Washington takes larger role alongside UN in Sahara push

Coordination between the United Nations and Washington is moving to the center of the latest Sahara diplomatic push, as envoy Staffan de Mistura tries to restart negotiations while the Security Council prepares to decide the future of MINURSO before its mandate expires Oct. 31.

During closed consultations with the Council on Oct. 8, de Mistura identified continued hostilities and deep mistrust between the parties as the two principal obstacles to a breakthrough, according to a UN source who spoke to Hespress. He also told members that coordination with the U.S. administration was continuing as efforts focused on creating conditions for renewed negotiations.

Security Council Resolution 2797, adopted in October 2025 and drafted by the United States, instructed the parties to negotiate taking Morocco’s autonomy proposal as a basis while seeking a mutually acceptable political solution providing for self-determination. It also extended MINURSO until Oct. 31, 2026 and ordered a strategic review of the mission’s future.

Washington subsequently hosted negotiations involving the parties, while de Mistura has maintained contact with U.S. officials, including presidential adviser Massad Boulos. Security Council Report says the U.S. and UN envoy have both been involved in diplomatic efforts aimed at overcoming the continuing gap between Morocco and the Polisario Front.

For analysts interviewed by Hespress, that increasingly close coordination raises a question less about disagreement between de Mistura and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres than about how their roles are being divided.

Public-law researcher Cheikh Boussaid argued that Guterres is seeking to preserve the UN’s legal and institutional control of the process, including the principle of self-determination and the continued role of MINURSO, while de Mistura has greater room to work alongside Washington on the practical architecture of negotiations.

That distinction could become particularly important in this month’s mandate negotiations.

Guterres’ Oct. 1 report, S/2026/781, is the latest UN assessment of Western Sahara, while the Council must now decide whether to renew MINURSO and whether its structure or functions should change. The mission’s current authorization runs through Oct. 31.

The United States has already signaled interest in examining a leaner mission. U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz told Congress in March that drawing down or streamlining MINURSO was among the options under consideration, according to Security Council Report.

But the political process remains constrained by conditions on the ground. Security Council reporting describes continuing Morocco-Polisario hostilities at low to medium intensity, while de Mistura’s latest briefing again placed ceasefire violations alongside the lack of trust as obstacles to negotiations.

The Oct. 31 vote will therefore address more than another annual extension. It will test how the Council balances Washington’s push for movement and possible changes to MINURSO with the UN’s effort to keep both the mission and any eventual settlement firmly inside a multilateral framework.