Omar Hilale: Algeria Behind Sahara Deadlock, Not the Veto

Omar Hilale, Morocco's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, defended Moroccan sovereignty over its Sahara before the UN General Assembly, saying the deadlock on the file stems from the political position of a neighbouring country, Algeria, rather than from the Russian veto that blocked, on 30 October, the renewal of MINURSO's mandate, according to Le360.

In remarks to the General Assembly on Tuesday, Hilale said a veto "may end a mandate, but it will not change history," adding: "the Sahara was Moroccan before 30 October, it is more Moroccan after 30 October, and it will remain Moroccan forever," according to the Maghreb Arab Press (MAP).

The Moroccan ambassador argued that the referendum option is no longer realistic, having dropped out of Security Council resolutions for about two decades, calling instead for a census of the population in the Tindouf camps. He said: "a refugee who is not counted does not count," calling for the UN personal envoy's consultations to be widened to include Sahrawis in the southern provinces and the diaspora, not only camp residents, according to Al3omk.

What did the international community say?

At the same session, representatives of several countries reaffirmed their positions. France's ambassador to the UN, Jérôme Bonnafont, said "the present and future of Western Sahara fall within Moroccan sovereignty," welcoming the momentum created by Security Council resolution 2797, adopted in 2025, which makes Morocco's autonomy plan the basis for negotiations, according to Hespress.

The US Permanent Representative, Mike Waltz, for his part said "the referendum option is no longer feasible," noting that Washington had hosted, under the supervision of UN envoy Staffan de Mistura, three rounds of high-level talks between Morocco and the Polisario Front, with Algeria and Mauritania attending as observers, and that the US draft resolution had been backed by 11 of the Security Council's 15 members before Russia vetoed it, according to Alyaoum24.

Russia's deputy permanent representative, Anna Ostigneeva, countered that Morocco's development efforts in the Sahara "do not automatically give Rabat priority in the political settlement process," with Moscow tabling an alternative draft extending MINURSO's mandate by one year under resolution 2797 without amending its text, according to Alyaoum24. The European Union, for its part, reaffirmed its support for resolution 2797, warning that the absence of the UN mechanism that had monitored the ceasefire since 1991 could raise the risk of miscalculation in the region, according to Hespress.

Bilateral backing from Sierra Leone, meanwhile

Away from UN corridors, Sierra Leone's Foreign Minister Mohamed Rahman Swaray visited Rabat on 9-10 November, meeting his counterpart Nasser Bourita. He reaffirmed his country's firm support for Moroccan sovereignty over its entire territory, including the Sahara, describing the autonomy plan as the only serious, credible and realistic solution to the dispute, and recalling that Sierra Leone opened a Consulate General in Dakhla on 30 August 2021. The two countries signed a cooperation roadmap covering 2027-2029, according to Le Matin.

What has changed since MINURSO's mandate ended?

After the 30 October veto, the UN mission actually began evacuating its positions east of the defence wall, as WaFinkom reported earlier. International support for Rabat's position nonetheless continues outside the Security Council: just days earlier, Ecuador signed agreements with Morocco backing Sahara autonomy, WaFinkom also reported. The Sahara file remains open, with negotiations continuing under the UN personal envoy outside the Security Council framework, while Hilale keeps framing the dispute mainly as one between Rabat and Algiers, rather than between Morocco and the Security Council.