UN Security Council fails to extend mandate of Western Sahara mission - CGTN
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Daily life is seen at the Boujdour Sahrawi refugee camp in Boujdour, Algeria, on October 28, 2026, where residents are demanding a just solution from the UN that guarantees self-determination and independence for Western Sahara. /VCG
The Security Council on Friday failed to renew the mandate of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO).
The Security Council voted on two separate draft resolutions to renew MINURSO's mandate.
A US-drafted resolution, which would make significant changes to the mission's mandate and future presence, received 11 votes in favor but was vetoed by Russia.
In a subsequent vote on a Russian-drafted resolution for a straightforward one-year renewal of MINURSO's mandate, the draft failed to secure the nine affirmative votes needed for adoption. The Russian draft received three votes in favor and one against, with 11 abstentions. The United States voted against it.
China's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Fu Cong expressed regret over the United States' push to put the draft resolution to a vote.
Fu said China abstained from the vote on the US-drafted resolution.
MINURSO had played an important role over the years in maintaining stability on the ground, preventing escalation and protecting civilians, while supporting efforts to reach a political settlement of the Western Sahara issue, Fu said, adding that China supports extending the mission's mandate for another year.
Pushing the draft to a vote despite major differences among Security Council members was not conducive to the Council's unity and cooperation and would not help resolve the Western Sahara issue, Fu said.
Following the 1975 Madrid Accords, Spain transferred administrative responsibilities for Western Sahara to Morocco and Mauritania before withdrawing from the territory in 1976. When Mauritania, under pressure from Polisario guerrillas, abandoned all claims to its portion in August 1979, Morocco subsequently took control of the areas vacated by Mauritania and has since controlled most of the territory. Fighting broke out between Morocco and the Polisario Front, which seeks independence for Western Sahara.
A cease-fire was signed in 1991. The UN mission was deployed that year to monitor the cease-fire and to organize, if possible, a referendum on self-determination for the people of Western Sahara.
