UN mission in Western Sahara ends after 35 years
MINURSO stopped operating on Sunday after rival US and Russian resolutions both failed in the Security Council.
United Nations — The UN peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara, MINURSO, ceased operations on Sunday, 1 November, after 35 years.
"This 1 November 2026 marks the start of the liquidation period," said Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General. A smaller team will oversee returning equipment to troop-contributing countries and disposing of UN equipment.
How it ended
On Friday, Russia vetoed a US draft resolution in the Security Council that would have backed Morocco's position on sovereignty and ended the mission next year. A rival Russian resolution to extend the mission was then voted down, so the mandate lapsed.
The reactions
- Morocco's royal palace welcomed the decision, calling the mission an "instrument to internationalize the dispute".
- The Polisario Front, backed by Algeria, called it "an unacceptable decision".
- Algeria's foreign ministry said it deeply regretted the outcome.
Background
MINURSO was created in 1991, when a UN-brokered ceasefire took effect, to organise a referendum on self-determination. The vote never took place because the parties could not agree on who should be allowed to take part.
The UN lists Western Sahara as a non-self-governing territory. Morocco administers nearly all of it and calls it its southern provinces. The Polisario Front, based in camps around Tindouf in Algeria, seeks an independent Sahrawi republic.
Source: Africanews, 2 November 2026.
