Fifty Years After the “Green March,” the World Looks Again to Western Sahara

By Victoria G. Corera – Platform “Don’t Forget Western Sahara”

Fifty years after the so-called “Green March,” the international community is once again turning its eyes toward Western Sahara — this time from the right perspective: that of a colonized people still waiting to exercise a long-recognized but continually postponed right. What will be decided tomorrow at United Nations Headquarters will not mark the end of the story, but it could open a new, more honest phase in the Sahrawi people’s long struggle for justice and freedom.

The vote is scheduled for Friday at 3:00 p.m. (New York time) / 8:00 p.m. CET.

On the eve of the fiftieth anniversary of the invasion known as the “Green March,” the Security Council is preparing to vote, on Friday 31 October, on a resolution that could be decisive for the future of Western Sahara. What initially appeared to be a routine renewal has, in recent hours, become a political showdown between those who seek to consolidate the Moroccan occupation under the label of “autonomy” and those who stand by international law and the inalienable right of the Sahrawi people to determine their own future. The draft resolution, authored by the United States, has undergone successive revisions and diplomatic adjustments that have gradually moved it away from the version initially pushed by Rabat and Paris.

According to information released by ECSAHARAUI and confirmed by diplomatic sources in New York, the third version of the draft — circulated late Thursday — extends the mandate of MINURSO until 31 October 2026. The earlier six-month or even three-month limits have been dropped, and any mention of downsizing or ending the mission has been removed. This shift responds to pressure from several Council members who demanded operational stability and guarantees that MINURSO would remain an instrument serving the process of decolonization, not its dismantling.

The most significant political novelty — if confirmed — is the explicit reaffirmation of the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination, mentioned twice in the new wording. For the first time in years, the Security Council’s language realigns itself with the United Nations Charter and with international legal doctrine concerning non-self-governing territories. This clarification — absent from the initial U.S. draft — directly corrects the narrow framework of “autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty,” returning the question of Western Sahara to its proper context: that of an unfinished decolonization process.

The text also removes previous references that portrayed the Moroccan autonomy plan as “the only basis” or “the only possible solution” to the conflict. The new, more balanced formulation merely “takes note of the support expressed by numerous Member States for the Moroccan proposal, considering it a serious and credible contribution to the process.” In other words, autonomy is no longer the sole horizon. Political and legal pluralism returns: the United Nations implicitly acknowledges that other legitimate proposals exist — notably that of the Polisario Front from 2007, which calls for a referendum including the three UN-recognized options: independence, integration or autonomy.

Another key change is the explicit recognition of the Polisario Front as a party to the conflict and a legitimate actor in negotiations. Earlier drafts had blurred this role with vague references to “all concerned parties.” The new text clearly speaks of “the parties,” meaning Morocco and the Polisario Front, and underlines their shared responsibility in reaching a solution. This linguistic precision carries major political weight: it confirms that the Council continues to regard the Polisario Front as the legitimate representative of the Sahrawi people, in line with UN resolutions and established practice since 1979.

The resolution further introduces a strategic review of MINURSO’s mandate within six months, “taking into account the results of the negotiations.” This is not a threat but an opportunity to assess the mission’s effectiveness and refocus it on its original goal: organizing the self-determination referendum. In parallel, the text opens space for both parties to present new proposals “outside the narrow framework of autonomy,” a political window that Morocco has long sought to close.

Altogether, this third version represents a diplomatic setback for Rabat. The Makhzen’s strategy of imposing “autonomy” as the only viable framework has failed. The French delegation attempted, until the last moment, to reintroduce pro-Moroccan language, but resistance from Russia, Mozambique, Algeria, and several African countries prevailed. Aware of the risk of open division within the Council, Washington opted to maintain a more balanced, legally sound text consistent with previous resolutions.

The vote, scheduled today at 3:00 p.m. (New York time) / 8:00 p.m. CET, is expected to pass by a wide majority, though its political meaning will differ greatly from what Rabat anticipated. The resolution will not end the conflict, but it marks a turning point: it restores to the Security Council the language of international law and the central reference to self-determination, weakening Morocco’s narrative of a “consensual autonomy.”

Fifty years after the so-called “Green March,” the international community is once again looking toward Western Sahara — and, at last, from the right angle: that of a colonized people still awaiting the fulfillment of a right recognized half a century ago. What will be decided tomorrow in New York will not close this long chapter of injustice, but it could well open a new one — clearer, fairer, and truer to the cause of Sahrawi freedom.

Victoria G. Corera
Platform “Don’t Forget Western Sahara”