Western Sahara: Morocco fails to remove the issue from the UN decolonization agenda

Western Sahara remains on the UN Committee of 24’s agenda despite Morocco’s opposition, following the committee’s review of the issue in New York from June 15 to 26, 2026. Morocco’s ambassador, Omar Hilale, argued that the Security Council has had sole competence over the matter since 1991 and that it concerns the peaceful settlement of disputes, not decolonization. He cited Article 12 of the UN Charter to challenge the committee’s examination of the issue. In 1975, the International Court of Justice recognized allegiance ties between Morocco’s sultan and some local tribes but rejected any territorial sovereignty link.