Russia vetoes US resolution on UN Western Sahara mission, which expires Saturday

The veto and the vote count

Russia used its veto at the UN Security Council on Friday, 30 October, to block a United States draft resolution on renewing the mandate of the UN mission in Western Sahara, MINURSO. Most reports put the US draft at 11 votes in favour, with China, Pakistan and Somalia abstaining, while EL PAÍS gave 13 votes in favour and only China abstaining. The mandate expires on Saturday, 31 October, and it has not been extended. Washington circulated its draft on 13 October and accepted only minor amendments during the two weeks it was under negotiation. Algeria, which is not a council member, was among the first to welcome the Russian move, and its ambassador in New York, Amar Bendjama, asked to speak to thank Moscow.

What the US draft would have changed

The draft presented Morocco's autonomy plan under Moroccan sovereignty as the most viable solution and the only basis for continuing talks. It sought to drop the 'R' for referendum from the mission's name and rename it MINUSO for one year, with broadly similar functions. The referendum had been part of a settlement plan since the mission was deployed in 1991, and it foresaw a vote on the territory's future that was never held. Waltz defended dropping the reference by arguing that UN officials have been telling the council for 30 years that a referendum is not viable. An earlier draft reportedly threatened an expiry date for the mission, while the final text kept references to self-determination and described the autonomy plan as a negotiating framework rather than the single solution.

Russia's counter-draft and the second veto

Russia tabled its own text on Friday morning. It omitted any reference to the autonomy plan and called instead for a just, lasting and mutually acceptable solution in line with the UN Charter and the principle of self-determination. Russian ambassador Vasily Nebenzia presented it as a technical extension that would renew the mission for one year in its existing form. Waltz said Washington would reject that text, and the United States cast the second veto of the day. Reports differ on the tally for the Russian draft: one gave three votes in favour and 11 abstentions, while another said 11 members voted against it. France justified its negative vote by pointing to what it described as Russian obstruction.

Reactions and what comes next

Mohammed VI issued a statement late on Friday expressing satisfaction at the end of MINURSO. The royal palace argued that non-renewal should mark the end of referring the question to the Security Council and its removal from the council's agenda. El Confidencial reported that the mission will in practice be dismantled, a step Moroccan authorities had long sought. Waltz said Washington will keep working with the UN personal envoy Staffan de Mistura and the parties, and he called for an orderly and stable reduction of the mission's presence. Citing UN reports, Waltz said about two-thirds of children under five in the Tindouf camps in Algeria suffer from anaemia, a third show stunted growth, and 90% do not receive a minimally acceptable diet. Polisario had condemned the US text beforehand as fully aligned with Morocco's plan, and according to EL PAÍS, talks between Morocco and Polisario, resumed in Madrid in February, have been stalled since the start of the US war with Iran.