UN brings 35-year Western Sahara peacekeeping mission to a close

The United Nations has brought an end to the 35-year-long peacekeeping mission in the Western Sahara, the UN Secretary General announced on Sunday. The UN is bringing an end to the operation after the United Nations Security Council failed to renew its mandate in the area in a meeting on Friday. The Western Sahara, claimed by Morocco as its own, welcomed the decision, while opponents in the Algeria-backed Polisario Front expressed concern at the announcement.Moroccos’s royal palace called the non-renewal an “instrument to internationalise the dispute”, while the Polisario Front dubbed it “an unacceptable decision”. The Algerian Foreign Ministry said it profoundly regrets the non-renewal of the mandate and criticised what it called the “excessive bias” of the US draft resolution. The Western Sahara is claimed by Morocco as its own (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)The Polisario Front has been trying to establish an independent state in the Western Sahara since its colonial power, Spain, exited the region in 1976. The end of the mission raises concerns about stability in the Western Sahara, which is rich in minerals and fisheries. Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN Secretary General, said in a statement: “This 1 November 2026 marks the start of the liquidation period. “A smaller team reporting to the United Nations’ Department of Operational Support will oversee the orderly transportation of assets belonging to troop-contributing countries to their respective nations, and the appropriate disposal of equipment belonging to the United Nations.” The operation had been repeatedly extended since it was first established in 1991. Morocco administers nearly all of the disputed territory, except for one narrow strip known as the ‘free zone’ (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)In the UN Security Council on Friday, Russia vetoed a draft US resolution that would have supported Morocco’s demand for sovereignty over Western Sahara and ended the peacekeeping mission next year. Then a rival Russian resolution to extend the mission was voted down, leading to an abrupt end of the force’s mandate. The UN classifies Western Sahara as a “non-self-governing territory”, while critics of Morocco’s control describe it as Africa’s final colony. Morocco administers nearly all of the disputed territory, except for one narrow strip known as the ‘free zone’ that is situated east of a Moroccan-built sand wall. After it was annexed by Morocco in 1975, the dispute escalated into an armed conflict that went on for more than 15 years and claimed more than 15,000 lives, according to statistics from the French Senate.