Western Sahara and MINURSO

About Western Sahara

• Location: Western Sahara is located in the northwest Africa.
• Boundaries: It is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean in the west and northwest, Morocco in the north, Algeria in the northeast, and Mauritania in the east and south.
• Key Features
  • Geographical Regions: It consists of two regions– Saguia el-Hamra, which occupies the northern third, and Río de Oro (River of Gold), which covers the southern two-thirds of the territory.
  • Terrain: The territory is virtually all desert, with extremely flat terrain and few paved roads.
  • Vegetation and Agriculture: It has little agriculture due to its desert conditions.
  • Economic Resources: It has vast phosphate deposits at Bu Craa, along with potash and iron ore deposits.
  • Political Dispute: Morocco controls roughly 80% of the territory, while the Polisario Front seeks self-determination.

About MINURSO

• MINURSO: It is the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara.
• Establishment: It was established in 1991 following a UN-brokered ceasefire between Morocco and the Polisario Front.
• Objective: It monitors the security situation, reports on developments, reduces tensions and supports the UN-led political process.
• Headquarters: Its headquarters is located in Laayoune, the main city of Western Sahara.
• It observes security developments and investigates and reports on the situation.
• Referendum: It was tasked with organising a referendum, which never took place due to disagreements over voter eligibility.
• Current Development: MINURSO’s mandate ended on 31 October 2026, after the UN Security Council failed to renew it. 
  • Its liquidation phase began on 1 November 2026, with the mission’s assets being returned to troop-contributing countries.