Polisario Front Seeks Additional Maneuvers Between New York and Addis Ababa

Hespress highlights the Polisario Front's apparent political confusion and desperate attempts to reconcile contradictory positions. The Front has called on the African Union to continue efforts for a just and lasting solution to the Western Sahara conflict, while simultaneously asserting that the United Nations remains the legitimate framework for such endeavors, as stipulated by relevant UN Security Council resolutions. This dual approach, particularly its stated desire to implement the latest Security Council resolution (2797), reveals a diplomatic disorientation, according to observers of the Kingdom's territorial integrity issue.

“

The Front's discourse shows a dual adherence to parallel references, the UN and the African Union; this is not a contradiction in essence but rather an expression of an attempt to re-engineer the negotiation space.

Experts note that clinging to the UN framework should logically imply acknowledging its exclusivity. This contradiction undermines the credibility of the separatist narrative and suggests an effort to gain new leverage outside the UN process, which is increasingly leaning towards the autonomy solution that enjoys broad international and even African consensus. The Polisario's strategy appears to be an attempt to broaden the negotiation space by appealing to both the UN and the African Union, seeking to inject political pressure through the latter. However, this tactic is seen as a form of "diplomatic compensation," aiming to renegotiate the terms of engagement rather than replace the primary track. The effectiveness of this strategy is questionable, as it relies on transforming symbolic support into institutional influence, which seems limited given current trends favoring a reduction in mediators and a focus on realistic solutions for the Western Sahara dispute.

“

The insistence on the UN Security Council grants this discourse a cover of international legal legitimacy; however, it is not sufficient on its own to produce new negotiating outcomes given the shift in power balances within the Council.