Morocco’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations hosted an international seminar in New York on July 1, 2026, focusing on the implementation guarantees of territorial autonomy agreements. The event brought together academics and experts from diverse autonomy models worldwide.

Opening the discussions, Omar Hilale, Morocco’s Permanent Representative to the UN, described the gathering as taking place at a “pivotal moment” following major diplomatic breakthroughs on the Saharan question, particularly the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 2797 last October.

Hilale emphasized that this resolution marked a “historic turning point” by unequivocally endorsing Morocco’s autonomy plan under Moroccan sovereignty as the sole foundation for a mutually acceptable political solution. He noted that with four months remaining before the next Security Council review, diplomatic momentum remains strong, backed by over 130 UN member states—including three permanent Security Council members: the United States, France, and the United Kingdom.

The ambassador linked this diplomatic progress to tangible developments in the Southern provinces, citing infrastructure growth, renewable energy projects, higher education expansion, healthcare improvements, foreign investments, a planned data center in Dakhla, and a future deep-water port on the Atlantic coast. For Hilale, these initiatives demonstrate that the autonomy plan “transcends political rhetoric” to become a concrete governance project with constitutional, institutional, and democratic safeguards.

The seminar’s central theme—“In negotiated autonomy, value lies in implementation”—highlighted Morocco’s proposal for local populations to manage their affairs through dedicated legislative, executive, and judicial bodies with distinct competencies.

Academic framing through global comparisons

Marc Finaud, Senior Advisor at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, moderated the seminar and recalled that Morocco submitted its autonomy initiative to the Security Council on April 11, 2007. He clarified that this academic forum aims to enrich, not replace, UN-led negotiations by drawing on international comparisons.

Finaud highlighted key aspects of the Moroccan proposal: local population participation, referendum consultation mechanisms, subsidiarity principles, national institution representation, constitutional human rights guarantees, integration of autonomy status into Morocco’s Constitution, and transition frameworks.

Diego Muñoz, a researcher presenting the case of Rapa Nui (Easter Island), a Chilean territory, described its autonomy process as “unfinished” despite decades of discussion. He contrasted its isolated legal context with the UN-mediated Sahara dispute, stressing that Rapa Nui’s experience underscores the critical importance of consulting affected populations. Muñoz argued that Morocco’s initiative stands out for its integration of local representation, population consultation, and institutional safeguards, framing autonomy as “a negotiated compromise” rooted in cultural recognition and participatory governance.

Administrative vs. political autonomy

Sémir Al Wardi, a political science professor at the University of French Polynesia, distinguished between administrative and political autonomy. He noted that while French Polynesia operates under administrative autonomy, New Caledonia enjoys legislative powers. Al Wardi praised Morocco’s initiative as more ambitious than France’s model for Polynesia, equating it to autonomy frameworks in unitary states like Spain or the United Kingdom.

The scholar underscored that financial resources are essential for any autonomy status, asserting that a region cannot exercise its competencies effectively without adequate funding. He framed autonomy as a means for regions to “assert their identity” while remaining part of a larger state structure.

Heikki Mattila, Professor at the School for International Training in Geneva, presented the case of the Åland Islands, an autonomous Swedish-speaking territory of Finland. He traced its status back to post-independence tensions between Finland and Sweden, later formalized by the League of Nations. Mattila outlined the Åland model’s guarantees: protection of the Swedish language, restrictions on non-resident land ownership, fiscal autonomy, local representation, neutralization, and demilitarization. He emphasized that Åland’s autonomy laws enjoy quasi-constitutional protection, requiring enhanced procedures—including regional involvement—for amendments. Mattila also stressed the need for clear competency divisions and flexible mechanisms to adapt the status over time, citing institutional oversight tools such as regional law reviews and Supreme Court appeals for competency disputes.

Beyond legal text: the reality of autonomy

Dagikhudo Dagiev, Senior Researcher at London’s Institute of Ismaili Studies, analyzed the Gorno-Badakhshan autonomy in Tajikistan, describing a constitutionally recognized but practically limited status due to centralization, direct central appointments of regional leaders, and the absence of exclusive competencies. Dagiev warned that autonomy “on paper” lacks value without enforcement mechanisms, contrasting this with Morocco’s initiative, which includes constitutional anchoring, fiscal resources, dispute resolution frameworks, protection against unilateral revocation, and potential international support for implementation.

He concluded that Morocco’s proposal already incorporates foundational guarantees: constitutional incorporation, democratic governance, referendum approval, and negotiated implementation. In his closing remarks, Marc Finaud distilled common lessons from the case studies: constitutional enshrinement of autonomy status, international agreement frameworks, precise competency definitions, resource allocation, dispute resolution mechanisms, and protections against unilateral changes. These elements, he argued, lend credibility to Morocco’s autonomy plan, ensuring its durability while adapting to evolving local needs.