UN Peacekeeping Mission in Western Sahara Ends After 35 Years Following Security Council Impasse

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara ceased operations on Sunday, November 1, 2026, after 35 years, because the Security Council failed on Friday to renew its mandate. Russia vetoed a draft US resolution; one account says it would have backed Morocco's sovereignty demand, another says it would have supported the principle of self-determination. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, through spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, said he remains concerned about the security situation and the risk of hostilities escalating, and urged maximum restraint. Dujarric said November 1 marks the start of a liquidation period in which a smaller team under the Department of Operational Support will return assets to troop-contributing countries and dispose of UN equipment. The mission, known as MINURSO, was set up in 1991 to monitor a ceasefire and prepare a referendum. Morocco, which has claimed the territory since Spain withdrew in 1975, welcomed the outcome. The Algeria-backed Polisario Front, which seeks an independent Sahrawi Republic, called it unacceptable.

Left-leaning NPR, in the excerpt available, leads with the mission's end after 35 years and gives only background: Spain once ruled the territory, and both Morocco and the Polisario Front claim it. The excerpt leaves out the veto, the Guterres warning and the reactions. Al Jazeera, in the alternative group, frames the story around UN security warnings and Guterres's call for restraint, and also reports the US draft. France 24 stresses a US-Russia standoff, the Moroccan and Polisario reactions, and the territory's minerals and fisheries. Both outlets agree on the key facts that NPR gives. Right-leaning outlets had not reported this story at the time of writing, while left-leaning and alternative outlets had.