A chapter of African diplomacy has closed. The Western Sahara UN mission, known as MINURSO, has ended after 35 years, according to the UN chief, because the Security Council failed to renew it. The mission was created in 1991 to prepare a referendum on the future of the mineral-rich territory.
A Double Veto
The end came through an unusual standoff. Russia vetoed a US-drafted resolution that would have backed Morocco’s demand for sovereignty and ended the mission as designed. The American text won eleven votes in favour with three abstentions before Moscow blocked it. The United States then vetoed a Russian draft that would have extended the mandate for another year unchanged. With the mandate set to expire on October 31, no replacement was in place.
Morocco Celebrates, Others Object
Morocco’s royal cabinet welcomed the outcome as a step towards closing the file at the United Nations. It said the mission’s staff, vehicles and equipment should leave the southern provinces within days, while Morocco stays committed to the ceasefire.
The Polisario Front sees things very differently. Its UN representative called the US draft an extremely dangerous departure from international law and the peace process. Russia’s envoy used even sharper language, describing the outcome as a “political murder” of the mission. Critics of MINURSO, meanwhile, argued for years that it never delivered a vote. It never organised a referendum, which the UN dropped as an option in 2001.
What It Means for the Region
For the Sahrawi people, the biggest question is what replaces the mission. MINURSO monitored a ceasefire between Morocco and the Polisario that has largely held for decades. Without observers, the risk of misunderstandings along the berm rises, and neighbouring Algeria, which backs the Polisario, is unhappy about the change.
The vote also shows how deeply great-power rivalry now shapes African conflicts. The United States, France and the United Kingdom lean towards Morocco’s autonomy plan, while Russia insists the Council cannot pre-judge sovereignty.
What happens next depends on diplomacy outside New York. Africans watching from the Maghreb to the Sahel will be asking whether peace can hold without a UN presence on the ground.
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