On the evening of 6 November 2016, the day before the opening of the climate talks in Marrakech, the official website COP22.ma is relaunched. False map is gone.
The Moroccan hosts of the COP22 climate talks in Marrakech has just announced on Twitter that it has relaunched its COP22.ma website. WSRW on 2 November mentioned in a report how the previous page contained a map in which Morocco had doubled its size as compared to official UN maps.
Morocco has illegally occupied Western Sahara since 1975, a territorial claim not recognised by the international community nor the UN.
With the largely revised site, the erroneous map is now removed. The URL to the previously published map is inactive.
Instead, a piece of country information has been published on the new site under the article "Useful information about Morocco" [or download].
There, the description of the surface area of Morocco is nearly doubled as compared to UN data. It is also claimed that Morocco borders Mauritania, which is not the case. The coastline is referred to as near identical to the circumference of the earth:
"Surface Area: 710,850 sq. km
3,5000 km of coastline
[...]
Bordering Countries: Algeria to the east and Mauritania to the south"
On the new site, it appears furthermore that Morocco is organising an event organised by something it calls "Coalition Régionale pour l'Economie Verte-Region Laayoune Sakhia El Hamra", while an exhibitor is called "Féderation des Amicales et Associations des Quartier de Laayoune".
Dirty green energy on occupied land
How can it be wrong to develop renewable energy, in a world that is in desperate need for a green transition? In Western Sahara, the problems are numerous.
Trump administration bankrolls ammonia project in occupied Western Sahara
The Trump administration has become the first US government to finance a private-sector project in occupied Western Sahara, awarding support to the controversial ORNX green ammonia venture.
Engie paves way for new farmland in occupied Western Sahara
Morocco has launched another tender to allocate more than 1,000 hectares of agricultural land in occupied Western Sahara, made cultivable through the French company Engie. The expansion comes as the EU considers increasing the unlawful trade with the territory.
European Parliament approves updated Morocco aviation agreement… without Western Sahara
The law is settled, but the practice is not. The recently adapted aviation deal excludes Western Sahara - yet the European Commission still tolerates EU airlines operating there regardless.