Why a US-Russia showdown left Morocco celebrating

After a diplomatic showdown between the US and Russia left the Security Council unable to agree on its future, morocco has welcomed the end of a decades-long UN peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara.

Key points

• Morocco rejoined the African Union in 2017, more than three decades after leaving its predecessor, the Organisation of African Unity, in protest at the SADR's admission.
• Minurso had 155 military personnel and was projected to cost $62m (£46m) in the financial year beginning in June, according to a UN report.
• In 2020, the US recognised Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara as part of an agreement to establish diplomatic relations between Morocco and Israel.
• The council failed on Friday to renew the mandate of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (Minurso) after Russia vetoed a US-backed proposal.
• While the African Union officially recognises its independence, as the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), western Sahara remains on the UN list of non-self-governing territories.

Notably, the council failed on Friday to renew the mandate of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (Minurso) after Russia vetoed a US-backed proposal. A rival Russian draft to extend the mission additionally failed to secure enough votes.

Notably, the decision raises questions regarding the future of Africa's longest territorial dispute and the fragile ceasefire between Morocco. It claims Western Sahara, and the Polisario Front which has been fighting for the territory's independence for more than 50 years. Here is what you need to know. Why is Western Sahara disputed?

Western Sahara, on Africa's north-west coast, was a Spanish colony until 1975. It has significant phosphate reserves and valuable fishing grounds along its Atlantic coast.

As Spain prepared to withdraw, both Morocco and Mauritania asserted the territory.

For context, the International Court of Justice discovered historical ties of allegiance but no territorial sovereignty that overrode the Sahrawi people's right to self-determination.

Morocco's then King Hassan II responded by organising the Green March. On 6 November 1975 regarding 350, 000 Moroccan civilians entered the territory in a mass demonstration intended to put pressure on Spain.

Days afterwards, Spain signed the Madrid Accords with Morocco and Mauritania, agreeing to transfer administrative control. Morocco took the northern two-thirds and Mauritania the southern third. The agreement did not settle the question of sovereignty.

For context, the Polisario Front, an independence movement founded in 1973, resisted the agreement. It saw it as replacing Spanish colonial rule with Moroccan and Mauritanian control. Mauritania renounced its claim in 1979, but Morocco continued fighting Polisario.

Algeria became Polisario main regional ally, providing military backing and hosting its leadership and thousands of Sahrawi refugees in camps near the city of Tindouf.

While Morocco sees Western Sahara as an integral part of its territory, the North African country notes its position is based on the right to self-determination.

Morocco and Algeria fought a brief border war in 1963 over disagreements regarding territory inherited from French colonial rule. Their relationship has remained tense, with Western Sahara at the centre of their dispute. What was the UN's mission role?

After 16 years of fighting, Morocco and Polisario agreed to a UN-brokered ceasefire in 1991, with the territory divided by a sand wall, or berm, to keep the rival forces apart.

Notably, the UN established Minurso to monitor the ceasefire and organise a referendum on the territory's future. Sahrawis were meant to choose between independence and integration with Morocco.

In practice, the vote was scheduled for 1992 but never took place. The two sides could not agree on who would be eligible to participate, with disputes over voter identification becoming a major obstacle.

In 2007, Morocco proposed a proposal for autonomy. It would see Sahrawis managing their internal affairs, while Rabat retained control over defence and foreign relations.

In practice, the Polisario Front and Algeria rejected the plan, insisting on a referendum that included independence as an option. Years of UN- negotiations failed to produce a breakthrough.

When Polisario remarked it was resuming armed struggle, the ceasefire broke down in November 2020.

But after a long diplomatic campaign by Morocco, the UN Security Council voted in 2025 in favour of a resolution backing the autonomy plan as the "most feasible" solution for the disputed territory.

While most Sahrawis live in the part of Western Sahara controlled by Morocco, tens of thousands are estimated to be in refugee camps in Algeria. What happened at the UN?

For context, the US proposed extending Minurso's mandate for another year, but its draft went beyond the usual renewal.

It would have removed the word "referendum" from the mission's name and created Morocco's autonomy proposal the sole basis for further negotiations.

Meanwhile, the draft received the backing of 11 of the Security Council's 15 members, including France and the UK but Russia vetoed it, arguing that it was too favourable to Morocco.

Russia then proposed extending Minurso's mandate without changing its terms. That draft additionally failed, receiving only two votes in favour.

Minurso's mandate expired at the end of Saturday, 31 October. The UN remarked the after day that the mission had entered a liquidation period, with a reduced team overseeing the transfer of military equipment and other assets.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres remarked the Sahrawi people's right to self-determination must be respected and cautioned of the risk of renewed hostilities.

For context, the Polisario Front condemned the US proposal. Its representative, Sidi Omar, thanked Russia for vetoing it, saying it would "torpedo the foundations of the UN peace process" and threaten regional and international peace.

Morocco, meanwhile, remarked the mission's personnel and equipment should leave the territory over the next few days, arguing that Western Sahara problem should no longer be considered by the Security Council.

Minurso had 155 military personnel and was projected to cost $62m (£46m) in the financial year beginning in June, according to a UN report. Why is Morocco celebrating the end of the UN mission? Morocco's royal palace welcomed the failure to renew Minurso's mandate.

In Laayoune, the territory's largest city, footage indicated residents celebrating, waving Moroccan flags and displaying portraits of King Mohammed VI.

"The decision is an opportunity for Rabat to challenge what it sees as an international mechanism that has failed to resolve the dispute, " Issam Laaroussi, a Moroccan expert in international relations, tells the BBC.

He remarked Morocco would now have more room to push its autonomy proposal and shift negotiations away from a referendum on independence towards autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty.

In practice, the decision does not, nevertheless, change Western Sahara's legal status or amount to international recognition of Moroccan sovereignty.

But the decision comes after a number of countries backed the position of Morocco. It over recent years has produced securing international backing for its claim a central part of its foreign policy.

France additionally backed Morocco's autonomy plan as the basis for resolving the dispute in 2024.

Since returning, Rabat has sought to build backing for its position from within the organisation. At least 10 African countries have opened diplomatic missions in the territory in backing of Rabat.

"Morocco is not necessarily seeking to abandon the UN process, but to change the framework for negotiations and draw greater support from regional organisations, " notes Laaroussi.

Taken together, the developments around why a US-Russia showdown left Morocco celebrating point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.