Occupied El Aaiun, 3 November 2026 (SPS) – The Sahrawi Instance Against the Moroccan Occupation (ISACOM) has warned of the human rights and political implications of ending the presence of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), calling on the United Nations to establish an independent international mechanism to monitor human rights and protect Sahrawi civilians in the occupied territories.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, ISACOM expressed deep concern over recent developments at the UN Security Council, including the failure to adopt the draft resolutions submitted on the future of the mission and the non-renewal of its mandate. It warned that ending the UN presence could further isolate Sahrawi civilians and undermine efforts to monitor and verify human rights violations.
ISACOM stressed that any attempt to impose a predetermined political solution that disregards the will of the Sahrawi people and their inalienable right to self-determination would undermine the foundations of the UN-led peace process and entrench the occupation.
The organisation called on the United Nations to take urgent action to establish an independent international mechanism with a clear mandate to monitor the human rights situation, document and investigate violations, follow up on the situation of Sahrawi political prisoners, establish the fate of forcibly disappeared persons, and protect human rights defenders, victims and witnesses.
It also called for opening the occupied Sahrawi territories to international observers, journalists and human rights organisations without restrictions, and for an end to the plundering and exploitation of Sahrawi natural resources without the consent of the Sahrawi people.
ISACOM reaffirmed its commitment to continuing to monitor and document violations and advocate for victims' rights. It stressed that any changes to MINURSO's arrangements must not leave Sahrawi civilians without international protection and monitoring, or allow the United Nations to evade its responsibility towards the decolonisation of Western Sahara.
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