Western Sahara: UN Mission MINURSO Ends After 35 Years as Mandate Expires, With US and Russian Drafts Vetoed in the Security Council and the Referendum Never Held
The mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) expired at midnight on October 31, the mission's operations ended, and the United Nations entered a liquidation period on November 1. MINURSO was established by Security Council Resolution 690 in 1991 to monitor the ceasefire between Morocco and the Frente POLISARIO and to prepare a referendum in which the people of Western Sahara would choose between independence and integration with Morocco; that referendum never took place.
The expiry followed a divided Security Council meeting on October 30. A draft resolution presented by the United States (S/2026/868) received 11 votes in favour with China, Pakistan and Somalia abstaining, but was vetoed by Russia; the US text would have renamed the mission the United Nations Mission in Western Sahara, dropping the word "Referendum" from its name, and made Morocco's 2007 autonomy plan the sole basis for negotiations. A rival Russian draft (S/2026/870), proposing a one-year extension of the existing mandate, received only three votes in favour, from Russia, China and Somalia, with the United States voting against and 11 members abstaining, and also failed. MINURSO's previous mandate had been extended to October 31, 2026 by Resolution 2797, adopted on October 31, 2025.
In a statement delivered by his spokesperson on November 1, Secretary-General António Guterres reaffirmed the UN's commitment to supporting negotiations aimed at securing a lasting political settlement, and the work of his Personal Envoy for Western Sahara, Staffan de Mistura, will continue. Explaining its veto, Russia argued the US draft risked imposing a one-sided solution on the parties, describing the move as "a life-saving veto, so to speak".
Source: 联合国
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 照片：在西撒哈拉服役的联合国联撒团人员（资料图），Óglaigh na hÉireann 摄，Wikimedia Commons，CC BY 2.0 授权 / Photo: A UN MINURSO peacekeeper serving in Western Sahara (file photo), by Óglaigh na hÉireann, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
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