Algeria's UN Ambassador Amar Bendjama told the council after the vote. "This text ignores the proposals of the Polisario Front."