Efforts to reduce the mandate and scope of the UN peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara could shift parties away from a political solution and risk greater instability.

The short renewal of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) indicates Russia’s increasing influence on the conflict.

Please join Carnegie for a conference on the changing political, socioeconomic, and security dynamics within the Maghreb-Sahel region.

Although Maghreb states have tended to pursue border security unilaterally, increased transnational coordination at the local level offers a more sustainable approach.

While countries in the Maghreb and the Gulf are increasing their security cooperation, they lack a long-term strategic understanding.

In confronting the Sahel’s transnational security challenges, international actors would benefit from giving Maghreb states a role in stabilization and development.

The UN is poised to renew the search for a political settlement on Western Sahara, and a recent ruling by the European Union Court of Justice may provide the foundation for negotiations.

Morocco’s bid to rejoin the African Union shifts the focus of the Western Sahara issue to a new forum where the kingdom hopes it will have more power to influence or sideline the dispute.

Morocco’s reaction to a UN statement on Western Sahara has weakened the UN mission’s capacity, threatened its political mandate, and set a dangerous precedent.

In the absence of open dialogue on the Western Sahara issue, the United Nations is pursuing a middle-of-the-road approach to accommodate the demands of both Morocco and the Polisario.