Sahara deadlock raises pressure on UN, but tougher enforcement seen as premature

UN envoy Staffan de Mistura’s warning that Sahara negotiations have reached a deadlock has intensified debate over whether the Security Council should strengthen its diplomatic pressure or consider more forceful measures, as it prepares to decide the future of its mission in the territory.

During closed-door consultations on October 8, de Mistura reportedly told council members that three rounds of US-backed negotiations in Washington and Madrid had failed to bridge differences between Morocco and the Polisario Front.

He urged the Council to clarify the negotiating framework established by Resolution 2797, adopted in October 2025, which made Morocco’s autonomy proposal the basis for talks.

The envoy also outlined conditions for genuine autonomy, including meaningful institutional powers, international guarantees and Sahrawi participation in governing the territory.

His intervention has renewed discussion about Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which allows the Security Council to adopt binding enforcement measures when it determines that international peace and security are threatened.

But Hach Ahmed Baricalla, first secretary of Sahrawis for Peace, told Hespress that considering such measures now would be premature.

He argued that Resolution 2797 has been in place for less than a year and that the current negotiations still offer opportunities for compromise, particularly with the United States directly involved in mediation.

Baricalla also criticized the Polisario Front’s warning that it could reconsider cooperation with de Mistura after accusing him of abandoning neutrality.

He called instead for broader Sahrawi participation in negotiations, including representatives of Sahrawis for Peace.

Ibrahim Bilali Soueih, a member of Morocco’s Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs, similarly warned against confusing diplomatic deadlock with the legal conditions required for Chapter VII action.

Under Article 39 of the UN Charter, the Security Council must determine that a threat to peace, breach of peace or act of aggression exists before adopting enforcement measures.

Soueih said the Council could instead strengthen the language of its next resolution, increase diplomatic pressure or reconsider the mandate of MINURSO, the UN mission in the Sahara.

Those options will come into focus before October 31, when MINURSO’s current mandate expires.

Council members must decide whether to renew the mission under its existing arrangements or adjust its responsibilities as efforts continue to translate the autonomy-based negotiating framework into a political agreement.

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