The Permanent Mission of Morocco to the United Nations in New York hosted an international seminar on July 1, 2026, focusing on safeguards for implementing territorial autonomy agreements. The event brought together academics and experts from various autonomy experiences worldwide.

Opening the session, Morocco’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Omar Hilale, described the gathering as taking place in an exceptional context, shaped by significant diplomatic progress on the Sahara question. This progress includes the adoption, last October, of the UN Security Council’s resolution 2797.

According to Hilale, the resolution marks a historic turning point, unequivocally endorsing Morocco’s autonomy plan—under Moroccan sovereignty—as the sole foundation for a mutually acceptable political solution.

He emphasized that the plan is not merely a political slogan but a concrete governance project, backed by constitutional, institutional, and democratic guarantees. The seminar’s theme—”In a negotiated autonomy, there is no value if it is not guaranteed”—underscores this principle.

The Moroccan initiative, he noted, envisions local populations managing their affairs through legislative, executive, and judicial bodies with defined competencies. With just four months until the Security Council’s next Sahara resolution review, Hilale highlighted a favorable international dynamic, citing support from over 130 UN member states—including three permanent Council members: the United States, France, and the United Kingdom.

The diplomat linked this momentum to tangible developments in the southern provinces, including infrastructure, renewable energy, higher education, healthcare, investments, a major data center project in Dakhla, and a future deep-water port on the Atlantic coast. These achievements, he argued, demonstrate that autonomy is not just a theoretical framework but a living reality.

Comparative academic framework

Seminar moderator Marc Finaud, Senior Advisor and Associate Researcher at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, recalled that Morocco submitted its autonomy initiative to the Security Council on April 11, 2007. He clarified that the academic gathering aimed not to replace UN-led negotiations but to enrich them through international comparisons.

Finaud highlighted key aspects of the initiative: local population participation, referendum consultations, the principle of subsidiarity, representation in national institutions, constitutional guarantees for human rights, and the integration of autonomy status into Morocco’s Constitution. He also emphasized mechanisms for reintegration and transition.

Diego Muñoz, a researcher presenting the case of Rapa Nui (Easter Island), described its autonomy process as unfinished, with discussions spanning decades. He contrasted its legal and historical context with the UN-mandated Sahara framework, stressing the importance of local consultations—a principle central to Morocco’s initiative.

According to Muñoz, the Moroccan model stands out for its combination of local representation, population consultation, and institutional safeguards, framing autonomy as a negotiated compromise rooted in cultural recognition and participatory governance.

Administrative versus political autonomy

Sémir Al Wardi, a political science professor at the University of French Polynesia, distinguished between administrative and political autonomy. He noted that French Polynesia operates under an administrative model, while New Caledonia enjoys legislative powers.

In this context, Al Wardi argued that Morocco’s initiative is more generous than France’s Polynesian model, as it grants legislative authority to the Sahara region. He compared this approach to autonomy models in unitary states like Spain or the United Kingdom.

The academic underscored the critical role of resources, asserting that financial means are essential for regions to exercise their competencies effectively. Autonomy, he said, allows a region to assert its identity while remaining part of a larger state.

Heikki Mattila, a professor at Geneva’s School for International Training, presented the Åland Islands case—a Swedish-speaking autonomous territory of Finland. He traced its origins to a post-independence crisis between Finland and Sweden, later formalized by the League of Nations.

Mattila outlined key safeguards in the Åland model: protection of the Swedish language, restrictions on land acquisition by non-residents, exclusive competencies, a fiscal regime, local representation, and the demilitarization of the archipelago. He noted that Åland’s autonomy laws enjoy quasi-constitutional protection, requiring a strengthened procedure involving the region for amendments.

The professor stressed the need for clear competence-sharing and flexible mechanisms to adapt the status over time. He cited institutional oversight tools, including regional law reviews and recourse to Finland’s Supreme Court in case of disputes.

Beyond legal text: tangible guarantees

Dagikhudo Dagiev, a Senior Researcher at London’s Institute of Ismaili Studies, examined the Gorno-Badakhshan region in Tajikistan. He described its autonomy as constitutionally recognized but largely ineffectual due to centralized state control, direct appointments of regional officials by the central government, and the lack of exclusive competencies.

This case, Dagiev argued, illustrates that autonomy on paper is meaningless without implementation. It also highlights the robustness of Morocco’s initiative, which includes constitutional anchoring, fiscal resources, dispute-resolution mechanisms, protections against unilateral revocation, and potential international support for implementation.

Comparing Gorno-Badakhshan to Morocco’s plan, Dagiev concluded that the latter already incorporates essential safeguards: constitutional incorporation, democratic governance, referendum approval, and negotiated implementation.

In closing, Marc Finaud summarized shared lessons from these models: constitutional enshrinement of autonomy status, international agreements, precise competence definitions, dedicated resources, dispute-resolution mechanisms, and protections against unilateral changes. These elements, he noted, bolster the credibility of Morocco’s autonomy proposal, ensuring its durability while adapting to evolving population needs.