The United Nations has begun closing its 35-year Western Sahara mission after the Security Council failed to renew its mandate, ending MINURSO’s operations while UN-led diplomacy continues.
The mandate expired at midnight on October 31, 2026, after competing proposals to extend it failed in the Council. A US-backed draft received 11 votes in favour but was vetoed by Russia. A separate Russian proposal to extend the mission for another year received only three votes.
The closure phase began on November 1. A smaller team from the UN Department of Operational Support is overseeing the closure in stages. The plan calls for sending about 160 military observers back to their countries and removing roughly 180 civilian and affiliated personnel from the mission.
It also includes closing 13 mission sites and managing equipment, records and contracts. MINURSO was established in 1991 to monitor the ceasefire and help create conditions for a referendum on Western Sahara’s future. That vote never took place.
Secretary-General António Guterres urged the parties to cooperate with the orderly closure. He stressed that the mission’s departure does not take away the Sahrawi people’s right to decide their own future. The UN says its envoy will continue working toward a political agreement.