Namibia has described a UN Security Council decision to end the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) as illegal and immoral.

Namibia's Permanent Representative to the UN, Penda Naanda, called the move a flagrant violation of the UN Charter and of every resolution the UN General Assembly adopted on Western Sahara since 1966.

MINURSO's mandate ended on 31 October.

Ambassador Naanda said Namibia deeply regrets the decision, as it would be to abandon the very promise the United Nations made to the Sahrawi people in 1991.

“At the same time, Namibia regrets that the Council could not agree on a simple, technical extension that would have preserved MINURSO while allowing time for genuine, inclusive negotiations. The Council's inability to compromise has left civilians, ceasefire monitoring, and humanitarian access in limbo.”

Speaking on the right to self-determination, the Namibian diplomat referred to an advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice of 16 October 1975, which found no legal ties of territorial sovereignty between Western Sahara and Morocco or Mauritania.

“Western Sahara is not a province. It is not a dispute between neighbors. It is Africa's last colony. It remains on the list of Non-Self-Governing Territories. The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic is a founding member state of the African Union. Its people have the inalienable right to choose—including the right to independence—through a free, fair, and internationally supervised referendum. No great power, no Council can take that right away by deleting a word from a mandate.”

Ambassador Naanda pointed out that Namibia knows occupation very well, having lived under colonialism and apartheid for over 100 years before achieving independence.

He declared that the United Nations stood with Namibia—under the banner of the UN Transition Assistance Group.

“Today, Namibia asks: Where is the United Nations for Western Sahara? The misuse of penholder ship and the veto further underscores the urgent need for comprehensive reform of the Security Council, particularly when such practices obstruct the implementation of international law. We will not remain silent while the Council attempts to bury the Sahrawi cause under the rubble of MINURSO.”

Namibia further called on the UN Security Council to refrain from imposing any solution that prejudges the outcome of negotiations or denies the Sahrawi people their right to choose.

It also wants to see the resumption of direct negotiations between the Kingdom of Morocco and the POLISARIO Front.