The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, has this Friday tasked the Russian diplomat Alexander Ivanko with the task of ending the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO). This decision comes after, on October 30 of last year, the Security Council failed in its attempt to reach a consensus to extend the mandate of this operation, created in 1991 with the goal of organizing a referendum on self-determination for the Sahrawi people.
In his daily appearance before the press, Guterres’ spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, explained that the closing work will be led by Ivanko and specified that “he will be responsible for carrying out all liquidation activities in the country, under the guidance and support of the Operational Support Department.”
Ivanko, a Russian diplomat, had until now served as the Special Representative of the United Nations for Western Sahara and led the MINURSO since August 2021. During his tenure, marked by the resumption of hostilities in 2020, he was in charge of around 200 personnel, including civilian staff, military observers and staff officers from more than 35 countries.
Dujarric detailed that the closure tasks will include the “repatriation of military observers from the operating bases and the proper withdrawal or elimination of equipment and assets owned by the United Nations,” stressing that the entire process will comply with the “applicable rules and guidelines.”
The non-renewal of the MINURSO mandate occurred after Russia vetoed, on October 30 of last year, a draft resolution promoted by the United States that supported Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara, by estimating that the document moved away from the principle of self-determination of the Sahrawi people. Moscow, for its part, registered an alternative text to prolong the mission without mentioning Rabat’s proposal, but this was also blocked by Washington.
The former Spanish colony of Western Sahara was occupied by Morocco in 1975, despite resistance from the Frente Polisario, with which it maintained an armed conflict until 1991. That year, both parties signed a ceasefire with the prospect of holding a referendum on self-determination, but disagreements over the preparation of the census and over whether or not to include Moroccan settlers have prevented it from being carried out to this day.