Last Friday, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2797, which enshrines autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty as the most feasible solution and urges the UN Secretary-General's Personal Envoy to conduct negotiations based on the autonomy plan. For Elliott Abrams, former White House advisor, this is a logical outcome, the result of Rabat's consistent commitment and a clear position supported by Washington.

In an analysis published on the American think tank Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), Elliott Abrams writes that the Polisario Front, in its early days, benefited from support among far-left circles and some international celebrities, but that this support has evaporated over time. He describes it as a movement that has remained stuck in Cold War paradigms, with weapons.

The experience of an American diplomat at the heart of the matter

Elliott Abrams recounts his own involvement. He writes that he became interested in the issue in 2002, when he became director for the Middle East and North Africa at the National Security Council in the George W. Bush administration. At that time, the UN special envoy, James Baker, proposed two plans. The first envisioned autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty, which was rejected by the Polisario Front. The second, a referendum after five years of autonomy, was refused by Morocco.

We understood in Washington that the King, the government and the Moroccan people could not accept a risk of loss of sovereignty over the Sahara, explains Elliott Abrams.

For Elliott Abrams, the Kingdom's proposal has finally convinced the world. He writes that it is now clear that the only viable solution is autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty, and not the creation of a vassal state dominated by a non-democratic movement supported by Algiers.

We urged Morocco to flesh out this idea and put forward a real plan, which they did in 2007. We supported this plan, as did the Obama administration after us and every administration since. Slowly but surely, it has become clear to countries around the world that this is the right solution: autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty, and not the creation of a new failed state under the undemocratic Polisario regime supported by Algeria, he writes.

Resolution 2797 reflects this approach. The text refers to autonomy as the most feasible solution and calls on the parties to resume discussions without preconditions. The French representative to the UN states that autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty is the framework within which the issue must be resolved. Even the international press acknowledges the significance of this vote. Le Monde headlines: Western Sahara, Morocco achieves a diplomatic victory at the UN.

Elliott Abrams believes this result is the fruit of a sustained effort. He writes that this vote is the product of Moroccan diplomacy, the work done on the ground in the Sahara, and a consistent, bipartisan American policy.

Algeria, a prisoner of its own hostility

Elliott Abrams notes that the conflict persists because of Algiers' attitude. He writes that for Algeria, the Western Sahara issue is merely a tool in a policy of confrontation against Morocco. He recalls the severing of diplomatic relations decided in 2021 and cites President Abdelmadjid Tebboune's remarks in 2023 declaring that the two countries had practically reached the point of no return. The diplomat also links this hostility to the resumption of relations between Morocco and Israel. According to him, one of Algiers' grievances against Rabat is precisely this opening.

Elliott Abrams points out that by refusing to participate in the vote on the resolution, Algeria has marginalized itself, unable to take responsibility for its double-speak on the issue.

The diplomat writes that Morocco's victory rests on consistency and credibility. Rabat has chosen action over posturing, building rather than escalating tensions. While the Polisario Front remains trapped in the rhetoric of the past, Morocco is developing its southern provinces and establishing stability there.

He believes that Moroccan diplomacy, supported by national consensus and concrete work on the ground, has managed to reverse the balance of power. The consulates opened in Laâyoune and Dakhla are proof of this.

Elliott Abrams concluded by emphasizing that if Algeria ceased using the Western Sahara issue as a weapon against Morocco and encouraged the Polisario Front to negotiate in good faith, a mutually beneficial solution could be found. He reiterated that autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty was the right answer when it was proposed a quarter of a century ago and remains so today.