Algeria’s pro-separatist activism at the UN reveals its role as genuine party to Sahara conflict

As the United Nations Security Council prepared to vote on a pivotal resolution endorsing Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara,Algeria launched a last-minute diplomatic offensive to alter the language of the U.S.-drafted text.

The resolution,which framed Morocco’s autonomy initiative as basis for negotiations was met with unprecedented activism by Algiers which proposed amendments that were ultimately rejected by the majority of Council members,reaffirming the global shift toward Morocco’s sovereignty-based framework.

This episode is a clear demonstration that Algeria is not a neutral observer as it has been claiming for decades,but a principal actor in the conflict.

Algeria has also taken self-harming economic steps against Spain and France after they backed autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty as a solution.

Algeria has long recognized the self-declared Polisario entity and offered it a safe haven and a rear base around Tindouf. It has also been using Algerian tax payers money and its oil wealth to finance and back diplomatically the Polisario separatists,who continue to enrich themselves at the expense of suffering Sahrawis in abject conditions in south western Alge

The UN has repeatedly identified Algeria as a key stakeholder in the conflict. In recent consultations,Algeria and Morocco are mentioned equally in official UN reportson the conflict.

Despite this,Algeria continues to reject participation in UN-sponsored roundtables that include Morocco,the Polisario,and Mauritania. It insists on being labeled an “observer,” even while actively lobbying against Morocco’s autonomy plan and attempting to influence Security Council resolutions.

The Western Sahara conflict is not merely a territorial dispute between Morocco and the separatist Polisario militias. It is a regional power struggle,with Algeria using the Polisario as a proxy to counterbalance Morocco’s influence in North Africa.

Algeria’s reluctance to accept autonomy as a win-win solution has resulted in a prolonged humanitarian crisis in the Tindouf camps,prevented the implementation of a lasting political solution and undermined regional stability and cooperation.