United Nations envoy Staffan de Mistura has described negotiations over the Sahara as being at a “deadlock,” urging the Security Council to clarify what he sees as ambiguities in Resolution 2797 and make autonomy the basis for the next phase of talks.
During a closed-door briefing to Security Council members on October 8, de Mistura called for any proposed autonomy arrangement to be “genuine and effective,” subject to meaningful self-determination and backed by international guarantees.
The envoy said he had spent the past five years seeking a mutually acceptable solution through various proposals and compromise formulas. In April, he expressed “cautious optimism” about the prospects for progress after the political process was relaunched in January.
During the first quarter of the year, three rounds of high-level negotiations were held in Washington and Madrid, co-chaired by de Mistura and U.S. Ambassador Michael Waltz, with support from U.S. President Donald Trump’s senior adviser Massad Boulos.
However, efforts since April by the United States, several UN member states and the envoy himself had failed to bridge the differences between the parties.
“Negotiations have reached a deadlock,” de Mistura said, warning that breaking the impasse would be nearly impossible without action by the Security Council.
Reasons for the deadlock
De Mistura identified three main obstacles: persistent mistrust between the parties, the Polisario Front’s reluctance to engage seriously with the details of autonomy as a potential solution under Resolution 2797, and the complexity of the issues under discussion.
Morocco has submitted an expanded 39-page autonomy proposal, which the envoy described as providing a solid basis for negotiations. However, he stressed that the document was not ready for adoption and would require further negotiations between the parties.
De Mistura argued that the Security Council needed to clarify what he described as ambiguities in Resolution 2797 to establish autonomy as the basis for future discussions, regardless of the eventual outcome of the negotiations.
The resolution, adopted on October 31, 2025, expressed the Council’s support for negotiations based on Morocco’s autonomy proposal, while seeking a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution. <Cite refs={[“turn975740search21″,”turn975740search7”]}/>
Autonomy at the center of future talks
After years of engagement with the dispute and the positions of the parties, de Mistura said alternative solutions might have been possible in the past and could become viable in the future. For now, however, he argued that a “genuine autonomy” initiative should receive the greatest attention.
He outlined three conditions for such an arrangement if the Security Council decides to make autonomy the focus of the next phase of negotiations.
First, the proposed arrangement must be genuine and effective. Second, it must be subject to a meaningful process of self-determination. Third, the Security Council must provide strong international guarantees to monitor its full implementation.
De Mistura also explained what he meant by genuine and effective autonomy. This would involve self-governing institutions giving the territory’s inhabitants control over political decisions affecting their daily lives, alongside the possibility for Sahrawi refugees to return in safe and dignified conditions and live without fear for their security.
His vision also includes enabling Sahrawis to manage their own affairs, enact laws governing their lives, run public-service institutions, serve in the judiciary and assume responsibilities for public order and security, as well as pursue opportunities in industry and commerce.
The envoy called for the Polisario Front and other Sahrawis to participate as partners in administering the territory. He also said the autonomy arrangement should not be vulnerable to unilateral abolition or undermining through a sudden decision, decree or administrative order.
He urged the Security Council to provide strong international guarantees for implementation both now and in the future, emphasizing that the arrangement should be endorsed through a meaningful and effective exercise of the right to self-determination.
Proposed visits to Laayoune and Dakhla
De Mistura also outlined an initiative developed in cooperation with UN High Commissioner for Refugees Barham Salih. The Polisario Front was informed of the proposal on September 2 through a letter signed by Salih, U.S. Ambassador Michael Waltz and the UN secretary-general’s personal envoy.
The initiative proposes individual, voluntary visits by Sahrawi refugees to Laayoune and Dakhla to help them better understand conditions in the territory and ask questions about Morocco’s autonomy proposal.
According to de Mistura, the visits could help refine the proposals under discussion and contribute to building a social constituency in support of a lasting settlement.
He said the Polisario Front responded to the letter on September 14, expressing its “readiness to cooperate with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to facilitate the implementation of the proposed initiative.”
The envoy said this openness should be followed up and built upon.
He also stressed the need to address the suffering of refugees living in camps in Tindouf, as well as those residing among local communities elsewhere, particularly in Mauritania.
Call for concessions from both sides
Concluding his briefing, de Mistura acknowledged that his frank assessment could lead the parties to view him as having overstepped the bounds of neutrality. He argued, however, that neutrality “should not mean passivity,” particularly at the current stage of the negotiations, adding that Security Council members expected him to be candid and clear.
He expressed hope that the parties would engage in coordinated, good-faith negotiations following the adoption of the Council’s next resolution to explore the possibility of reaching a genuine autonomy arrangement, in line with the UN secretary-general’s call in paragraph 60 of his latest report.
De Mistura directed a particular message to the Polisario Front, saying it should do more than simply accept the other side’s proposal. Instead, he urged the movement to study Morocco’s autonomy plan, seek clarifications, request improvements and put forward constructive proposals on specific elements to help reach a compromise with international support.
He said he hoped the Polisario Front would take this step “before the end of this year,” with the collective assistance of the parties concerned.
At the same time, he stressed that progress would require flexibility from both sides, saying the next phase would demand “historic flexibility and political courage” from the Polisario Front and Morocco alike.
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