A spokesman for UNFCCC told media that it has requested answer from the organisers of COP22 on why they kicked out the vice-president of the PanAfrican-Parliament.
“We are aware of the situation and are seeking clarification from the Moroccan authorities", a spokesman for UNFCCC told the news service Climate Home today.
The vice-president of the Pan-African Parliament, Suelma Beirouk, was Monday expelled from Morocco, the host of COP22. Morocco occupies Western Sahara, a territory which Mrs. Beirouk is from.
Western Sahara is a Member State of the African Union, while Morocco is not. Morocco has since 1975 occupied parts of the territory of Western Sahara.
Since 2013, it has built windmills in the territory, needed to supply energy to the plunder of the minerals. Morocco uses alleged 'sustainable' energy projects to fortify the occupation, as WSRW uncovered in the report Powering the Plunder – What Morocco and Siemens are hiding at COP22, Marrakech, published 2 November.
Morocco has not sought the consent of the people of the land to carry out such projects - a situation which the UN Human Rights Council expressed concerns about this week. Neither Morocco, nor its two partners in that sector, German company Siemens or Italian company Enel have lifted a finger to hear the opinion of the Saharawis. Nareva, the company of the Moroccan king, fails to respond to questions on human rights in a study published last week by Business and Human Rights.
Last week, hundreds of Saharawis protested against Morocco, Siemens and Enel. The last days, numerous leading activists from the occupied territory have denounced the Moroccan projects on their land.
Engie paves way for new farmland in occupied Western Sahara
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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.
Trial underway over firebombing of WSRW partner in Denmark
A trial has begun in Copenhagen against four men accused of carrying out the January 2025 arson attack on the offices of WSRW partner Global Aktion.
Heidelberg Materials deepens its role in Morocco’s occupation of Western Sahara
The German company confirms once again that its operations in occupied Western Sahara are closely tied to Morocco’s infrastructure expansion in the territory - while continuing to dismiss the Saharawi people’s right to consent.