South Africa criticized the United Nations Security Council on Oct. 31, 2025, for renewing the Western Sahara mission through Oct. 31, 2026, under Resolution 2797, saying the text favors the Moroccan Autonomy Proposal and sidelines Sahrawi self-determination. Pretoria urged direct negotiations between Morocco and the Polisario Front and pressed for steps toward a credible referendum while backing the efforts of UN envoy Staffan de Mistura.
MINURSO was created in 1991 to monitor a ceasefire and prepare a vote, yet no referendum has taken place in more than three decades. The United States backed the renewal as the most workable path, exposing divisions on the Council after late talks. Western Sahara has been disputed since 1975 after Spain withdrew, with Morocco controlling most of the territory and the Polisario administering a smaller area supported by Algeria. More than 100,000 Sahrawi refugees live in camps in Algeria. Human rights groups sought a monitoring role for the mission, but that provision was left out, and states such as Algeria and Russia raised concerns or abstained.
MINURSO was created in 1991 to monitor a ceasefire and prepare a vote, yet no referendum has taken place in more than three decades. The United States backed the renewal as the most workable path, exposing divisions on the Council after late talks. Western Sahara has been disputed since 1975 after Spain withdrew, with Morocco controlling most of the territory and the Polisario administering a smaller area supported by Algeria. More than 100,000 Sahrawi refugees live in camps in Algeria. Human rights groups sought a monitoring role for the mission, but that provision was left out, and states such as Algeria and Russia raised concerns or abstained.
