The adoption of Resolution 2797 by the United Nations Security Council on October 31, 2025, marks a pivotal moment in the longstanding Western Sahara dispute. By establishing Morocco's autonomy plan as the "basis" for any political solution, the UN text confirms a profound shift in international perspectives on this issue. For the first time, the option of autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty has emerged as the central path forward, effectively sidelining the independence referendum.

The first Policy Conference of the Coalition for Autonomy in the Sahara (AUSACO) took center stage on Thursday in Dakhla, focusing on the Moroccan Sahara’s geopolitics.

Eminent national and international figures gathered to engage in a comprehensive discussion on the ongoing regional dispute, considering recent developments at the United Nations and on the ground.

The Coalition for Autonomy in the Sahara (AUSACO) is pleased to announce the organization of a significant Policy Conference focused on the theme "The Geopolitical Horizon of the Sahara Issue." This crucial event will take place in Dakhla from February 29 to March 1, 2024.

The autonomy plan proposed by Morocco to find a definitive solution to the artificial dispute over the Moroccan Sahara is the "only practical way" for moving forward, British MP Liam Fox said in Rabat on Wednesday.

This position was expressed by Fox in a statement to the press following his talks with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates Nasser Bourita.

"It’s important that we focus on what is best" for the populations of the region "and that we look for a practical way forward in the politics of the region," he said.

The Republic of Zambia on Tuesday reiterated its "unwavering support" for the Kingdom's territorial integrity and for the Moroccan autonomy initiative as the "only credible and realistic solution" for resolving the artificial dispute over the Sahara.

The vice-president of the Dakhla-Oued Eddahab region, Ghalla Bahiya, underlined, Thursday before the members of the UN Committee of 24 (C24), the growing international support to the legitimacy of Morocco's rights over its southern provinces and to the autonomy plan as the only solution to the regional dispute over the Moroccan Sahara.
 

Bahiya intervened as the democratically elected representative of the populations of the Moroccan Sahara, at the C24 Pacific region seminar being held in Bali, Indonesia, May 24-26.

This meeting, initiated by the Sahrawi Association for Autonomy Project and Sustainable Development (ASSPADD), was marked by a series of activities, including an exhibition of crafts from the southern provinces and a conference-debate.