Morocco Describes Non-Renewal of MINURSO as Significant Development

Morocco considered on Friday evening that the non-renewal of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) by the UN Security Council represents a "significant development" and a meaningful step towards the final closure of the region's file. This came in a statement from the Moroccan Royal Diwan following a Security Council session dedicated to voting on draft resolutions concerning the Western Sahara region.

Russia used its veto power against the US draft resolution, which proposed extending MINURSO's mandate for one year until October 31, 2027, with a change in the mission's name. The Council also rejected a Russian draft resolution calling for extending the mission's mandate for one year without changing its name.

The Royal Diwan stated that "the non-renewal of MINURSO's mission clearly means that the presence of this mission in the Southern Provinces should end in the coming days." It added: "This is a chapter that lasted 35 years, which is now being closed." The Diwan described the mission as "inherited from a bygone context," considering it "for a long time served as a tool to internationalize the regional dispute regarding the legitimate reintegration of the Moroccan Kingdom's Sahara provinces."

The statement viewed that the non-renewal of MINURSO's mission should put an end to referring this file to the Security Council and remove this issue from its agenda. Morocco expressed "satisfaction with this development," emphasizing that it "remains firmly committed to the ceasefire, with full respect for the integrity and unity of its territory, its national security, and the peace of mind of its citizens."

On October 31, 2025, the UN Security Council voted in favor of a US resolution supporting Morocco's autonomy initiative for the disputed Western Sahara region with the Polisario Front, coinciding with the approval of extending the mission's mandate. At that time, 11 countries voted in favor, while Russia, China, and Pakistan abstained, and Algeria did not participate in the vote in protest of the resolution's wording.

In 2007, Morocco proposed an extensive autonomy regime for the Western Sahara region under its sovereignty, while the Polisario Front calls for a referendum on self-determination, a stance supported by Algeria.

Source: Anadolu Agency