Audio Briefing: UN Ends 35-Year Western Sahara Mission After Security Council Deadlock

UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations has ended its 35-year peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara after the Security Council failed to renew its mandate, with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warning of a greater risk of escalation in the disputed territory.

This briefing explains how MINURSO, created in 1991 to monitor a ceasefire and prepare a referendum that never took place, entered its liquidation phase on November 1, why Russia vetoed the American-backed renewal draft supported by 11 Council members, and why a competing Russian resolution also failed. It also covers the 2025 shift toward Morocco's autonomy plan, the Polisario Front's rejection of that approach, and what the loss of the on-the-ground buffer means next. Read more from our World News coverage and follow live updates as the diplomatic fallout develops.