Former UN Special Envoy for Western Sahara, Christopher Ross, and Algerian diplomat Abdelaziz Rahabi have warned against maneuvers by key UN Security Council members, specifically the US and France, to impose Morocco’s autonomy plan. The two experts argue that these efforts disregard international law and aim to strip the MINURSO mission of its original mandate, which is to organize a referendum on self-determination. Rahabi noted that current attempts to identify alternative representatives to the Polisario Front, the internationally recognized representative of the Sahrawi people, reflect colonial-era tactics intended to bypass legitimate negotiations. Both experts warned that any political process failing to respect the will of the Sahrawi people will perpetuate regional instability, reaffirming that the conflict remains a matter of decolonization that requires the consent of the affected population.