UN PEACEKEEPING MISSION IN WESTERN SAHARA ENDS AFTER 35 YEARS

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara, MINURSO, has ended after 35 years after its mandate lapsed on Saturday, when the Security Council failed to agree on a renewal. The lapse triggered a formal liquidation process. UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said in a statement: "This 1 November 2026 marks the start of the liquidation period." He said a smaller team under the UN's Department of Operational Support will oversee the transport of assets belonging to troop-contributing countries and the disposal of UN-owned equipment. The mission had been deployed since 1991 and repeatedly extended since.

The expiry followed a standoff between the United States and Russia at the Security Council on Friday. A US-backed draft resolution, which would have made autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty the sole basis for negotiations and dropped the word "referendum" from the mission's name, won 11 votes in favour and three abstentions, but Russia vetoed it. Russia's alternative resolution, which would have extended MINURSO to October 2027 under its existing name, received only three votes, short of the nine required. With neither text adopted, the mandate lapsed.

Secretary-General António Guterres urged all parties to exercise maximum restraint and said the diplomatic efforts of Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura would continue. Morocco's royal palace welcomed the non-renewal, calling the mission "an instrument to internationalise the dispute." The Polisario Front, which is backed by Algeria, called the decision "unacceptable" and said Russia's veto had stopped a "deeply dangerous" course that risked legitimising Moroccan occupation at the expense of Sahrawi self-determination. Algeria's foreign ministry said it "profoundly regrets" the non-renewal. The UN classifies Western Sahara as a "non-self-governing territory", while critics of Moroccan control call it Africa's last colony.