NEW YORK — The United Nations Security Council began closed-door consultations on Wednesday on the future of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), whose current mandate is set to expire on October 31. The talks mark a pivotal moment in the Western Sahara file, coming weeks before a deadline that will shape the next phase of the political process.
According to Secretary-General António Guterres’ report, dated October 1, Morocco’s autonomy initiative now occupies a central position in recent discussions. The report explicitly ties this development to Security Council Resolution 2797, adopted in October 2025, which had already recognized the plan as a serious and credible basis for reaching a lasting political settlement.
The report discloses that, during the first round of the negotiating process, Morocco submitted an expanded version of its 2007 autonomy proposal. The document was handed to the Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy, Staffan de Mistura, as well as to the United States and other participants, strictly as a negotiating text rather than a document intended for public release.
The UN report refers to « parties » and « participants, » noting the involvement of the foreign ministers of Morocco, Algeria and Mauritania, while Algeria continues to describe its role in the process as that of an observer.
Guterres’ report also points to low-intensity hostile acts near the defense structure separating the territory, and recalls an incident on May 5 in Smara, where projectiles struck a civilian and damaged a civilian facility. Washington condemned the incident at the time, while de Mistura said conditions were not conducive to military escalation.
Resolution 2797 had also called for a strategic review of MINURSO’s operations given current constraints on the ground. Building on that review, Guterres is recommending a one-year extension of the mission’s mandate, through October 31, 2027, explicitly linking its continuation to tangible progress in the political process he is steering.
A second closed session is scheduled for Thursday, when de Mistura is expected to brief Council members on his latest contacts and on prospects for reviving momentum in a process that Rabat continues to follow closely, confident that international backing for its autonomy plan keeps gaining ground.
