After 34 years of operations in Western Sahara without achieving its objectives, is it time for MINURSO to retire? The UN mission is scaling back with an unprecedented decision, causing panic within the Polisario. MINURSO has decided not to renew the contracts of its employees. The UN mission's headquarters, based in Laayoune, has informed Moroccan contractors of this decision. The move also includes a suspension of the recruitment of new foreign agents, in line with a directive from the UN headquarters in New York. Polisario media have expressed concerns about this decision, seeing it as a potential first step toward ending the «political settlement» of the Western Sahara issue, in favor of managing the conflict without resolution. This, they argue, could pave the way for a new escalation, according to a Sahrawi media outlet on Wednesday, April 2. The decision is being described as «unprecedented». MINURSO has always received special treatment compared to other United Nations peacekeeping missions. Its budget has remained unaffected by the financial crisis that has plagued the organization in recent years, partly due to unpaid contributions from some member states. In 2024, the UN allocated $75.35 million to the Western Sahara mission, a 9.1% increase compared to the previous fiscal year. Trump Urged to Stop Funding MINURSO Even during Donald Trump's first term in office (2017-2021), MINURSO was not subject to calls for budget cuts within the United Nations, despite being urged by Trump and his former national security advisor, John Bolton, to reduce expenses. However, the situation appears to have shifted during Trump's second term. Last March, a US think tank with ties to the Republicans urged the President to stop funding MINURSO. «Trump and the UN could save billions by ending these operations», the research center said. «After 34 years, MINURSO has not even completed a full census. It offers excuses—some valid, others not—but time is passing», the think tank criticized. Indeed, MINURSO has not been able to conduct a population census in the Tindouf camps, nor has it organized a referendum in Western Sahara—an option that the UN abandoned in 2001. The mission has also failed to enforce the ceasefire agreement signed in September 1991, which the Polisario has violated since November 13, 2020. Ominous clouds are gathering over the MINURSO headquarters.
