End of MINURSO,The Royal Cabinet hails a 35-year chapter now closed
Rabat – 31 October 2026 (MT Team) : The Royal Cabinet welcomes the end of the MINURSO mandate, which was not renewed by the Security Council after the Russian veto, seeing it as a step towards closing the Sahara issue.
The Royal Cabinet reacted on Friday, October 30, 2026, following a tense session at the Security Council. Earlier that evening, Russia vetoed the American draft resolution , supported by 11 of the 15 members, which consolidated autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty as the sole basis for negotiations and renamed Minurso.
The Russian counter-proposal, which merely extended the mission for one year without any changes, was also rejected, with Washington voting against it. In the absence of an adopted text, the mandate of the UN mission, deployed since 1991, was not renewed. The Royal Cabinet sees this as “a significant step towards the definitive closure of the Moroccan Sahara issue at the United Nations” and believes that MINURSO’s presence in the southern provinces should end in the coming days.
Here is the full text of the press release:
The mandate of the Minurso was not renewed by the UN Security Council at its meeting today, October 30, 2026. This is an important development and a significant step towards the final closure of the Moroccan Sahara file at the United Nations.
This major development coincides with the celebration of the feast of Unity, decreed by His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist Him, to embody the break in the management of this file, moving from a simple logic of management to an approach of profound transformation of parameters.
Thus, the failure to renew the mandate of the Minurso clearly means that the presence of this Mission in the southern provinces of the Kingdom, including through its personnel, vehicles, equipment and symbols, should cease in the coming days. It is a 35-year-old page that is now turned. Inherited from an anachronistic and bygone context, this Mission has long been an instrument of internationalization of the regional dispute relating to the legitimate recovery by the Kingdom of Morocco of its Saharan provinces.
In addition, the non-renewal of the Minurso should mark the end of the referral to the Security Council and the withdrawal of this item from its agenda. Therefore, the periodic statutory meetings of the Council devoted to the Moroccan Sahara, the reports of the Secretary-General of the United Nations relating thereto and the briefings of his Personal Envoy, would no longer be appropriate.
The UN political process, which was unfortunately marked by the procrastination of the other parties, their stubbornness to create the blockage and to make the status quo continue, is thus suspended. Similar actions will also be carried out soon in the other UN bodies.
While marking its satisfaction with this development, Morocco remains firmly committed to the ceasefire, in strict respect for its territorial integrity, national security and the tranquility of its citizens.
Moreover, the international dynamic launched by His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God preserves Him, will continue, at the bilateral and regional levels. It has already made it possible to capitalize on important support, since more than two-thirds of the members of the UN, including permanent members of the Security Council and the influential powers, clearly support autonomy, under Moroccan sovereignty, as the only framework of solution to settle this regional dispute.
