"The French company Bureau Veritas has seemingly no idea in which country it is operating. As a company that brands itself in quality assurance and risk management, that is fairly serious. The company can simply not be trusted in helping businesses to meet regulatory and safety standards", stated Erik Hagen of Western Sahara Resource Watch (WSRW).

WSRW has found Bureau Veritas increasingly assisting foreign corporations on the occupied territory of Western Sahara. This has happened through participating in or sponsoring events and certifying Moroccan and foreign businesses in the territory that is under occupation. 

The CJEU has ruled ten times that Western Sahara is not part of Morocco, following the position of other international courts, including the International Court of Justice. Bureau Veritas seemingly cannot be bothered about these legal findings.  

Most recently, 10 April 2025, Bureau Veritas co-hosted an event organised by Moroccan exporting companies in Dakhla in the occupied territory. This is just the latest of a series of engagements. 

"These partners have all expressed their commitment to supporting Moroccan exporters in the implementation of projects with a strong environmental and economic impact", the partners of the April 2025 event in Dakhla allegedly told a Moroccan media outlet. 

The French company Engie seems to be a main organiser of the event. There is no mention in Moroccan media that the agricultural produce that will result from the project that Engie is at present finalising, cannot be legally exported to the EU as part of the EU-Moroccan trade agreements, as the CJEU has ruled such practice to violate international law and the Saharawi people's right to self-determination. 

In 2021, Bureau Veritas officials visited Western Sahara [or download] to take part in a business event in the territory in partnership with Moroccan authorities. 

“This initiative is part of the development plan for the Southern Provinces, Dakhla-Oued Eddahab and Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra, launched in 2015 by His Majesty King Mohammed VI, and which is being implemented on the ground through an investment program and several large-scale structural projects”, the company wrote on its own website. 

The claim of the Moroccan government and Bureau Veritas that Dakhla is located in the "Southern Provinces" has been rejected by the UN, the CJEU, the ICJ and the African Court of Human and Peoples' Rights.

WSRW wrote to Bureau Veritas about its political position-taking on the occupation of Western Sahara in November 2024, and has still not received a response. Among the questions asked, was whether Bureau Veritas would delete from its website the factually erroneous information suggesting that Western Sahara is part of Morocco.

The company has also carried out certifications of a number of Moroccan enterprises on the occupied territory, erroneously claiming that they are located in Morocco. As late as in February 2025, Bureau Veritas issued a certificate for sustainable aquaculture with erroneous geographical details (or download), suggesting that the city of Dakhla is located in Morocco. The CJEU on 4 October 2024 ruled that Western Sahara products cannot be labelled as Moroccan in Europe. As such, Bureau Veritas takes part in confusing European consumers about the real country of origin of the goods made in the territory. 

“Taking into account the website articles where Bureau Veritas Maroc refers to the territory as “Southern Provinces” of Morocco, to what extent does Bureau Veritas consider that it might disqualify itself from being seen as a credible independent certification body, when it assumes such political statements, in contradiction of international and EU case-law?”, WSRW asked. 

PS: The latest Bureau Veritas sponsored event in Dakhla in April 2025 was at Tulum Beach Resort, which happens to be the exact same location where the Moroccan branch of the French insurance company AXA went to party in 2023. WSRW has geolocated the AXA video to be the Azur Restaurant Dakhla - part of the same Tulum resort. 

Since you're here....
WSRW’s work is being read and used more than ever. We work totally independently and to a large extent voluntarily. Our work takes time, dedication and diligence. But we do it because we believe it matters – and we hope you do too. We look for more monthly donors to support our work. If you'd like to contribute to our work – 3€, 5€, 8€ monthly… what you can spare – the future of WSRW would be much more secure. You can set up a monthly donation to WSRW quickly here.