Guterres requests extension of UN mission in Western Sahara

“ ANDwhile awaiting a solution to the mutually acceptable conflict, I recommend that the Council extend the term of office of Minurso for another year until 31 October 2027′′, said António Guterres in the latest annual report on the Western Sahara.

In the document, the Secretary-General welcomed the resumption of direct negotiations between Morocco and the Polisario Front for the first time in seven years, stressing that three meetings were held in the first quarter of 2026.

Guterres stressed, however, that the hostilities between the two parties are continuing, considering Minurso's work to unlock the process and achieve a solution as essential.

“ Without the Minurse to monitor, investigate and report on any incident in the territory and cooperate with the parties to reduce tensions, the risk of an escalation of hostilities would increase dramatically, such as the possibility of spreading the conflict in an already volatile region,” he said.

Guterres also reiterated the call for full re-establishment of the ceasefire, in order to avoid actions that “minish fragile trust” between the parties.

The Minurse was created in 1991 by the UN to oversee the ceasefire between Morocco and the Polisario Front, which claims the independence of this non-autonomous territory of North Africa, whose sovereignty is claimed by Rabat.

The extension of the mission will be submitted to the UN Security Council for a vote before 31 October this year, when the current mandate ends.

The Security Council last renewed the mandate of the mission in October, through Resolution 2797, in a text that considered the plan of autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty as the most viable basis for achieving a definitive political solution.