UN peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara ends after 35 years as the Security Council fails to renew its mandate

The UN's peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara has ceased operations after 35 years, after the Security Council failed to renew its mandate. This report draws on AFP (in copy published by France 24), AP (in copy published by ABC News in the US) and Reuters (in copy published by The Straits Times); quotations from French have been translated by Scopa's Realm. ## The end of the mission "This 1 November 2026 marks the start of the liquidation period," UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said in a statement, AP reports. A smaller team reporting to the UN's Department of Operational Support will oversee the return of equipment belonging to troop-contributing countries and the disposal of UN-owned equipment, according to the statement, AFP and AP report. The mission, known as MINURSO, was set up in 1991 to monitor a UN-brokered ceasefire and to organise a referendum on self-determination that never took place because of disagreements over who would be eligible to vote, AP and Reuters report. AFP reports that it had 359 civilian and military personnel in June 2026, according to its website. AP says it was authorised to have 534 personnel, that its 2026-2027 budget was more than US$62 million, that its main military contributors were Egypt, Ghana and Pakistan, and that 20 of its personnel died during the mission. ## The vote The mandate expired at the end of Saturday, AFP reports, after Russia vetoed a US draft resolution in the Security Council on Friday. The outlets describe the draft differently. AFP says it was backed by 11 of the 15 council members and would have extended the mission for a year while putting Morocco's autonomy plan at the centre of a settlement. AP says it would have supported Morocco's demand for sovereignty over the territory and ended the peacekeeping mission next year. Reuters says it would have cemented the UN's preference for the Moroccan plan while scaling back the peacekeeping force. Russia, which criticised a "unilateral approach", proposed renewing the mandate on the same terms as before, AFP reports, but that draft was voted down: the United States voted against it and the countries that had backed the US text abstained, according to AFP. Russia had abstained when the council adopted a US-drafted resolution a year ago that accepted Rabat's autonomy plan as the "most feasible" solution, Reuters reports. ## Reactions Morocco's royal palace welcomed the non-renewal, calling the mission an "instrument to internationalize the dispute", AP reports; Reuters says the palace described it as a "significant development" towards removing the issue from the Security Council's consideration. Morocco's foreign minister, Nasser Bourita, told state media that the reference to a referendum in the mission's name was an "anachronism", Reuters reports. The Polisario Front called it "an unacceptable decision", AP reports; Reuters quotes a Polisario statement as saying it was "concerned at the deadlock in the Security Council meeting". Algeria's foreign ministry expressed deep regret at the non-renewal and blamed what it called the "excessive bias" of the US draft towards Morocco's position, AP and Reuters report. Guterres called on all parties to respect and promote the rights of the people of Western Sahara, including, according to AFP, their "inalienable right to self-determination". He "remains concerned about the security situation throughout the Territory and the risk of escalation of hostilities. He calls on all concerned to exercise maximum restraint," Dujarric said, AP reports. The UN remains ready to support efforts towards a peaceful settlement through the secretary-general's personal envoy, Staffan de Mistura, AFP reports. ## Background Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony on Africa's north-west Atlantic coast, is claimed by Morocco and by the Polisario Front, which seeks independence and is backed by Algeria, AP reports. Morocco controls most of the territory, which the UN classifies as a non-self-governing territory, AFP and AP report. After Morocco annexed it in 1975, the dispute became an armed conflict that lasted more than 15 years and claimed more than 16,000 lives, according to the French Senate, AP reports. The Polisario withdrew from the ceasefire in 2020, AP reports, and the end of the mission has raised concerns about stability in the region and about the rivalry between Morocco and Algeria, which severed diplomatic relations in 2021.