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To convince Morocco to recognise Israel, Trump not only recognised Morocco's claim to Western Sahara, but allegedly also promised investments in the Moroccan king's personal energy firm which operates in the occupied land with Siemens.
US president Donald Trump issued a statement today in which he backs Morocco's occupation of Western Sahara and the opening of a consulate in Dakhla, "to promote economic and business opportunities".
Through the deal, Russian trawlers will fish exclusively in the waters off occupied Western Sahara.
Four years have passed since the EU Court of Justice ruled that products from occupied Western Sahara cannot be part of EU’s trade agreements with Morocco. Today, WSRW presents an extensive report showing the efforts that the EU is taking to politically undercut the ruling.
The Moroccan Court of Cassation yesterday confirmed the harsh sentences rendered against the so-called Gdeim Izik prisoners. The group took part in the mass protest on socio-economic marginalisation in Western Sahara in 2010.
The Saharawi government has declared that it now considers "the entire territory of the Sahrawi Republic, including its terrestrial, maritime and air spaces, a war zone", advising all countries and economic operators to steer away from the territory.
WSRW submits that Morocco's violation of the ceasefire in occupied Western Sahara, plunging the territory into war and putting lives of Saharawi civilians at risk, is a violation of the EU-Morocco fish deal's human rights clause.
The EU Commission has clarified that Western Sahara is not covered by any EU aviation agreement, and that it does not seek to include it in the EU-Morocco aviation deal. Yet some EU airlines are still offering flights into the territory - now effectively a war zone.
The entry gates to factories of Ravensdown and Ballance Agri-Nutrients around New Zealand were today blocked by pro-Saharawi actitivists denouncing the imports of conflict minerals from occupied Western Sahara.
Tension in Western Sahara has not been this high for years.
19 Members of the EU Parliament today urged the EU to warn the two companies Enel and Siemens about the legal and ethical risk that they run in partnering with Morocco for operations on occupied land.
Swedish company Azelio will not clarify whether its deal with the Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy also covers renewable projects in occupied Western Sahara. The details appear in a WSRW report published today.
The Norwegian certification company DNV GL today stated that it is will phase out its participation in Soluna's controversial bitcoin project in occupied Western Sahara
"We condemn Siemens Gamesa for its lack of respect for basic human rights", stated Western Sahara Resource Watch, calling on investors to terminate ongoing engagement processes and exclude the company from their portfolios. The company has yet again signed a large contract for what it refers to as "Southern Morocco".
The large Russian trawl fleet that normally zig-zags the waters off occupied Western Sahara at this time of year is nowhere to be found.
The Swedish mining equipment company Epiroc has announced that it will no longer supply the controversial Bou Craa phosphate mine in occupied Western Sahara. German company Continental should follow the example, WSRW comments.
The Board of Deutsche Post AG completely missed the opportunity to explain its controversial activities in occupied Western Sahara.
Western Sahara Resource Watch calls for immediate and unconditional release of the group of leading Saharawi activists who were arrested in 2010 for advocating for socio-economic rights of the Saharawi people.
Information has surfaced on Morocco's plans for a third solar plant in occupied Western Sahara, to be constructed in close proximity to the agri-business in Dakhla.
The French company plans to commence construction later this year.
As the company will not respond to questions about the activities of its subsidiary DHL in occupied Western Sahara, WSRW asks shareholders to raise the matter at the upcoming AGM.
While Continental’s controversial supply contract in occupied Western Sahara has expired, the company remains silent on a potential renewal - even in the face of shareholders' questions.
The Indian engineering giant Larsen & Toubro erects large energy infrastructure in occupied Western Sahara.
The blockchain computing company Soluna set on building a 900 MW wind farm in occupied Western Sahara, does not respond to questions from civil society.
Siemens has created a new company that will inherit its operations on occupied land in Western Sahara, but still refuses to clarify whether the people of the territory have actually consented to those operations.
In the UN Human Right Council today, Spain failed to assume responsibility with regard to the exploitation of occupied Western Sahara's natural resources. Namibia is not having it.
The Swiss trade statistics reveal that 2019 was the first year without any imports of fruits and vegetables from occupied Western Sahara.
The German cement giant HeidelbergCement states that the company's operations in occupied Western Sahara are perfectly lawful according to a due diligence audit carried out by... HeidelbergCement.
The German government has released data of trade with fishmeal from plants located in occupied Western Sahara that confirms figures previously released by authorities in Bremen.
The value of the fishmeal exports from occupied Western Sahara to Turkey in 2019 may have been larger than the entire phosphate trade from the occupied territory.
Western Sahara Resource Watch presents all vessels that transported petroleum products into the occupied Western Sahara last year.
The pressure is mounting on the New Zealand importers of phosphate rock from occupied Western Sahara. Today protesters in Christchurch erected roadblocks to stop trucks from transporting the conflict minerals into the local Ravensdown fertiliser factory.
Continental’s controversial contract in occupied Western Sahara is two weeks away from expiration. If renewed, WSRW asks owners to raise the matter at upcoming AGM.
A vessel transporting Norwegian gas was supposed to arrrive in occupied Western Sahara tomorrow, but has now steered away last minute, as ordered by the exporter in Norway.
The World Bank has yesterday removed erroneous maps of Morocco that mistakenly included the non-self-governing territory of Western Sahara.
See also: World Bank in discordance with the UN on Western Sahara.
The World Bank seems to assist Morocco in promoting renewable energy projects in the occupied Western Sahara, as it fails to distinguish between the territory of Morocco and the Non-Self-Governing Territory.
Read also: World Bank removed erroneous maps
Russian and Moroccan representatives recently met to further discuss a new fisheries agreement covering the waters offshore occupied Western Sahara, but a new deal seems still pending.
Two months after gas from a terminal in Sweden was exported into occupied Western Sahara, the Austrian company behind the shipment promises it will never happen again.
Germany's state-owned development bank will not finance projects in Western Sahara.
Last week, the German multinational acquired another cement factory in occupied Western Sahara.
While other companies internationally have managed to find alternative sources of phosphate - and in spite of a request of the New Zealand government that they do the same - the Kiwi fertilizer industry seems unwilling to drop its imports from occupied Western Sahara.
An analysis of the legal aspects of the conflict in Western Sahara has led the research department of the German parliament to conclude that there are substantiated violations of the Fourth Geneva Convention by Morocco, that is to be considered an occupying power.
Trucks of the US company Caterpillar transport phosphate rock in occupied Western Sahara.
50,000 tonnes of liquified gas arrived in occupied Western Sahara last year, according to our first overview of this key trade.
The Portuguese company Gesto has been contracted by Morocco to explore the geothermal potential of occupied Western Sahara - but chooses to refer to the territory as Morocco.
Western Sahara Resource Watch for the first time presents an overview of the transports of frozen fish from occupied Western Sahara. Near all of it ends up in West African harbours.
As Continental renegotiates its contract with Morocco's national phosphate company, it is still not clear whether the German group intends to limit its operations to Morocco proper or extend them into occupied Western Sahara.
What is EU's position on labelling of products from occupied Western Sahara? The EU Commission has now for the third time published a response to a parliamentary question on the matter, but the latest version fails to address the question.
The multinational company that facilitates the controversial phosphate exports in Western Sahara receives criticism from a group of German organisations.
Tomorrow, the European Parliament is scheduled to vote on an amendment to the EU-Morocco Aviation Agreement - without any clarifications from the EU Commission as to how the proposal aligns with the 2018 Ruling of EU Court of Justice, invalidating the application of that very Agreement to Western Sahara.
Update: the European Parliament has postponed all votes scheduled to take place on 10 March to a later date, due to the COVID-19-crisis.
The UK Government is in the final stages of entering into a new trade agreement with Morocco including the territory of Western Sahara, without consideration of recent EU and British court rulings, or of the people of the occupied land.
New Zealand’s national pension fund invests in Ravensdown and Ballance Agri-Nutrients – which both import phosphate rock from occupied Western Sahara. That does not align with its statutory obligation to safeguard the country’s reputation, Polisario official says.
The export of phosphate rock from occupied Western Sahara has never been lower than in 2019. This is revealed in the new WSRW report P for Plunder, published today.
A clarification by the EU Commission on labelling of products from Western Sahara was published, then removed, then published again and has now been removed again from EU websites.
Two weeks ago, the EU Commission announced that products from Western Sahara should be labelled accordingly, only to withdraw that statement the very next day. Today, the Commission reaffirms its original position.
Morocco has launched a tender for the construction of solar plants at nine different sites, including in occupied Western Sahara.
On 5 February 2020, the EU Commission announced that products from Western Sahara should be labelled accordingly. But about 24 hours later, all traces to that statement had been removed from EU websites.
For the fourth consecutive year, the German engineering company dodges questions at its Annual Shareholders Meeting as to whether it has obtained the consent of the people of Western Sahara to operate on their land.
The European Commission said yesterday that products originating from Western Sahara must be labelled as from Western Sahara, not Morocco.
Namibia and East-Timor have today recommended Spain to respect the Saharawi people's right to free, prior and informed consent with regard to the exploitation of Western Sahara's natural resources.
The contract of German engineering company Continental that covers maintenance work on the phosphate conveyor belt in occupied Western Sahara expires in five months.
The WSRW report P for Plunder 2020 to be published in February 2020 will contain information on all 20 vessels that departed occupied Western Sahara from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2019.