Russia's Veto Just Ended a 35-Year U.N. Mission. Trump's Team Says It Was Time.
The U.N. mission in Western Sahara shut its doors on Sunday after Moscow killed a U.S. plan to reshape it. Here is what happened at the Security Council, why Washington wanted change, and what comes next for a frozen conflict on Morocco's doorstep.
By Clara Hughes
For 35 years, a United Nations mission sat in the desert of Western Sahara waiting for a referendum that never came. As of Sunday, November 1, it is gone. The U.N. Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara, known by its French initials MINURSO, was set up under Security Council resolution 690 in 1991, according to the United Nations. Its mandate expired on October 31 after the Council failed to renew it. On Friday, Russia vetoed a U.S.-drafted resolution that would have kept a reshaped mission going, and a rival Russian draft failed to win enough support, the U.N. said. The U.S. draft won 11 votes in favor, with Russia voting against and three members abstaining, according to the U.N.'s official record of the meeting. Because Russia is a permanent member, its "no" was a veto. Reuters reported that France and Britain, along with eight non-permanent members, backed the American text. Washington did not hide where