Editing Politics of Western Sahara (section)

== Baker plan ==
{{Main|Baker Plan}}
The ''Baker Plan'' (formally, ''Peace Plan for Self-Determination of the People of Western Sahara'') is a [[United Nations]] initiative to grant [[self-determination]] to [[Western Sahara]]. It was intended to replace the [[Settlement Plan|Settlement Plan of 1991]], which was further detailed in the [[Houston Agreement|Houston Agreement of 1997]].

The first draft of the plan, called ''Baker I'' or the ''Framework Agreement'', was circulated by the UN special envoy [[James Baker]] in 2000, but never presented formally to the Security Council. Although based on Baker's proposals, it was drafted by a Morocco-sponsored legal team.<ref name=Miguel>{{cite journal |last=Miguel |first=C. Ruiz |year=2005 |title=El largo camino jurídico y político hacia el Plan Baker II. ¿Estación de término? |journal=Anuario Mexicano de Derecho Internacional |volume=5 |pages=461 }}</ref> It offered the people of Western Sahara autonomy within the Moroccan state. Except for defense and foreign policy, all other decisions would be the responsibility of local government. Morocco accepted the plan, but the Polisario rejected it.<ref>{{cite web | title=S/2002/807 - A - S/2002/807 | website=eSubscription to United Nations Documents | url=https://undocs.org/ar/S/2002/807 | access-date=2020-06-16}}</ref>

The second version, informally known as ''Baker II'', envisioned Saharan self-rule under a Western Sahara Authority for a period of five years, with a referendum on independence to follow. In this referendum, the entire present-day population of Western Sahara would participate, including people who had migrated from or been settled by Morocco post-1975, something which Polisario had so far refused. On the other hand, a provision that the interim local government (the Western Sahara Authority) would be elected only by a restricted voters' list (those identified as original inhabitants of the territory by [[Minurso|MINURSO]]) alienated Morocco. After Morocco had voiced early objections to Baker II, the Polisario front reluctantly accepted the plan as a basis for negotiations. In July 2003, the UN Security Council endorsed the plan, something that it had not done with Baker's first draft, and unanimously called for the parties to implement it. Morocco, however, then rejected the plan, saying that it would no longer agree to any referendum that included independence as an option.