Former UN envoy to Western Sahara Christopher Ross says the international community’s approach to the decades-long dispute over the territory has undergone a significant shift following the adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2797, which he said placed Morocco’s autonomy initiative at the centre of renewed diplomatic efforts.
In an opinion article, Ross, who served as the UN secretary-general’s personal envoy to Western Sahara from 2009 to 2017, said the resolution had triggered what he described as a “radical change” in attempts to resolve the conflict, which has lasted for around five decades.
Ross wrote that the resolution’s expression of appreciation for the United States’ readiness to host negotiations effectively allowed Washington to take the lead in facilitating talks, while the UN envoy assumed what he described as a “co-sponsor” role alongside the United States.
According to Ross, the resolution marked a shift from what he described as the Security Council’s relatively neutral position since at least 2003. He said the council adopted a new approach that takes Morocco’s autonomy proposal as the basis for the political process, while recognising that genuine autonomy could represent a feasible outcome to the dispute.
Ross also noted that the resolution made no mention of the referendum proposal long advocated by the Polisario Front, which he described as another development reinforcing the centrality of the Moroccan proposal within the negotiation framework.
At the same time, the former diplomat said the resolution maintained the requirement for “a final and mutually acceptable political solution” that provides for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara, while encouraging the parties to present ideas to support such a settlement.
Ross added that the resolution also did not distinguish between the two parties to the conflict and the neighbouring states participating in the political process, referring to Algeria and Mauritania, a position that he said aligns with Morocco’s view that these countries are involved in the negotiations.
Ross revealed that the United States convened a series of three meetings involving the concerned parties during January and February in an attempt to revive negotiations after nearly seven years of deadlock.
The first meeting took place at the US State Department in Washington in mid-January, followed by a second meeting on 8–9 February at the US embassy in Madrid. A third meeting was then held in Washington on 23–24 February.
Additional meetings are expected to take place, although they have not yet been announced.
According to Ross, senior representatives participated in the discussions, including US Senior Adviser for Arab and African Affairs Massad Boulos and US ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, alongside UN envoy Staffan de Mistura.
Morocco was represented by a delegation headed by Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita, which included the head of Morocco’s external intelligence service Mohamed Yassine Mansouri and Morocco’s permanent representative to the United Nations Omar Hilale.
Delegations from the Polisario Front, Algeria and Mauritania also took part in the meetings.
Ross said these gatherings represented the first ministerial-level meetings held exclusively to address the Western Sahara issue. However, he noted that the talks were conducted in strict confidentiality and no official communiqués were issued.
Media coverage of the meetings has therefore been limited to anonymous sources reiterating the long-standing positions of the parties, Ross wrote.
According to the article, Morocco considers that Resolution 2797 confirms its autonomy initiative as the only realistic basis for resolving the conflict.
The Polisario Front, meanwhile, maintains that its participation in the meetings does not signal acceptance of Morocco’s proposal and continues to advocate a referendum on self-determination.
Algeria says it is not a direct party to the conflict but is participating as an observer while expressing readiness to help Morocco and the Polisario reach a mutually acceptable solution that includes a referendum.
Mauritania, for its part, continues to follow what it describes as a policy of “positive neutrality”.
Ross also referred to a report by Spanish digital news outlet Atalayar that suggested Morocco had prepared an expanded version of its autonomy proposal.
According to the report, the document — said to be about 40 pages long — was prepared with the coordination of royal advisers Taieb Fassi-Fihri, Omar Azziman and Fouad Ali El Himma, and contains additional details on the implementation of autonomy.
The outlet reported that the expanded proposal may have served as a technical negotiating document during the Madrid meeting, with participants agreeing to establish a permanent technical committee of experts to work on the proposal in preparation for future negotiations.
Ross noted, however, that these reports were not confirmed by other sources.
Ross also cited remarks by US adviser Massad Boulos, who spoke about the negotiating process during interviews on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
According to Ross, Boulos said the United States is working within the framework of Resolution 2797, even though the US national position differs from the resolution in some respects.
Boulos said the participation of the four parties in the meetings represented a positive sign and described the resolution as “historic”, but declined to discuss details of the negotiations, citing the parties’ request for confidentiality.
He said the Western Saharan population and Morocco would be directly concerned with discussions on autonomy, while Algeria and Mauritania participate as observers supporting the broader political process.
Boulos also noted that the United States and Algeria are building what he described as a long-term partnership, referring to a defence and security cooperation agreement signed between the two countries last year.
Ross also referred to remarks by UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, who said the UN secretary-general’s personal envoy remains actively involved in the political process.
Dujarric said Staffan de Mistura co-chaired the most recent meeting in Washington with the United States on 23–24 February.
According to the UN spokesperson, the discussions involved in-depth exchanges on the conflict based on Morocco’s autonomy proposal as referenced in Security Council Resolution 2797.
He described the talks as “encouraging”, but said significant work remains necessary, particularly regarding the question of self-determination for the people of Western Sahara.
Ross said the resumption of meetings after years of stagnation represents a step forward in the political process, especially as the Polisario Front and Algeria agreed to sit at the same table with Morocco and Mauritania.
However, he warned that the path toward a final agreement remains complex given the longstanding nature of the conflict and the difficult issues involved.
According to Ross, the United States hopes to achieve rapid progress that could lead to a framework agreement by mid-year and possibly a final agreement before the UN Security Council renews the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) in October.
He also noted that Resolution 2797 requested the UN secretary-general to prepare a strategic review of the future mandate of the mission by the end of April, taking into account the outcome of the negotiations.
Ross concluded that the success of any agreement will depend on whether the parties can reconcile the question of autonomy with the principle of self-determination and reach a solution acceptable to all sides involved in the conflict.
