UN Western Sahara peacekeeping mission set to expire amid Russia, US vetoes

Two proposals, two vetoes

The United States put forward a draft on Friday seeking a one-year extension. It would have made Morocco’s autonomy plan the sole basis for negotiations and cut the mission’s military component. The proposal also renamed MINURSO as MINUSO, removing the letter linked to a referendum on self-determination.

Russia vetoed the US draft, which received 11 votes in favor and three abstentions. Russia’s UN representative, Vassily Nebenzia, said the Security Council could not decide sovereignty matters in advance and called the proposal one-sided.

The United States then used its veto against a Russian draft that would have extended the mandate for another year on the existing terms. US representative Michael Waltz said the UN had not prepared a referendum for decades.

A dispute spanning decades

Morocco considers Western Sahara, a mineral-rich former Spanish colony, part of its territory. The Polisario Front, supported by Algeria and representing the Sahrawi people, seeks an independent state called the Sahrawi Republic.

Last year, the Security Council backed Morocco’s autonomy proposal as the “most feasible” solution for the disputed territory. The US draft would have made that proposal the only basis for negotiations.

Reactions to the failed renewal

Morocco’s royal palace welcomed the failure to renew the mission. It said the outcome should end the Security Council’s involvement and remove the issue from its agenda. Polisario Front representative Sidi Omar thanked Russia for blocking the US proposal. He said it would have undermined the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination and independence.