Morocco said on 13 October that the decolonization of the Sahara was “concluded”. On the 15th, it voted for self-determination.

Nadine Rochat — Genève, Suisse — 2026-10-15

Two United Nations documents. Two dates. One and the same signatory.

1. The fact

The Fourth Committee of the United Nations General Assembly — responsible for special political questions and decolonization — adopted on 15 October 2026 its annual resolution on the question of Western Sahara, during its tenth meeting of the eighty-first session.

That text had been adopted without a vote, by consensus, since 2006. This year, a recorded vote was requested by the United States delegation, which announced its intention to oppose all the texts under the agenda item, judging that the Committee no longer needed to examine them “through the filter of the Special Committee” on decolonization — the C-24.

The vote count is circulating, but it is not established by the UN: according to MAP Express and H24info, the text received 152 votes in favour, including that of Morocco, two against and seven abstentions. An Algerian relay, El Ayem News citing “Algérie Internationale”, published another count — 137 for, 2 against, 6 abstentions — which nothing corroborates, and which contradicts the former, including within its own article.

What is established, however, is the text itself.

2. The text, word for word

The draft resolution bears the symbol A/C.4/81/L.4 — “Question of Western Sahara”, a draft submitted by the Chair of the Committee, issued on 14 October 2026.

It begins with this sentence, in the present tense, without condition:

“Reaffirming the inalienable right of all peoples to self-determination and independence, in accordance with the principles set forth in the Charter of the United Nations and in resolution 1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960, which contains the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples.”

And its paragraph 2 provides:

“Supports the negotiating process initiated by Security Council resolution 1754 (2007) and supported by Council resolutions […] 2756 (2024) and 2797 (2025), with a view to achieving a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution that provides for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara.”

The official coverage of the 15 October meeting summarises it in the same terms:

“Under [the text] on Western Sahara, the General Assembly would support the negotiating process initiated by Security Council resolution 1754 (2007), and supported by resolution 2797 (2025), in order to reach a “just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution” providing for the self-determination of the people of that Territory.”

3. What the text does not contain

### 🔎 THE CHECK THAT SETTLES IT — anyone can repeat it

In the three pages of A/C.4/81/L.4:

“autonomy”: 0 occurrences. “sovereignty”: 0. “referendum”: 0. “stakeholder”: 0.

Those four words are the words of the Moroccan announcement. None of them is in the text.

The word “autonomy” does not appear. The word “sovereignty” does not appear. The word “referendum” does not appear — not once, in the three pages of the draft.

Security Council resolution 2797 (2025), for its part, is cited there in a list: that of the Council resolutions adopted on this file since 1990, and that of the resolutions supporting the negotiating process. Nowhere is it presented as the basis of the settlement, and nowhere is autonomy designated, either as a basis or as the sole basis.

4. What Morocco said on 13 October

Two days earlier, before the same Committee, the representative of Morocco spoke about the Sahara. The official UN coverage, in its French version, reports three formulations — and they must be read together:

“On the principle of self-determination, the Moroccan representative said that resolution 2797 aims to reach a freely negotiated status of autonomy. According to him, the four parties to this political process were identified in the relevant Council resolutions, ‘without distinction or differentiation’. ‘The Security Council definitively buried any idea of a referendum a quarter of a century ago’, he concluded, as its resolutions attest.”

“According to Morocco, the decolonization of the Sahara has been ‘sealed’ since its return ‘to its mother country’ and the Madrid Agreement, half a century ago.”

“The adoption of resolution 2797 (2025) by the Security Council marked a ‘major shift’ […] by moving the logic from managing the situation to resolving it. It is, in Morocco's words, an ‘irreversible tipping point’. According to that delegation, this text makes the Moroccan autonomy initiative THE ONLY BASIS for the settlement of this regional dispute and places, for the first time, the status of autonomy within the framework of Moroccan sovereignty.”

The English version of the same communiqué (GA/SPD/840) says the same thing in its own language: “The decolonization of the Sahara was concluded half a century ago with the return of the Sahara to its mother, Morocco”; resolution 2797 is described there as “a step towards resolving the situation rather than simply managing it”; autonomy there “combines political realism and democratic governance”; and the representative concluded: “Good faith is not a one-way street.”

5. The confrontation

On 13 October, in New York, Morocco declared at the UN that the decolonization of the Sahara has been “concluded” for half a century — that is, that the file is closed.

On 15 October, in New York, Morocco voted in favour of a text that reaffirms “the inalienable right of all peoples to self-determination” and whose very object is to reach “a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution that provides for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara”.

Two United Nations documents. Two dates. The same signatory.

6. What Rabat announces publicly

On the same vote, the Moroccan press announces something else. MAP Express, H24info and Le Matin headline that the Fourth Committee “adopts a resolution enshrining historic resolution 2797”. MAP Express writes that this resolution “confirms historic Security Council resolution 2797, which enshrined the Moroccan Autonomy Initiative as a basis within the framework of Moroccan sovereignty”.

Yet the text adopted says neither “autonomy” nor “sovereignty”; it says “self-determination” — twice, once in its operative paragraph.

The same MAP Express article moreover concedes that “this resolution is identical to those adopted over the past twenty years”, with no novelty other than “the important reference to resolution 2797”.

7. The law, invoked by both sides

Resolution 1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960, the “Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples”, is cited in the preamble of the text adopted. It provides:

“All peoples have the right to self-determination; by virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.”

The delegate of Algeria, before the same Committee, recalled that Western Sahara remained “an unfinished decolonization question”, inscribed in “the legal marble of the United Nations”; that “the choice of a territory's political status must proceed from the free will of its people”, which “draws the essential border between what is decided in a people's place and what a people decides freely for itself”; and that “no one is entitled to grant sovereignty over that territory”. Algeria welcomed the resumption of direct talks between Morocco and the Polisario Front under the auspices of the UN and the United States, with Algeria and Mauritania attending as observers.

8. A fact of the session, which explains a silence

In the same debate, the delegation of the European Union, speaking as an observer, asked that the UN continue to publish the press releases devoted to the Committee's work, which “help make its work accessible to a wider audience”.

This is not a procedural remark. It is a dated, public fact, and it means one thing: the record of the meeting has become, for this Committee, a source that must be sought out — no longer a routine publication.

9. What this article does not establish

• The official number of votes: the UN has not published a vote count for this specific text; the figures cited come from the press.
• The list of countries: not established.
• The “137 in favour” count is an uncorroborated relay; it is not retained here.
• The words “main stakeholder”, added by Le360 to resolution 2797 in our article 020, do not appear in draft A/C.4/81/L.4 — but that proves nothing about the final version adopted, which is not established.

On 13 October, Morocco told the UN that “any idea of a referendum” had been “definitively buried” and the decolonization of the Sahara “sealed”. On the 15th, Morocco voted for a text that reaffirms the inalienable right of all peoples to self-determination and that promises the people of Western Sahara that they will be able to decide for themselves. In between, its press announced an “enshrining” of autonomy: the text itself contains neither “autonomy”, nor “sovereignty”, nor “referendum”.

Nadine Rochat — Genève, Suisse

📚 COMPLETE BIBLIOGRAPHY (rule no. 19)

1. United Nations General Assembly, Fourth Committee, eighty-first session, draft resolution A/C.4/81/L.4, “Question of Western Sahara”, draft submitted by the Chair, 14 October 2026 — “Reaffirming the inalienable right of all peoples to self-determination and independence […] resolution 1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960”; “Supports the negotiating process initiated by resolution 1754 (2007) […] and supported by Council resolutions […] 2756 (2024) and 2797 (2025), with a view to achieving a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution that provides for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara” — https://docs.un.org/fr/A/C.4/81/L.4

2. UN, Department of Global Communications, communiqué CPSD/841, “Fourth Committee, eighty-first session, 10th plenary meeting — morning”, 15 October 2026 — “Under [the text] on Western Sahara, the General Assembly would support the negotiating process initiated by Security Council resolution 1754 (2007), and supported by resolution 2797 (2025), in order to reach a ‘just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution’ providing for the self-determination of the people of that Territory”; adoption of drafts I (160-2-3), II (163-2-2) and of the text on the implementation of the Declaration (120-3-43); “Following separate votes, the Committee adopted the annual draft resolutions IV to XVII” — https://press.un.org/fr/2026/cpsd841.doc.htm

3. UN, GA/SPD/841 (English version of the same communiqué) — https://press.un.org/en/2026/gaspd841.doc.htm

4. UN, communiqué CPSD/840 — French version, “Fourth Committee, eighty-first session, 9th plenary meeting — morning”, 13 October 2026 — the representative of Morocco: “The Security Council definitively buried any idea of a referendum a quarter of a century ago”; the decolonization of the Sahara is “sealed” since the return of the territory “to its mother country” and the Madrid Agreement; resolution 2797 (2025) marked a “major shift” and an “irreversible tipping point”, and “makes the Moroccan autonomy initiative THE ONLY BASIS for the settlement of this regional dispute”, placing the status of autonomy “within the framework of Moroccan sovereignty”; the delegation of the European Union asks there that the UN continue to publish the press releases on the Committee's work — https://press.un.org/fr/2026/cpsd840.doc.htm

5. UN, GA/SPD/840 — English version of the same communiqué, “Fourth Committee, eighty-first session, 9th meeting”, 13 October 2026 — the delegate of Morocco: “The decolonization of the Sahara was concluded half a century ago with the return of the Sahara to its mother, Morocco”; resolution 2797 (2025) is “a step towards resolving the situation rather than simply managing it”; “Good faith is not a one-way street”; the delegate of Algeria: “shameful transaction”; the delegation of the European Union asks that the UN continue to publish the press releases, which “help make its work accessible to a wider audience” — https://press.un.org/en/2026/gaspd840.doc.htm

6. United Nations General Assembly, resolution 1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960, “Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples” — “All peoples have the right to self-determination; by virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development” — https://docs.un.org/fr/A/RES/1514(XV)

7. United Nations Security Council, resolution 2797 (2025) of 31 October 2025 — cited in draft A/C.4/81/L.4 among the resolutions supporting the negotiating process — https://docs.un.org/fr/S/RES/2797(2025)

8. MAP Express (fr, Morocco), “ONU : La Quatrième Commission adopte une résolution consacrant la résolution historique 2797 du Conseil de Sécurité”, 15 October 2026 — “by 152 votes in favour, including that of Morocco, two against and seven abstentions”; “enshrined the Moroccan Autonomy Initiative as a basis within the framework of Moroccan sovereignty”; “identical to those adopted over the past twenty years” — https://www.mapexpress.ma/actualite/opinions-et-debats/onu-quatrieme-commission-adopte-resolution-consacrant-resolution-historique-2797-du-conseil-securite/

9. H24info (fr, Morocco), “Sahara marocain : la Quatrième Commission de l'ONU consacre la résolution 2797”, 15 October 2026 — same vote count — https://h24info.ma/maroc/sahara-marocain-la-quatrieme-commission-de-lonu-consacre-la-resolution-2797/

10. Le Matin (fr, Morocco), “Sahara Marocain : La 4ème Commission de l'ONU adopte une résolution consacrant la résolution historique 2797”, 15 October 2026 — https://lematin.ma/nation/sahara-marocain-la-quatrieme-commission-de-lonu-adopte-une-resolution/370564

11. Ennahar Online (ar, Algeria), “١٥٢ دولة تدعم قراراً أممياً يؤكد حق الشعب الصحراوي في تقرير المصير”, 15 October 2026 — “152 States support”; reaffirmation of the inalienable right to self-determination; resolution 1514 (XV); reference to resolution 690 (1991) and MINURSO; report requested for the eighty-second session — https://www.ennaharonline.com/152-%d8%af%d9%88%d9%84%d8%a9-%d8%aa%d8%af%d8%b9%d9%85-%d9%82%d8%b1%d8%a7%d8%b1%d8%a7%d9%8b-%d8%a3%d9%85%d9%85%d9%8a%d8%a7%d9%8b-%d9%8a%d8%a4%d9%83%d8%af-%d8%ad%d9%82-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b4%d8%b9%d8%a8/

12. Horizons (fr, Algeria), “4e commission de l'ONU : Adoption d'un projet de résolution réaffirmant le droit du peuple sahraoui à l'autodétermination”, 15 October 2026 — https://www.horizons.dz/2026/10/4e-commission-de-lonu-adoption-dun-projet-de-resolution-reaffirmant-le-droit-du-peuple-sahraoui-a-lautodetermination/

13. Sahara Press Service (en), “Algeria reaffirms Western Sahara as unfinished decolonization issue, warns against imposed solutions”, 14 October 2026 — resolutions 1514 and 1541; advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice; direct negotiations under UN–United States auspices, Algeria and Mauritania observers — https://www.spsrasd.info/en/2026/10/14/18311.html

14. Radio Algérienne (fr), “Quatrième Commission de l'ONU : l'Algérie réaffirme son attachement au droit du peuple sahraoui à l'autodétermination”, 14 October 2026 — statement by Amar Bendjama — https://news.radioalgerie.dz/fr/node/96456

15. El Ayem News (ar), “المغرب في مواجهة الأغلبية الأممية.. 137 دولة تصوّت لصالح الشعب الصحراوي”, 15 October 2026, citing “Algérie Internationale” — count of 137 for, 2 against, 6 abstentions, uncorroborated; the same text also mentions “support from 152 States” — https://elayem.news/%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d8%ba%d8%b1%d8%a8-%d9%81%d9%8a-%d9%85%d9%88%d8%a7%d8%ac%d9%87%d8%a9-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a3%d8%ba%d9%84%d8%a8%d9%8a%d8%a9-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a3%d9%85%d9%85%d9%8a%d8%a9-137-%d8%af%d9%88/

16. El Moudjahid (fr, Algeria), “Sahara occidental : l'ONU réaffirme le statut de la question sahraouie comme un dossier de décolonisation” — headline — https://elmoudjahid.com/fr/monde/sahara-occidental-l-onu-reaffirme-le-statut-de-la-question-sahraouie-comme-un-dossier-de-decolonisation-241898

17. Algeria Vanguard (internal), article 020, le360-ajoute-le-mot-principale-a-la-resolution-2797 — Le360 added “main stakeholder” to resolution 2797; that word does not appear in draft A/C.4/81/L.4.

⚠️ Published reservations.

(1) The vote count is attributed to the press, not to the UN. The UN has not established a count for this specific text: according to MAP Express and H24info, 152 in favour, including Morocco, 2 against, 7 abstentions. No list of countries is established.

(2) The count “137 for, 2 against, 6 abstentions” published by El Ayem News citing “Algérie Internationale” is corroborated by no source and contradicts the former; the same article also gives “152” as support. It is not retained.

(3) The quotations of Morocco and Algeria are reproduced from the official UN coverage (CPSD/840, 9th meeting, 13 October 2026, English version; CPSD/841, 10th meeting, 15 October 2026, French version).

(4) The text cited is the DRAFT adopted (A/C.4/81/L.4, issued on 14 October 2026). The published final version of the resolution is not established; the correspondence between the draft and the text adopted is established by the coverage of the 15 October meeting, which summarises its scope in the same terms.

(5) The recorded vote was requested by the United States on all the texts under the agenda item; this text had been adopted by consensus since 2006.

(6) The word “autonomy” does not appear in draft A/C.4/81/L.4, nor does “sovereignty” or “referendum”. Resolution 2797 (2025) is cited there in lists of Security Council resolutions, not as the basis of the settlement.

(7) The words “main stakeholder” (our article 020) do not appear in the draft; it is not established that they appear in the final version.

(8) The European Union's request that the UN continue to publish the communiqués of the Committee is a fact of the session, reproduced from CPSD/840. It is published as such.

(9) No judgment on a people, a nation or a religion. The article compares official words and dates. No insult, no qualifier aimed at a people.

(10) As soon as the UN publishes the vote count or the final resolution, the article must be taken up again: the count and the list of countries will then be cited at source.

(11) Two linguistic versions of the same communiqué are cited: the French version of CPSD/840 (entry 4) and the English version GA/SPD/840 (entry 5). The quotations are reproduced in their original language, with their URLs. The French and English versions of CPSD/841 are also given (entries 2 and 3).