Mid-October, UN Secretary General, António Guterres, presented his report to the UN Security General on the situation in Western Sahara. 

As in previous years, the report was published just prior to the UN Security Council meeting where a new resolution is passed on the conflict and to renew the mandate of the MINURSO operation. 

For the first time in years, relatively strong language was included in relation to the use of the natural resources in the territory.

“There were reports of exploitation of natural resources in Western Sahara without meaningful consultations and participation by affected communities. Reports described investments as frequently prioritizing interests that do not address the needs of the local Sahrawi population, exacerbating economic disparity and hindering equitable development for all Sahrawis”, the report notes, in paragraph 77. 

This is in contrast to earlier reports that have wrapped in Morocco's commercial activities in a relatively positive way, as if Morocco is in a position to actually be present in the territory.  

Western Sahara Resource Watch in 2023 wrote to the Secretary General calling for a reference to the plunder of the territory that takes into account that Morocco has no right to develop infrastructure there, nor to use its resources. 

"We commend the UN Secretary General for including a reference in his 2024 report to Morocco's taking of occupied Western Sahara's natural resources; a vital part of Morocco's strategy to anchor its occupation. Forward looking, we'd submit the Secretary General to more forcefully connect the plunder to the continued failure to allow the Saharawi people to exercise their right to self-determination, which remains the cornerstone principle of the UN's peace process", says Sara Eyckmans from WSRW.

There are also other interesting references, including that Polisario has protested to the secretary-general the Moroccan government's “land and property expropriation in the territory west of the berm” (paragraph 28) and “demolition of homes” (paragraph 81).

It also states (paragraph 11) that “During the reporting period, Morocco continued to intensify the development of infrastructure, renewable energy projects and commercial activities west of the berm”.

A long section (paragraph 76) is devoted to the group of political prisoners who were arrested in 2010, the so-called Gdeim Izik group, for organising a large protest for socio-economic rights. 

“The dire conditions of detention of Sahrawi prisoners remained an issue of pressing concern. Reports received by OHCHR referred to overcrowding and inadequate access to healthcare, education and vocational training, in addition to repeated denials of transfer requests by prisoners to facilities closer to their hometowns. Members of the Gdeim Izik group continued to be dispersed and held in prisons outside of Western Sahara while serving lengthy prison sentences. The continued isolation, irregular contact with family members and discriminatory treatment by the prison administration have reportedly had adverse impacts on the prisoners’ physical and mental health. The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention considered that the imprisonment of 18 members of the Group constitutes arbitrary detention. It further expressed grave concern about the number of suspected cases of arbitrary detention in Western Sahara, calling for the immediate release of the detainees and appropriate redress and reparations” the report reads.

The report itself is dated 1 October, and was just recently made available to the public. The report makes as such no mention of the rulings of the EU Court of Justice that were concluded on 4 October. Remarkably, none of UNSG Guterres' reports to the Security Council have referred to any of the EU Court rulings on Western Sahara - with the exception of last year's report. That mentioned the expiration of the EU-Morocco fisheries agreement mid-2023, stating that the deal had already been annulled by the EU General Court in 2021 as it “cannot be regarded as having secured the consent of the people of Western Sahara”.

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