By the platform Don’t Forget Western Sahara
Published on 31 October 2025

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New York – The United Nations Security Council today adopted a new resolution extending the mandate of MINURSO (United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara) for one more year, until 31 October 2026. Once again, the UN has chosen to manage rather than resolve the conflict, renewing a mission that has failed for 34 years to fulfil its core purpose: the organization of a referendum on self-determination for the Sahrawi people.

The vote unfolded as follows:

• ✅ 11 votes in favor
• ⚠️ 3 abstentions: Russia, China, and Pakistan
• 🚫 1 delegation did not participate: Algeria
• ❌ No votes against

According to the session broadcast live on UN Web TV and diplomatic sources, the resolution adopted corresponds closely to the draft resolution S/2025/692, tabled by the United States. This draft was strongly criticized for its bias in favor of Morocco, as it frames negotiations around Rabat’s so-called «autonomy proposal». However, and this point is crucial, the resolution does not approve Morocco’s autonomy plan.

As pointed out by constitutional law scholar Professor Carlos Ruiz Miguel:

“The first and most important thing to say is that this resolution does NOT approve, I repeat, does NOT approve the Moroccan ‘autonomy’ plan.”

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🔎 What the resolution actually says

The text extends MINURSO’s mandate:

“Decides to extend the mandate of MINURSO until 31 October 2026.”
(operative paragraph 1)

And invites the parties to resume negotiations:

“Calls upon the parties to engage in negotiations without preconditions, based on Morocco’s Autonomy Proposal, with a view to achieving a just, lasting, and mutually acceptable political solution that provides for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara.”
(operative paragraph 3)

This language is revealing: the reference to “self-determination” is maintained, but only within a process framed by Morocco’s unilateral proposal for autonomy under its sovereignty. It does not invoke the only valid legal framework under international law: the 1991 Settlement Plan, approved by the UN Security Council and accepted by both parties, which explicitly mandates a referendum with two options — independence or integration.

The ambiguity of this language is not accidental. It is a diplomatic strategy to sideline the referendum and replace it with a negotiated arrangement that preserves Moroccan control over the territory.

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⚖️ A MINURSO in political limbo: 34 years without a referendum

Created in 1991 to organize the referendum, MINURSO has never completed that basic task. Nor has its mandate been extended to monitor human rights violations or protect the Sahrawi people from resource exploitation under occupation.

The resolution adopted today perpetuates this situation. It maintains MINURSO as an observer without political leverage or protection mandate, while Morocco continues to occupy the territory and exploit its resources in violation of international law.

“This resolution confirms and keeps in force the Settlement Plan, and for this reason, it extends for one year the United Nations Mission for the REFERENDUM in Western Sahara (MINURSO),”
notes Ruiz Miguel.

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🌍 Why did Russia, China, and Pakistan abstain?

The three abstentions reveal that the resolution was far from consensual. These states voiced their concerns about:

• The erosion of the principle of self-determination,
• The exclusion of the Frente Polisario as the legitimate representative of the Sahrawi people,
• The privileging of a unilateral plan imposed by Morocco.

As for Algeria, its decision not to take part in the vote sends a strong political signal: it refuses to endorse a text seen as reinforcing the status quo of occupation without recognizing the right of the Sahrawi people.

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🟥 Conclusion: one more year, no real progress

This new resolution:

• ❌ does not legitimize Morocco’s autonomy plan,
• ⏳ prolongs the political stalemate,
• 🚫 ignores once more the Sahrawi people’s right to independence,
• 📉 sustains the occupation, repression, and resource plunder in the territory.

In short: the Security Council has once again delayed the implementation of its own decisions. Renewing MINURSO without a clear political mandate, invoking self-determination without a referendum, and speaking of negotiation without acknowledging the colonial nature of the conflict — this does not resolve the situation. It enables it to continue.

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🟥 This article forms part of our special coverage marking 50 years of exile for the Sahrawi people, and their ongoing struggle against Morocco’s illegal occupation of Western Sahara.