Why a US-Russia showdown left Morocco celebrating

What the report says

Morocco is celebrating after a US-Russia split at the UN Security Council prevented the renewal of the UN peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara, ending Minurso’s mandate after 35 years. The BBC reports that the council could not agree on either a US-backed draft or a competing Russian proposal, leaving the mission to enter a winding-down period. The development affects one of Africa’s longest-running territorial disputes and raises fresh questions about the fragile ceasefire between Morocco and the Polisario Front.

Western Sahara, on Africa’s north-west coast, was formerly a Spanish colony and has been disputed since Spain withdrew in 1975. Morocco claims the territory as part of its sovereignty, while the Polisario Front seeks independence for the Sahrawi people. The UN mission was created in 1991 to monitor the ceasefire and organise a referendum, but that vote never took place because the sides could not agree on who would be eligible to participate. Fighting resumed in 2020 after Polisario said it was returning to armed struggle.

The US draft would have kept the mission in place but shifted negotiations toward Morocco’s autonomy plan. Russia vetoed it, saying it was too favorable to Rabat, and its own alternative also failed. The BBC says the end of the mission does not change Western Sahara’s legal status: it remains on the UN list of non-self-governing territories, while the African Union recognizes the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. The outcome is significant because it may strengthen Morocco’s diplomatic campaign in favor of autonomy under its sovereignty, even though it does not settle the underlying dispute.