UN Security Council Rejects Renewal of Western Sahara Mission

The United Nations Security Council on Friday in its 1626 meeting failed to renew the mandate of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO). The Council voted on two separate draft resolutions concerning the mission’s mandate. A U.S.-drafted resolution, which would have made significant changes to the mandate and the mission’s future presence, received 11 votes in favour but was vetoed by Russia. In a subsequent vote on a Russian-drafted resolution calling for a simple one‑year renewal, the draft gathered only three votes in favour, one vote against, and eleven abstentions; the United States voted against it. Because the Russian proposal did not secure the nine affirmative votes required for adoption, the mission’s mandate was not renewed. MINURSO was established in 1991 to monitor a cease‑fire between Morocco and the Polisario Front and to organise, if possible, a referendum on the self‑determination of the people of Western Sahara. The dispute began after Spain transferred administrative responsibilities for Western Sahara to Morocco and Mauritania following the 1975 Madrid Accords, but after Mauritania retreated in 1979 Morocco took control of most of the territory. The current decision reflects continuing disagreements over the referendum and highlights the ongoing tension between the parties involved.