Rival US and Russia resolutions on disputed Western Sahara defeated in UN Security Council

By Edith M. Lederer

    United Nations, Oct 31 (AP) Russia has vetoed a US-drafted resolution that would have supported Morocco's demand for sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara and ended the UN's 35-year peacekeeping mission, which was charged with helping to prepare a referendum on the future of the mineral-rich territory.

     The UN Security Council then defeated a Russian-drafted resolution to extend the mandate of the peacekeeping mission for a year. The 3-1 vote with 11 abstentions meant the United States didn't have to use its veto because the resolution failed to get the minimum nine “yes” votes in the 15-member body.

     The UN mission's mandate will now expire on Saturday, bringing an end to its operations.

     Morocco annexed Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony also believed to have considerable offshore oil deposits, in 1975, sparking a conflict with the Polisario Front, which represents the indigenous Sahrawi people.

     The United Nations brokered a ceasefire in 1991 and established a peacekeeping mission to monitor the truce and help prepare a referendum on the territory's future. It has never taken place because of disagreements on who is eligible to vote.

     Last year, the UN Security Council approved a resolution backing Morocco's claim to the Western Sahara, a significant shift that aligns with the Trump administration's support for the North African country.

     That resolution referred to Morocco's proposal for wide-ranging autonomy for the territory as the basis for negotiations and made no mention of a referendum on self-determination. Morocco's plan to maintain sovereignty over the territory also is backed by Britain, France and others, while Russia and China have long favored holding a referendum that includes independence as an option.

     The US-drafted resolution put to a vote Friday went much further. It would have ended the peacekeeping mission on April 30, 2027, and created a new political mission no longer preparing for a referendum. It would have affirmed “that genuine autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty is the only feasible solution to negotiate a mutually acceptable solution.”

     Russia's rival resolution would have simply extended the current mandate of the peacekeeping mission until Oct. 31, 2027.

     US Ambassador Mike Waltz said Russia's veto prevents “historic steps toward finally ending a 50-year conflict." But he said the United States will continue working with UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura and both parties “to negotiate a lasting peace.”

     Morocco's royal palace, which oversees the kingdom's foreign policy, said, however, that the Western Sahara conflict should no longer remain on the Security Council's agenda.

     “The UN political process, which has unfortunately been marked by the procrastination of the other parties, their stubbornness in creating a blockage and perpetuating the status quo, is thus suspended,” the palace said in a statement.

     Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia blamed those who opposed Moscow's resolution for the demise of the mission. He said Russia vetoed the US draft because it sidelined the longstanding proposal for “a just, free and fair solution on the basis of self-determination” for the Sahrawi people.

     Sidi Omar, the Polisario Front's UN representative, thanked Russia for vetoing the US resolution, saying it "would have undermined the free exercise by the Sahrawi people of their inalienable right to self-determination and independence.”

     "Moreover, by seeking to legitimise Morocco's illegal and forcible occupation of Western Sahara, the resolution would not only torpedo the foundations of the UN peace process but would also have set a very dangerous precedent that threatens broader regional and international peace and security,” he said.

     As for the Polisario Front going forward, Omar told reporters, “We remain fully committed to the peace process - but a peace process put back on the right track, a peace process that will lead to enabling our people to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination and independence.” (AP) RHL

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)