Norwegian investor KLP has blacklisted another two new fertiliser companies that buy phosphate from occupied Western Sahara. Furthermore, two additional corporations were dropped from its portfolio because they are linked with nuclear weapons production. Norwatch, 1 June 2010.
Last year, European Parliament’s Legal Services stated that EU fisheries in Western Sahara would be illegal if the Saharawi people were not consulted. This week, Morocco refused the Parliament to travel to occupied Western Sahara to find out if they are.
A French-Moroccan firm, Soprofel, employs 2.500 people in Western Sahara, according to a Moroccan newspaper.
EU tax payers pay money to Moroccan government, so that Spanish fishermen can steal the fish belonging to these refugees. See video.
Yearly Morocco receives the equivalent of 350 million Swedish kroner for its fisheries agreement with the EU. The agreement also applies to occupied Western Sahara’s waters, where vessels registered in the EU trawl. Many people, including human rights expert Hans Corell, criticise the agreement and demand tougher conditions when it is to be renegotiated.
On European Maritime Day, Western Sahara Resource Watch (WSRW) demands that the depletion of European fish stocks not be used to justify illegal fisheries practices elsewhere.
The Moroccan-EFTA free trade agreement does not cover Western Sahara, according to Norwegian and Swiss authorities. This will have multi-million euro consequences for a firm that systematically mislabeled Western Sahara imports as Moroccan, and illustrates how the European Commission is on collision course with rest of the international community.
"Since Morocco does not exercise internationally recognised sovereignty over Western Sahara, Western Sahara is not seen as a part of Morocco’s territory in relation to this agreement. The Free Trade Agreement is thus not applicable to goods from Western Sahara", stated Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Jonas Gahr Store, 11 May 2010.
Dutch seismic services firm Fugro NV, and its Norwegian subsidiary Fugro-Geoteam, state they do not want to undertake any more assignments in Western Sahara under the current political situation in the country.
"It turns out that the tomatoes are from Dakhla in occupied Western Sahara, so we are not going to sell them anymore. These things are not supposed to happen", stated media officer Ingmar Kroon at the Swedish grocery chain Axfood.
The big European energy project Desertec has announced it will not invest in occupied Western Sahara for "reputational reasons".
Every Thursday, the old Saharawi phosphate miners demand their rights from the Moroccan controlled phosphate company, OCP. They were under contracts with the Spanish, but lost their rights when Morocco illegally invaded the territory and took control of the mine.
Norwegian fish oil importer GC Rieber today announced that they have stopped all imports of fish oil from Morocco and occupied Western Sahara. After their biggest customer did not longer want to buy the controversial oil, the importer has chosen to stop further purchases from the region. Norwatch, 14 April 2010.
"It is inconceivable that MINURSO should remain the only contemporary UN peace mission lacking a mandate to monitor human rights", WSRW stated in a letter to the Security Council yesterday. WSRW asked for the UN to monitor both the human rights violations and the illegal plundering of natural resourecs in the territory.