The United Nations mission in the Sahara, MINURSO, has instructed its personnel to park all official vehicles, stay away from their workplaces and remain at home until further notice, according to an internal email sent to staff.
A UN source told Hespress that the instructions also prohibited staff from communicating with outside parties about the mission’s current situation or sharing information concerning ongoing developments.
The directive comes hours before MINURSO’s mandate expires at midnight Saturday, October 31, following the UN Security Council’s failure to adopt either of two competing resolutions on Friday.
The mission’s existing mandate, established under Security Council Resolution 2797, runs until October 31, 2026. Without a new resolution, the authorization for its continued operation will lapse as November 1 begins.
The Security Council failed to renew the mandate after Russia vetoed a US-drafted resolution that received 11 votes in favor, one against and three abstentions.
The American proposal sought to renew and restructure the mission while establishing Morocco’s autonomy initiative as the sole basis for negotiations toward a settlement of the Sahara dispute.
Russia argued that the draft would impose a predetermined outcome favoring Morocco and marginalize Polisario’s position, while departing from the UN’s longstanding framework for self-determination.
Moscow subsequently submitted an alternative resolution seeking a one-year extension of MINURSO’s existing mandate. That proposal also failed, receiving three votes in favor, one against and 11 abstentions, below the nine affirmative votes required for adoption.
Following the votes, Morocco’s Royal Cabinet described the failure to renew MINURSO’s mandate as a significant development toward the definitive closure of the Sahara file within the United Nations.
The Royal Cabinet said the mission’s presence in Morocco’s southern provinces, including its personnel, vehicles, equipment and symbols, should end in the coming days, declaring that a 35-year chapter had closed.
The internal instructions reported by Hespress represent an immediate operational development as the mission approaches the expiry of its mandate. They do not, by themselves, establish that MINURSO personnel have begun withdrawing or that the United Nations has approved a timetable for their departure.
The United States has said it would work with the UN Secretary-General to ensure an orderly and stable drawdown that protects UN personnel and addresses security and humanitarian concerns.
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