UN Security Council Pulls Plug on 35-Year Western Sahara Mission After US-Russia Deadlock

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara stopped operations on Sunday after the Security Council failed to extend its mandate, ending a 35-year presence in the disputed region [278025]. The mission, known as MINURSO (United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara), had monitored a ceasefire between Morocco and the Polisario Front since 1991 [278374].

The United States and Russia could not reach an agreement at the UN Security Council on how to continue the mission's mandate, leaving the Council unable to extend it [278374]. The mandate was set to expire on October 31 as the Council remained deadlocked on a resolution [275528].

The end of the mission means international monitoring in the disputed region has stopped [278374]. Morocco, which controls most of Western Sahara and claims the region as its own, celebrated the news [278374][276929]. The Algeria-backed Polisario Front, which seeks independence for the territory, criticized the outcome and called the move "unacceptable" [278374][276929].

Western Sahara is a disputed territory on the northwest coast of Africa. Morocco claims the region as its own, while the Polisario Front demands a separate state. The UN has long tried to broker a solution, but no permanent agreement has been reached [278374].

Professor María López Belloso warned that the stakes go beyond the mission itself, stating that "what is at stake is not only the continuity of a mission deployed 35 years ago, but the very meaning of the right to self-determination and the ability of the United Nations to guarantee it" [278197].