"Some evidence suggests that children in Western Sahara continue to engage in the worst forms of child labor, particularly in dangerous forms of agriculture" reads the United States Department of Labour's report "2011 Findings on the worst forms of child labour - Non-Independent Countries and Territories".
Children in Western Sahara are reportedly engaged with dangerous agricultural tools, heavy loads and dangerous chemicals. The report also says that sanctions against child labour, as adopted in Moroccan law, have not been enforced.
The only area in Western Sahara hosting profitable agricultural sites is Dakhla, located in the south of the territory. Last year, WSRW published a report documenting how produce grown on the agricultural sites in Dakhla ends up in EU supermarkets. All the plantations are owned by French-Moroccan conglomerates, Moroccan businessmen or the Moroccan King. Also the US itself imports agriculture products from this very same area.
The US Department's report on child labour doesn't contain any specific information about the nature and prevalence in Western Sahara. Yet, the situation in the territory is presented as one of the worst cases of those addressed in the report. For most of the territories under review, there are no accounts of child labour. That is not the case for Palestine and Western Sahara, the former being the best documented of the two.
The report was published 26 September 2012.
One of the richest coastlines in the world
The fish stocks of occupied Western Sahara have not only attracted the interest of the Moroccan fleet: other foreign interests are also fishing in the occupied waters through arrangements with Moroccan counterparts. Along the Western Saharan coastline, a processing industry has emerged.
The CJEU Court Cases
Keeping track of the many legal proceedings relating to Western Sahara is not easy. This page offers an overview of the cases concerning the territory that have been before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).
Tūhana human rights advisors ignore human rights
A consultancy hired to assess phosphate imports from occupied Western Sahara into New Zealand concludes there is no problem.
MEPs push back on Commission over Western Sahara in EU–Morocco trade
MEPs from across the political spectrum sharply criticised the European Commission over its handling of EU-Morocco trade relations covering occupied Western Sahara, raising concerns over legality, transparency and an apparent disregard for Parliament’s role.