New York, October 5, 2026 – The Europe Today: United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres’ latest report on Western Sahara has revealed that negotiations among Morocco, the Polisario Front, Algeria and Mauritania have advanced to discussions on a possible transitional council and a framework agreement for a transition phase.
The report, dated October 1, 2026, comes ahead of the United Nations Security Council’s consideration of the Western Sahara issue and the renewal of the mandate of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), which expires on October 31.
According to the report, the four parties held three rounds of direct negotiations during the first quarter of 2026, marking the first such direct engagement in nearly seven years. The talks were co-chaired by UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for Western Sahara Staffan de Mistura and US Ambassador to the United Nations Michael G. Waltz, with support from US presidential adviser Massad Boulos.
The negotiations were conducted on the basis of Morocco’s autonomy initiative, in line with UN Security Council Resolution 2797, which was adopted in October 2025 and gave renewed momentum to the UN-led political process.
During the second round of talks in Madrid in February, the participants discussed the establishment of a transitional council that could oversee various aspects of a possible transition and provide a framework for negotiating the details of a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political settlement.
The discussions also covered international guarantees, resource-sharing, amnesty and reconciliation, disarmament, demobilization and reintegration, security arrangements and electoral systems. At the request of the participants, UN and US teams subsequently worked on a preliminary draft framework agreement for a possible transition period.
The third round, held in Washington on February 23 and 24, included further discussions on the transitional council and the proposed framework. However, significant differences remained over self-determination and sovereignty, prompting the co-chairs to address those issues separately with the parties through subsequent bilateral consultations.
Following consultations conducted between March and June, de Mistura and his co-chair reviewed areas of relative convergence and prepared a revised draft framework agreement. According to the report, such a framework could eventually provide a basis for negotiations on a detailed model of self-government and a meaningful consultation process involving the population of the territory.
Guterres has also recommended extending MINURSO’s mandate for another year, until October 31, 2027, while emphasizing that any changes to the mission should remain closely linked to progress in the political process.
The report identifies the continuing lack of trust between the parties as a major obstacle to reaching and implementing a political settlement. It also emphasizes the importance of international guarantees and renewed diplomatic engagement to support any agreement reached.
The developments come as the Security Council prepares to hold closed consultations on Western Sahara on October 7 and 8, ahead of the expected vote on the future of MINURSO later this month.
The latest report indicates that the negotiations have increasingly shifted from the question of restarting the political process toward examining the practical architecture of a possible settlement, including transitional arrangements, guarantees and mechanisms for implementing an eventual agreement.
