Honduras has announced the suspension of its recognition of the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), administered by the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, in the latest significant diplomatic setback for the separatist movement’s international standing. The decision was communicated to Morocco’s Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita by his Honduran counterpart, Mireya Agüero de Corrales, through an official letter received on Wednesday, and Honduras simultaneously notified United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres of the move.
In her communication, the Honduran foreign minister described the suspension as a sovereign decision grounded in Honduras’s traditional commitment to the principles of non-interference and respect for the internal affairs of other states. Honduras also expressed full support for the UN Secretary-General’s efforts and those of his Personal Envoy to reach a political, just, and lasting solution to the dispute — language that aligns closely with Morocco’s own framing of the issue.
The timing is notably adverse for the Polisario. Honduras had originally recognized the self-proclaimed entity in 1989, reaffirmed that position in 2022, and is now reversing course as a direct consequence of sovereign foreign policy review. The move marks the sixth withdrawal of recognition in approximately two years, a pace of diplomatic attrition that Moroccan officials have described as reflecting an irreversible global trajectory.
The Latin American dimension is particularly significant. The region was once a stronghold of support for the Polisario, built on Cold War-era anti-colonial solidarity and sustained by intensive Algerian diplomatic lobbying. That coalition has disintegrated rapidly. Ecuador withdrew its recognition in October 2024; Panama — the first country ever to recognize the entity, in 1978 — subsequently suspended relations; and Bolivia suspended all diplomatic ties in February 2026. In Africa, where most countries recognize Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara, Mali, which had recognized the Polisario since 1980, formally withdrew its recognition just two weeks before the Honduran announcement.
No new country has extended recognition to the entity since 2011, and the trajectory of withdrawals shows no sign of reversing. Morocco’s Autonomy Plan for its southern provinces now has the expressed support of more than 110 UN member states.