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‘The alternative to diplomacy is war’: Polisario warns of risks after collapse of Western Sahara UN mission
The UN Security Council failed to renew the mandate of its Western Sahara mission, MINURSO, after Russia and the US vetoed each other’s proposals. The decision deepens uncertainty over a conflict that has lacked a functioning ceasefire since 2020 and raises concern that military incidents could escalate while international attention wanes.
Polisario diplomat Mohamed Yeslem Beissat said the Russian veto preserved the principle of Sahrawi self-determination, while arguing that Morocco’s autonomy plan could not now advance at the Security Council. The plan would keep Western Sahara under Moroccan sovereignty with limited regional autonomy; Polisario rejects it. Established in 1991 to monitor a ceasefire and prepare a referendum, MINURSO never secured that vote, and the ceasefire collapsed in 2020.
In short
- The Security Council did not renew MINURSO’s mandate.
- The 1991 mission was meant to support a referendum that never took place.
- Polisario warns that the diplomatic deadlock could raise the risk of conflict.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Those who support Polisario’s position argue that Sahrawis must be able to determine Western Sahara’s status, and that an autonomy plan under Moroccan sovereignty cannot substitute for a genuine choice about independence. They may see the Russian veto as preserving that principle and warn that without credible international diplomacy and monitoring, renewed incidents could escalate.
The case against
Those who favour Morocco’s autonomy plan argue that it offers a practical route to local self-government while retaining Moroccan sovereignty, rather than reopening a referendum process that has remained unresolved for decades. They may view the Security Council’s failure to renew MINURSO as weakening a forum for managing tensions, and argue that diplomacy should focus on a workable settlement that can reduce the risk of renewed conflict.
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