Saharawi refugees tell Glencore to leave their homeland
Article image

Saharawi refugees yesterday protested against Swiss firm Glencore Plc, looking for oil in their occupied Western Sahara. See photos and videos of the protest here.

Published 18 March 2015

Glencore Plc, the Swiss based multinational commodity trading and mining company, holds two exploration licences from the Moroccan government for oil blocks located outside of Morocco's internationally recognised borders: in the part of Western Sahara that Morocco invaded and annexed in 1975.

A large part of the Saharawi people fled Morocco's invasion, and still live in refugee camps in south-west Algeria. In one of those camps, named Dakhla after the town in their homeland, the refugees yesterday 17 March 2015 took to the streets to show their opposition to Glencore's search for oil in Western Sahara. Protesters carried banners saying "Glencore go home", "Stop stealing our future" and "Glencore we don't want you in our homeland".

The oil exploration is in violation of a UN Legal Opinion of 2002, which calls exploration and exploitation of Western Sahara's resources unlawful if not in accordance with the wishes and the interests of the Saharawi people - the original inhabitants of the territory at the time of Morocco's invastion.

The Saharawi people oppose Morocco's oil programme in their occupied land. But nor Morocco, nor its international partners such as Glencore, pay any attention to their wishes.

The UN to date considers Western Sahara to be a Non-Self Governing Territory - a colony yet to complete the process of decolonisation. No State in the world recognises Morocco's untenable claim over the territory. The International Court of Justice has acknowledged the Saharawi people's right to self-determination - the right to determine the status of the territory and its resources - which has been echoed in countless UN Resolutions and backed by the international community.

glencore_protest_camps_17_march_2015_610.jpg
Download
glencore_protest_camps_17_march_2015_2_610.jpg
Download

EU pushes secretive Morocco trade deal covering Western Sahara

As EU ambassadors give their green light to a new Morocco trade deal, the public is still denied access to the very agreement they are voting on - a striking case of secrecy in Brussels.

01 October 2025

"A declaration of war" - new EU agreement reactions

A wave of reactions is rippling across Europe following the news that the EU is moving ahead with a new trade agreement in occupied Western Sahara. The vote is scheduled for tomorrow.

30 September 2025

Commission Pushes EU-Morocco Trade Deal, Ignoring Democratic Processes and Saharawi Rights

WSRW can today reveal a leaked EU document showing plans to continue trading with products from occupied Western Sahara, in direct violation of earlier rulings by the EU Court of Justice. A vote will take place this Wednesday. 

29 September 2025

Morocco’s thirst for water quenched by Western Sahara winds

Water pouring out of Moroccan faucets is soon powered by energy stolen from occupied Western Sahara.

18 September 2025