UN peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara ends after 35 years

The United Nations’ peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara has ended after 35 years, prompting a warning from Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that hostilities could escalate in the disputed territory.

The mission’s mandate expired after the UN Security Council failed Friday to agree on an extension. Russia vetoed a US-drafted resolution, and the council then voted down a competing Russian proposal. On Sunday, November 1, the UN began winding down the operation, known as MINURSO.

Guterres “remains concerned about the security situation throughout the territory and the risk of hostilities escalating,” his spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, said. He urged those involved to “exercise maximum restraint” and avoid actions that could increase tensions or undermine regional stability.

A smaller UN team will oversee the return of assets to countries that contributed troops and the disposal of UN equipment, Dujarric said. Guterres said the UN remained ready to support dialogue toward a peaceful resolution.

The US draft was at the center of Friday’s deadlock. Al Jazeera reported that it would have extended the mission for one year, removed “referendum” from its name and made Morocco’s autonomy proposal the sole basis for further talks, while also supporting the principle of self-determination. NPR described the draft as supporting Morocco’s demand for sovereignty over Western Sahara. Eleven of the council’s 15 members backed it, according to Al Jazeera.

US Ambassador Mike Waltz said the proposal “would have moved the 50-year conflict forward” and called the status quo unacceptable. Russia’s UN ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, said Moscow opposed the draft because it favored one side. “The Security Council cannot automatically predetermine matters relating to sovereignty,” he said.

Morocco’s royal palace welcomed the mission’s non-renewal, calling MINURSO an “instrument to internationalize the dispute,” NPR reported. Al Jazeera said the palace also described the outcome as a “significant development” in removing the issue from Security Council consideration. The Polisario Front called the decision “unacceptable,” according to NPR; Al Jazeera reported that the movement expressed concern about the council’s deadlock. Algeria’s Foreign Ministry expressed “deep regret” and criticized what it called the US draft’s “excessive bias” toward Morocco.

Western Sahara, a mineral- and fishery-rich territory on Africa’s northwestern Atlantic coast, was formerly ruled by Spain. Morocco controls nearly all of it and claims it as its own, while the Algeria-backed Polisario Front seeks independence for the Indigenous Sahrawi people. The UN classifies Western Sahara as a “non-self-governing territory.”

MINURSO was established in 1991 to monitor a ceasefire and prepare a referendum on self-determination. The vote never took place amid a dispute over who could participate: Morocco wanted to include Sahrawis living in the territory it controls, while the Polisario sought to use Spain’s colonial census to determine eligibility.

The Polisario withdrew from the ceasefire in 2020 after clashes. The territory has since seen tensions and low-intensity hostilities, the UN said last month, according to NPR. Twenty MINURSO personnel died during the mission, which was authorized to have 534 personnel and had a 2026-2027 budget of more than $62 million, NPR reported.