The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the disputed Western Sahara faces an uncertain future after competing United States and Russian resolutions failed at the UN Security Council. The council rejected the proposals on Friday, leaving the mandate of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) without an approved extension. The current mandate is due to expire on Saturday.
US Proposal Removed Referendum Focus
The United States draft would have extended the mission for one year while removing the word “referendum” from its name. It also sought to make Morocco’s autonomy proposal the only basis for further talks. Under that plan, the territory would manage its internal affairs but remain under Moroccan sovereignty. The council had already made the proposal a basis for negotiations last year.
US Ambassador Mike Waltz told the council in New York on Friday that the referendum had been stalled for decades. The proposal received support from 11 members of the 15-member council. However, Russia vetoed the US-backed proposal.
Russia Vetoes US Draft
Russia’s UN ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, said at the same meeting that Moscow opposed the draft because it favoured one side. Russia instead proposed renewing the existing mission without those changes. A rival Russian draft then failed to secure the nine votes needed for adoption.
Sidi Omar, the Polisario Front’s representative at the UN, told reporters on Friday that he welcomed Russia’s veto because the US proposal would undermine Sahrawi self-determination. The Polisario Front, backed by Algeria, seeks to establish an independent state called the Sahrawi Republic. Morocco considers the territory its own.
Morocco Welcomes Mission Exit
Morocco’s royal palace welcomed the failure to renew MINURSO, saying on Friday that UN personnel and equipment should leave the territory. The UN established MINURSO in 1991 to monitor a ceasefire and prepare a referendum on the territory’s future. Disagreements over who could vote have prevented the vote from taking place.
Low-level fighting has continued since Polisario said it was resuming armed struggle in 2020. The rejection of both resolutions leaves the mission in a precarious position as its mandate expires.
Source: Al Jazeera
