At 11:45 today, Saharawi refugees are celebrating that the Court of Justice has ruled that EU cannot continue fishing offshore Western Sahara in partnership with the country that occupied their homeland.
Today, the Court of Justice ruled that the EU cannot fish in the waters offshore the territory that Morocco holds under occupation.
"The news is already spreading like wild fire among Saharawis in the occupied territories and in the diaspora. We are so glad to hear that the EU support to the occupation through such fisheries agreements has stopped", Jalihenna Mohamed told, of the Saharawi Campaign Against the Plunder (SCAP).
"This represents a crucial victory for our people and leaves no chance for EU governments and companies to manipulate in order to exploit or invest in our territory. We call on the EU to support the UN peace process and stop paying Morocco to occupy our land through fish deals. No commercial activity in occupied Western Sahara shall be conducted before Saharawi people enjoy their legitimate right to self-determination and decolonize their land through democratic and free referendum", he told.
Half the Saharawi people has been living as refugees in Algeria since 1975, when Morocco occupied the territory. As Spain permitted Morocco to annex the territory, the collapsing Franco regime signed a deal with Morocco so that Spanish fishing fleet could continue operating in the waters. In 1986, Spain became member of the EU, and since 1988, the EU has been paying Morocco so that mainly Spanish fleet could continue its practice. The Saharawis have always objected, saying that the EU is not allowed to violate international law.
Videos and photos in this article can be used for free, please credit "SCAP".
US eyes minerals in occupied Western Sahara
Seeking to position itself as a key supplier of strategic minerals for Western powers, Morocco has signed a new agreement with the United States that covers Western Sahara’s waters and the critical minerals harboured there.
TAQA-Moeve obtains land in occupied Western Sahara
Morocco’s push for green hydrogen has taken a decisive step forward - on territory it does not legally own.
EU-Morocco Statement: autonomy without self-determination, law without lawfulness
A joint statement that came out of last week’s EU-Morocco Association Council asks readers to believe in a fiction: that an undefined autonomy plan imposed by an occupying power can satisfy the right to self-determination, and that respect for international law can coexist with the systematic ignoring of the EU’s own highest court.
Greenland Yes, Western Sahara No? The EU’s self-determination test
As the European Union rightly rallies behind Greenlanders’ right to decide their own future in the face of external pressure, a test of the EU’s real commitment to self-determination is quietly unfolding in Brussels.