Rival US and Russian resolutions on Western Sahara fail at UN

The UN Security Council rejected the competing proposals, leaving the peacekeeping mission without an approved extension.

The Polisario Front opposes Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara and calls for a vote on the disputed territory’s future [File: Ryad Kramdi/AFP]

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the disputed Western Sahara faces an uncertain future after competing United States and Russian resolutions failed at the UN Security Council.

Russia vetoed the US-backed proposal on Friday, despite support from 11 members of the 15-member council.

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A rival Russian draft then failed to secure the nine votes needed for adoption.

The mandate of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) is due to expire on Saturday unless the council reaches a last-minute agreement.

Western Sahara is a former Spanish colony in northwest Africa. Morocco considers the territory its own while the Algeria-backed Polisario Front seeks to establish an independent state called the Sahrawi Republic.

The UN established MINURSO in 1991 to monitor a ceasefire and prepare a referendum on the territory’s future, but disagreements over who could vote have prevented it from taking place.

The US draft would have extended the mission for a year while removing “referendum” from its name and making Morocco’s autonomy proposal the only basis for further talks.

Under that plan, the territory would manage its internal affairs but remain under Moroccan sovereignty.

The council had already made the proposal a basis for negotiations last year.

US Ambassador Mike Waltz told the council in New York on Friday that the referendum had been stalled for decades.

Russia’s UN ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, said at the same meeting that Moscow opposed the draft because it favoured one side.

Russia instead proposed renewing the existing mission without those changes.

Morocco’s royal palace welcomed the failure to renew MINURSO, saying on Friday that UN personnel and equipment should leave the territory.

Sidi Omar, the Polisario Front’s representative at the UN, told reporters on Friday that he welcomed Russia’s veto because the US proposal would undermine Sahrawi self-determination.

Low-level fighting has continued since Polisario said it was resuming armed struggle in 2020.

联合国安理会否决了这些相互竞争的提案，导致维和任务未能获得批准延期。

波利萨里奥阵线反对摩洛哥提出的西撒哈拉自治方案，并呼吁就这片争议领土的未来举行投票。[图片：Ryad Kramdi/法新社]

在联合国安理会，美国和俄罗斯提出的相互竞争的决议均未获得通过，联合国在有争议的西撒哈拉地区的维和任务面临着不确定的未来。

尽管安理会15个成员国中有11个支持，但俄罗斯周五否决了美国支持的提案。

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随后，俄罗斯提出的另一份草案未能获得通过所需的九票。

除非安理会达成最后一刻的协议，否则联合国西撒哈拉全民公投特派团（西撒特派团）的任务授权将于周六到期。

西撒哈拉是位于非洲西北部的西班牙前殖民地。摩洛哥视该地区为其领土，而受阿尔及利亚支持的波利萨里奥阵线则寻求建立一个名为撒哈拉共和国的独立国家。

联合国于 1991 年设立了西撒特派团，以监督停火并筹备就该地区的未来举行全民公投，但由于在谁有权投票的问题上存在分歧，公投未能举行。

美国草案将把任务期限延长一年，同时从任务名称中删除“全民公投”一词，并将摩洛哥的自治提议作为进一步谈判的唯一基础。

根据该计划，该地区将管理其内部事务，但仍处于摩洛哥的主权之下。

市议会去年就已经将该提案作为谈判的基础。

美国大使迈克·沃尔兹周五在纽约告诉安理会，全民公投已经停滞了几十年。

俄罗斯常驻联合国代表瓦西里·涅边贾在同一次会议上表示，莫斯科反对该草案，因为它偏袒一方。

俄罗斯则提议在不进行这些改变的情况下，继续执行现有的任务。

摩洛哥王室对联合国西撒特派团未能续签表示欢迎，并于周五表示，联合国人员和设备应该撤离该地区。

波利萨里奥阵线驻联合国代表西迪·奥马尔周五告诉记者，他欢迎俄罗斯的否决，因为美国的提议将破坏撒哈拉人的自决权。

自波利萨里奥阵线宣布于 2020 年恢复武装斗争以来，低烈度战斗一直在持续。