UN Withdraws from Western Sahara After 35 Years of Peacekeeping
Security Council deadlock over competing vetoes leaves MINURSO without a mandate, ending a mission established in 1991.
By Harvey Wilson ·
Thirty-five years after deployment began, the United Nations is dismantling its peacekeeping presence in the Western Sahara. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced on Sunday that the mission known as MINURSO enters its liquidation phase on November 1. Troop-contributing countries will now retrieve their personnel and assets as the mandate lapses.
The expiration results from a stalemate in the Security Council. Russia vetoed a US-backed resolution that would have endorsed Morocco's autonomy plan while reducing the peacekeeping force. The Council subsequently rejected a competing Russian resolution. This sequence of votes left the mission without a renewed mandate, forcing its closure rather than a phased reduction.
Morocco, which claims the territory, reacted favorably to the decision. Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita described the mission's original reference to a referendum as an anachronism. He stated that Rabat viewed the Russian veto as a chance to review the rules of the game. The Moroccan royal palace called the non-renewal a significant development toward removing the issue from Security Council consideration.
Algeria and the Polisario Front, which seeks independence for the region, expressed concern. The Algerian Foreign Ministry voiced deep regret on Saturday, attributing the outcome to excessive bias by the United States toward Morocco. The Polisario Front said it was concerned by the deadlock in the Security Council meeting. The group has sought an independent state since Spain ended its colonial administration in 1976.
MINURSO was established following a UN-brokered ceasefire in 1991. Its mandate included monitoring that ceasefire and organizing a referendum on self-determination. That referendum never occurred because the parties disagreed on voter eligibility. The mission remained active until last year, when the Security Council adopted a resolution accepting Rabat's plan for autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty as the most feasible solution.
The withdrawal marks the end of a long-standing international presence in the territory. The UN will no longer monitor the ceasefire or administer the stalled referendum process. The situation returns to the diplomatic standoff between Morocco and the Polisario Front, with the Security Council having failed to agree on the mission's next steps.
