Key facts
- The Royal Palace said Morocco's voluntary commitment to the ceasefire will not change with the end of the UN mission.
- The UN said on Sunday the 35-year-old mission ended after the Security Council did not renew its mandate last week.
- The palace said the UN mission had proven unable to ensure compliance with the ceasefire and its functions had become outdated.
- King Mohammed VI urged vigilance in ensuring strict respect for the Kingdom's territorial integrity and the tranquility of its citizens.
- Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita said Rabat had the support of two-thirds of UN member states for its next step.
Morocco will stay committed to the ceasefire in Western Sahara despite the end of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the territory, the Royal Palace said on Wednesday, after a meeting chaired by King Mohammed VI with the prime minister, a royal adviser and the army chief.
The 35-year-old UN mission ended after the Security Council did not renew its mandate last week, the UN said on Sunday, removing the international presence that had monitored the ceasefire in the decades-old dispute. Morocco's voluntary commitment to the ceasefire will not change with the end of the mission, the palace said in a statement.
The Western Sahara conflict pits Morocco, which considers the territory its own, against the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, a political and military organisation that has sought a separate state there since the departure of former colonial power Spain in 1976. Morocco expressed satisfaction at the non-renewal of the mission, the Polisario said it was concerned and Algeria expressed deep regret.
Morocco controls all of Western Sahara's urban centers and its coastline. It built a security wall in the 1980s stretching 2,700 kilometers (about 1,700 miles), leaving most of the territory under its control. The Polisario operates east of the wall with rear bases in the area of Tindouf in southwestern Algeria, where it administers refugee camps.
In 2020, the Polisario said it resumed its armed struggle when Morocco took a border crossing with Mauritania. The UN describes the conflict as of low intensity. The UN mission had proven unable to ensure compliance with the ceasefire and its initial functions had become outdated, the palace said.
The king urged vigilance in ensuring strict respect for the Kingdom's territorial integrity, national security and the tranquility of its citizens, the palace said. The palace said last week that the end of the UN mission means the withdrawal of the Western Sahara issue from consideration by the Security Council.
In an interview with state media on Saturday, Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita said the next step for Rabat would be to remove Western Sahara from the UN's decolonisation committee, saying Rabat had the support of two-thirds of UN member states.