UN Peacekeeping Mission in Western Sahara Ends After 35 Years, UN Chief Says
The drawdown begins after Russia vetoed a U.S.-backed renewal, leaving 534 authorized personnel and a $62 million budget behind.
- The 35-year-old UN peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara ended after The Security Council failed to renew its mandate on Nov 1. UN chief Antonio Guterres said the mission's "liquidation phase" begins immediately.
- Known as MINURSO, the peacekeeping force has operated since a UN-brokered ceasefire in 1991, tasked with resolving the conflict between Morocco and the Algeria-backed Polisario Front over the territory's status.
- Russia vetoed a US-backed resolution that would have cemented Morocco's autonomy plan, while Morocco welcomed the non-renewal as a "significant development" toward resolving the territorial dispute.
- Algeria's Foreign Ministry expressed "deep regret" over the non-renewal on Oct 31, blaming the "excessive bias" of the US-backed position toward Morocco. The Polisario Front said it was "concerned at the deadlock in The Security Council meeting."
- Morocco's Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita told state media the mission's referendum mandate was an "anachronism," viewing the deadlock as "an opportunity to review certain rules of the game" and shifting the issue away from The Security Council.
128 Articles
128 Articles
Beyond MINURSO: Morocco’s Autonomy Initiative and the New Parameters of a Political Settlement
The Security Council’s failure to renew MINURSO’s mandate on Oct. 30, 2026, brought an end to a central part of the U.N.’s involvement in the conflict and raised immediate questions about the future of the political process. Russia vetoed the American draft despite its 11 votes in favor; Moscow’s rival draft failed to reach the […]
Morocco will ‘uphold Western Sahara ceasefire after UN mission ends’
Morocco will stay committed to the ceasefire in the occupied Western Sahara despite the end of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the territory, the Royal Palace said on Wednesday. The 35-year-old UN peacekeeping mission came to an end after the Security Council did not renew its mandate last week, the UN said on Sunday, […]
Rabat, 4 Nov (EFE).- The dismantling of the United Nations mission for the referendum in Western Sahara (Minurso) following a Washington-Moscow cross- veto in the Security Council opens a new stage in the conflict of the Spanish excolonia, marked by uncertainty about its political and military evolution. [...] The entry Morocco endorses its commitment to the ceasefire after the withdrawal of the Minurso was first published in HolaNews.
After 35 years, the UN peacekeeping force is withdrawing from Western Sahara – without the promised referendum.
Morocco celebrated its first “party of unity” on October 31st. A year ago, King Mohammed VI had instituted it after what he described as a “historical milestone” for the “national cause” of the kingdom. The UN Security Council then adopted resolution 2797 on the question of Western Sahara, in dispute between Morocco and the independenceists of the Polisario Front for more than fifty years, which, for the first time, urged to take the Moroccan au…
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