The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara will begin winding down after the Security Council failed to renew its mandate, bringing an end to its 35-year presence in the disputed territory.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres announced the development, saying November 1 marked the beginning of the “liquidation phase”, during which the mission’s assets would be transported back to troop-contributing countries.
The mission, known as MINURSO, has operated in the disputed territory since 1991, following a UN-brokered ceasefire between Morocco and the Algeria-backed Polisario Front.
Dispute Over Western Sahara
Western Sahara has remained at the centre of a dispute between Morocco and the Polisario Front since Spain, the former colonial power, withdrew from the territory in 1976.
Morocco claims the territory as part of its sovereign territory and proposes autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty, while the Polisario Front continues to seek an independent state.
MINURSO was established to monitor the ceasefire and organise a referendum on the territory’s future. However, the referendum has never taken place because of disagreements over voter eligibility.
The Security Council adopted a US-drafted resolution last year that described Morocco’s autonomy proposal under its sovereignty as the “most feasible” solution to the dispute.
Divided Security Council
The decision not to renew MINURSO’s mandate followed disagreements among Security Council members over a further US-backed resolution intended to reinforce the Council’s preference for Morocco’s autonomy plan while reducing the peacekeeping force.
Russia, which abstained from last year’s vote, vetoed the latest US-backed resolution. The Council subsequently rejected a competing Russian draft, leaving MINURSO’s mandate without renewal.
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Morocco welcomed the development. Its Foreign Minister, Nasser Bourita, told state media that “the mission’s reference to a referendum, represented by the “R” in its name, had become an “anachronism”.
Bourita said” Rabat had been informed that Russia intended to block the US-drafted resolution but viewed the situation as “an opportunity to review certain rules of the game”.
Morocco’s royal palace described the non-renewal as a “significant development” towards removing the Western Sahara issue from consideration by the Security Council.
Algeria, Polisario Express Concern
Algeria’s Foreign Ministry expressed “deep regret” over the decision, accusing the United States of “excessive bias” towards Morocco’s position.
The Polisario Front also expressed concern, saying in a statement it was “concerned at the deadlock in the Security Council meeting”.
The end of MINURSO’s mandate marks a major development in the decades-long Western Sahara dispute, raising questions about the future of ceasefire monitoring and international efforts to resolve the conflict.
