32 parliamentarians from Finland, Sweden and Denmark today requested the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of their countries to prevent renewed EU fisheries in occupied Western Sahara. Press release, WSRW, 7 July 2010.
The organisation of exiled Sahrawis on the Canary Islands, together with WSRW, last week denounced the opening of a ferry line between the archipelago and the occupied territory. A demonstration took place outside of the offices of the shipping company, Armas.
The European Commission misuses a UN document to legitimise its fisheries in occupied Western Sahara.
Chair of the European Parliament's Fisheries Committee, Carmen Fraga, says that there will be problems renewing the agreement with Morocco. EFE, 30 June 2010.
Norwegian insurance company divests from Australian fertilizer importer over imports from Western Sahara.
“Western Sahara Resource Watch is convinced that the hardships of the Saharawi refugees will continue as long as Morocco continues to illegally profit from the occupation of its neighbouring country”, states Western Sahara Resource Watch on World Refugee Day. The organisation calls on the international community to break the cash-flow from the occupied territories to the Moroccan treasury.
In April, WSRW revealed that the Turkish vessel \'MV Bakü\", had carried out a shipment to Baranquilla, Colombia. Now, the vessel has done it again.
Two vessels have this week-end been offloading phosphates in New Zealand originating from occupied Western Sahara. Today, one of the ships is offloading the valuable product at the harbour of Northport.
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.
Russia has now signed a fisheries agreement with Morocco, permitting the Russian fleet to fish offshore occupied Western Sahara. The Saharawi people has not given its consent, and the agreement is thus in violation of international law.
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.
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.