International legal journal warns against undermining self-determination in Western Sahara

The European Journal of International Law has issued a warning regarding efforts to circumvent the Sahrawi people's right to self-determination. A legal commentary published by the journal asserts that the end of the MINURSO mission's mandate does not alter the legal status of Western Sahara as a case of incomplete decolonization, nor does it provide any legitimacy to the Moroccan occupation. The analysis criticizes Rabat's push for an autonomy proposal while sidelining the option of independence, warning that this approach erodes international law. The study reaffirms that UN resolutions 1514 and 1541 grant colonized peoples the fundamental right to freely choose their political future, and that any process excluding independence by design violates the core principle of self-determination.