Russia blocked a United States-drafted resolution on Friday that aimed to endorse Morocco’s sovereignty demands over the disputed territory. The US proposal would have terminated the 35-year United Nations peacekeeping mission originally tasked with organising a self-determination referendum.
The Security Council then rejected a rival Russian proposal to extend the current mandate of the peacekeeping mission by one year. That resolution failed after securing only three affirmative votes against one negative vote, with 11 members abstaining. Because it missed the minimum threshold of nine yes votes, the United States avoided casting a veto.
The mandate of the United Nations mission is scheduled to expire on Saturday unless diplomatic efforts achieve a last-minute extension. Morocco annexed the former Spanish colony, which is rich in minerals and holds offshore oil deposits, in 1975. That annexation triggered a long-running conflict with the Polisario Front, representing the indigenous Sahrawi population.
The United Nations mediated a ceasefire in 1991 and established a peacekeeping presence to monitor the truce. The planned referendum on the future of the region never occurred due to deadlocks over voter eligibility criteria. Security Council policy shifted last year when a resolution endorsed Morocco’s claim to the territory, aligning with Washington’s policy stance.
That previous text identified Rabat’s autonomy proposal as the basis for negotiations while omitting any reference to an independence referendum. Britain, France, and other nations support the Moroccan autonomy plan. Russia and China have traditionally advocated for a referendum offering independence.
The US text presented on Friday proposed winding down the peacekeeping mission on April 30, 2027. It also called for replacing the operation with a political mission that would abandon referendum preparations and affirm that autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty is the sole feasible solution. By contrast, the Russian resolution sought a straightforward extension of the existing peacekeeping mandate until October 31, 2027.
In an October 22 letter addressed to the council, the Polisario Front representative at the United Nations criticised the American draft. The letter described the proposal as a dangerous departure from international law governing decolonization and from the peace process established by the Security Council.
