Morocco has announced that 31 October will be observed as a national holiday following the UN Security Council’s decision to support its autonomy proposal for Western Sahara.
The holiday, named Unity Day, will commemorate what the royal palace described as the country’s “national unity and territorial integrity.”
On Friday, the UN endorsed Morocco’s plan, describing autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty as the “most feasible solution” to the long-running dispute over the territory.
Morocco currently controls most of Western Sahara, while the Polisario Front, which seeks full independence for the Sahrawi people and is backed by Algeria, administers parts of the region.
The resolution was sponsored by the US and passed with 11 votes in favour. Russia, China and Pakistan abstained, while Algeria voted against. It also extended the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission Minurso for another year.
Western Sahara, a resource-rich desert region once ruled by Spain, was annexed by Morocco in 1975. Fighting between Moroccan forces and the Polisario Front continued through the 1970s and 1980s, and although ceasefires were agreed in the 1990s, the political dispute remains unresolved.
A proposed UN referendum on the region’s future has never taken place due to disagreements over voter eligibility.
While the African Union recognises Western Sahara as an independent state, several countries in recent years, including the US, UK, Spain, France, Germany and the Netherlands, have expressed support for Morocco’s autonomy proposal.
Morocco withdrew from the Organisation of African Unity in 1984 after Western Sahara was admitted as a member state under the name of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, but rejoined in 2017 and has since worked to increase international backing for its position.
