MINURSO ends after Security Council adopts neither renewal draft

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara, MINURSO, ended operations on Nov. 1, 2026, after the Security Council adopted neither of two proposed mandate extensions. Its existing mandate expired the day before, and liquidation began Nov. 1. No renewed or successor peacekeeping mandate took effect.

The Council voted on the drafts on Oct. 30. The outcomes differed: Russia’s veto blocked the U.S. draft, while the Russian draft failed to win enough votes for adoption.

The distinction matters: the U.S. vote against the Russian draft did not by itself defeat it. That proposal lacked the nine affirmative votes needed for adoption. The Council approved neither text.

What the rejected drafts proposed i

Both drafts would have extended MINURSO through Oct. 31, 2027. The U.S. draft also proposed renaming the mission the UN Mission in Western Sahara, effective Nov. 1, 2026, and establishing a negotiating framework based on Morocco’s autonomy proposal. None of those terms took effect.

Russia’s draft proposed extending MINURSO’s existing mandate without those changes. Russia argued that the U.S. proposal sidelined self-determination and risked predetermining the political outcome. Neither proposal became a new mandate.

Liquidation begins after 35 years i

Established in 1991, MINURSO was tasked with monitoring the ceasefire and supporting preparations for a referendum that has not taken place. The UN reports that 20 mission personnel died during its 35 years.

At the end of the mandate, the UN reported about 200 civilian staff, military observers and staff officers from more than 35 countries. The mission had nine team sites and a liaison office in Tindouf. These figures describe the operation being wound down.

A smaller team reporting to the UN Department of Operational Support is to oversee the return of troop-contributing countries’ assets and the disposal of UN equipment. The UN has called for an orderly liquidation as soon as possible but has not set a completion date.

The end of MINURSO’s operations does not resolve Western Sahara’s political status or the referendum dispute. The UN’s political work through Personal Envoy Staffan de Mistura will continue separately from the liquidation.