The United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara, known as MINURSO, entered a liquidation phase on November 1 after its mandate expired without renewal. The mission has been deployed since 1991 and is now preparing to withdraw from the territory, according to UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
The deadlock followed a turbulent session of the Security Council. The United States-backed draft described Morocco’s autonomy plan under Moroccan sovereignty as the only basis for negotiations and would have removed the reference to a referendum from the mission’s name. Russia rejected the text, calling the approach unilateral and too favorable to Morocco, and used its veto.
Moscow then proposed a one-year technical extension of MINURSO without changing its mandate. The alternative received three votes in favor, 11 abstentions and a US veto, leaving the mission without a renewed mandate.
The dispute reflects the opposing positions on Western Sahara. Washington supports Morocco’s autonomy plan, while the Polisario Front seeks independence with Algeria’s backing. Morocco’s royal cabinet welcomed the Russian veto, saying that a page had turned and that the UN process in its current form no longer had a purpose. Rabat also called for MINURSO’s departure as soon as possible.
The Polisario Front has said it wants to avoid an escalation and considers that MINURSO’s withdrawal does not end the political process pursued at the United Nations for decades. That process could continue through other UN bodies outside the Security Council.
The episode highlights the impact of geopolitical divisions on the Security Council and the growing difficulty of maintaining UN peacekeeping missions. The source also points to the withdrawal of the UN mission in Mali in late 2023 and the scheduled end of the UN force’s operations in Lebanon from the end of December 2026 as other examples of pressure on such missions.
Sources: RFI.