End the stalemate: Western Sahara’s future lies with Morocco

In a bold and unambiguous statement during a recent meeting in Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio reaffirmed what has increasingly become the international consensus: the sovereignty of Morocco over Western Sahara is not up for debate. 

His words leave no room for interpretation — the United States stands firmly behind Morocco’s Autonomy Proposal as the only viable path to a just and lasting solution to this decades-old dispute.

This endorsement is neither new nor surprising. The U.S. first recognized Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara under the Trump administration in 2020, a decision maintained under President Biden. Rubio’s reiteration of this policy only solidifies what has become the default position of the most influential global actor.

Morocco’s Autonomy Plan, first proposed in 2007, is a pragmatic and realistic framework that offers significant self-governance to the region’s inhabitants under Moroccan sovereignty.

 It respects historical ties, ensures regional stability, and offers a path forward — unlike the outdated and impractical notions promoted by Algeria and its proxy, the Polisario Front.

Algeria, which continues to deny its central role in perpetuating this conflict, has spent years arming, hosting, and diplomatically backing the Polisario — a separatist group with questionable legitimacy and little real support among the Sahrawi population. 

The Algerian regime’s intransigence, driven more by geopolitical rivalry with Morocco than any genuine concern for the Sahrawis, has blocked progress, destabilized the Maghreb, and undermined regional cooperation.

Global Support Is Growing

Meanwhile, Morocco has been investing heavily in Western Sahara. Infrastructure, education, renewable energy projects, and job creation initiatives have transformed cities like Laayoune and Dakhla. These are not the actions of an occupying power — they are the marks of a nation investing in its future and its people.

The so-called "dispute" over Western Sahara is increasingly a fiction maintained by a few isolated voices. Most Arab nations, several African countries, and global powers like the U.S. now support Morocco’s position. 

The UN process, while diplomatically necessary, is stalled largely due to Algeria’s refusal to engage constructively.

It is time for the international community, particularly European countries that have danced around the issue, to accept the obvious: Western Sahara is Moroccan — not as a matter of opinion, but of practical, historical, and political fact.

The longer this recognition is delayed, the longer the region suffers from instability, and the longer its people remain pawns in a geopolitical game that should have ended long ago.

Reality must prevail. The future of the Maghreb — and the Sahrawi people — lies not in division, but in autonomy within Moroccan sovereignty. That future is already underway. The world should support it.