On 1 November 2026, the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) initiated its withdrawal from the region. A year after the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) adopted a resolution to grant the territory autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty, the UNSC vetoed both a US-backed resolution and a Russia-backed resolution, causing MINURSO to expire without a replacement mandate. MINURSO, a conflict-prevention mechanism that monitors, investigates, and reports on military activities and general developments in Western Sahara, was established in 1991 to support the settlement proposals and ceasefire between Morocco and the Sahrawi nationalist liberation movement, the Polisario Front. The UN peacekeeping chief, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, warned on Wednesday that the withdrawal of UN forces from the region risks creating a dangerous security vacuum.

Western Sahara, a disputed territory on the northwestern coast of Africa, was a Spanish colony until 1975. It possesses phosphate reserves and valuable fishing grounds along its Atlantic coast. When Spain was preparing to withdraw, it granted administrative control to both Morocco and Mauritania through the Madrid Accords. Morocco took control of the northern two-thirds of the territory, while Mauritania took control of the southern third. Polisario, an independence movement founded in 1973, opposed this deal, viewing it as the replacement of Spanish colonial rule with Moroccan and Mauritanian control. Mauritania renounced its claim in 1979, but Morocco remained engaged in conflict with Polisario.

Polisario, a political and military organisation backed by Algeria, has been seeking a separate state in the Western Sahara since the departure of Spain in 1976. Morocco considers the territory its own and controls all of Western Sahara’s urban centers and its coastline. The conflict resumed in 2020, when Morocco took control of a border crossing with Mauritania. However, the UN has described this conflict as “low intensity.” Morocco has expressed satisfaction at the mission’s non-renewal, as well as a continued voluntary commitment to the ceasefire, while Polisario expressed concern and Algeria “deep regret.” Algeria has stated that its support is based on the right to self-determination, while Morocco views Western Sahara as an integral part of its territory.

Internationally, the United States has proposed resolutions that strengthen Moroccan autonomy, while Russia proposed extending the mandate without changing its terms. France has also previously backed Morocco’s autonomy plan. The mandate’s expiration creates potential security gaps, and regional tensions remain high. 

By Megan Xing