UN Security Council Deadlock as US and Russian Proposals on Western Sahara Mission Fail

The UN Security Council rejected the competing proposals, leaving the peacekeeping mission without an approved extension.

Published On 31 Oct 202631 Oct 2026

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the disputed territory of Western Sahara is facing an uncertain future after competing resolutions from the United States and Russia failed to secure approval at the UN Security Council.

Russia vetoed the US-backed proposal on Friday, despite receiving support from eleven of the fifteen council members.

Meanwhile, a rival Russian draft resolution failed to secure the minimum nine votes required for adoption.

The mandate for the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) is set to expire on Saturday, leaving the peacekeeping effort in limbo unless a last-minute compromise is reached.

Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony in northwest Africa, is claimed in its entirety by Morocco. However, the Algeria-backed Polisario Front is seeking to establish an independent state in the region, known as the Sahrawi Republic.

The United Nations established MINURSO in 1991 to monitor a ceasefire and facilitate a referendum on the territory’s future. However, persistent disagreements over voter eligibility have prevented the vote from ever taking place.

The US-proposed draft would have extended the mission’s mandate for one year. It also sought to remove the word “referendum” from the mission’s name and establish Morocco’s autonomy plan as the sole basis for future negotiations.

Under this framework, the territory would manage its internal affairs while remaining under Moroccan sovereignty.

The Security Council had already established this autonomy proposal as the foundation for negotiations last year.

US Ambassador Mike Waltz addressed the council in New York on Friday, stating that the referendum process had been stalled for decades.

At the same meeting, Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia stated that Moscow opposed the draft because it unfairly favored one side.

Instead, Russia proposed a straightforward renewal of the existing mission without the structural changes proposed by the US.

Morocco’s royal palace welcomed the failure to renew the MINURSO mandate, stating on Friday that all UN personnel and equipment should be withdrawn from the territory immediately.

Sidi Omar, the Polisario Front’s representative at the UN, expressed satisfaction with Russia’s veto, arguing that the US proposal would undermine the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination.

Low-level conflict has persisted in the region since the Polisario Front announced the resumption of armed struggle in 2020.

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