A recent United Nations Security Council resolution on Western Sahara has drawn criticism from Human Rights Watch, which argues that it fails to guarantee that any future settlement will fully respect the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination under international law. According to the organization, the resolution backs Morocco’s autonomy proposal as the basis for negotiations but does not ensure that independence remains a possible option, nor does it clearly define who is entitled to exercise the right to self-determination or address the issue of reparations for Sahrawis harmed or displaced since Morocco took control of most of the territory.
Human Rights Watch said the resolution, adopted on 31 October 2025 as UN Security Council Resolution 2797, risks prioritizing political convenience over long-promised international commitments. While the text refers to a “just, lasting, and mutually acceptable” outcome and acknowledges the right to self-determination, it specifically endorses Morocco’s 2007 autonomy initiative, which places Western Sahara under Moroccan sovereignty and excludes independence. The group argues that this approach undermines the principle that the people of the territory must be able to freely determine their political future through a genuine and lawful process.
The dispute over Western Sahara has lasted for decades. Morocco has occupied most of the territory since 1975, after Spain ended its colonial rule, leading to conflict with the Polisario Front, the Sahrawi independence movement. In 1991, the United Nations brokered a ceasefire and created a mission to organize a referendum that would allow eligible Sahrawis to choose between independence and integration with Morocco, but that vote never took place. Tensions escalated again in 2020 when fighting resumed between Morocco and the Polisario Front.
Human Rights Watch emphasized that Western Sahara remains a non-self-governing territory under the United Nations and is still considered an unfinished decolonization issue. It noted that international law, including a 1975 advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice, affirms the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination. Under that legal framework, self-determination must reflect the free and genuine will of the people concerned and can include independence, free association, or integration. The group warned that a process built solely around Morocco’s autonomy plan does not adequately meet that standard.
The organization also highlighted the humanitarian and legal consequences of the conflict and occupation. It said any settlement should include reparations for Sahrawis who have suffered harm since Morocco’s takeover, including compensation and the right of return for refugees and their descendants who maintain links to the territory. At least 173,000 Sahrawi refugees are currently living in camps near Tindouf in Algeria, while demographic changes in Western Sahara have been shaped by the settlement of Moroccan civilians in the occupied territory, a practice that international humanitarian law prohibits.
Human Rights Watch further pointed to what it described as a long pattern of repression by Moroccan authorities against Sahrawi activists and groups advocating self-determination. Its research found that Moroccan officials have obstructed peaceful organizing, restricted gatherings and associations, punished expressions seen as challenging Morocco’s territorial claims, and subjected activists to abuse, unfair trials, and limits on movement. These conditions, the group argues, make it even more important that any political process includes safeguards to ensure the genuine and freely expressed wishes of the Sahrawi people.
The rights group urged the Security Council and all governments involved to honor past promises and ensure that any new negotiating framework is firmly grounded in international law. It stressed that after decades of delay, the United Nations should clearly explain how it intends to guarantee the full spectrum of Sahrawi rights, especially the right to self-determination, rather than advancing a solution that may close off key options before the people of Western Sahara have had the chance to decide their own future.
