Western Sahara Resource Watch

Swedish grocery chain stops selling Western Sahara tomatoes

"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.

Published 03 May 2010

Felled by Trade with Western Sahara. President resigns.

Paul-Christian Rieber, president of the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO), has for years traded with a country that Norwegian authorities have asked the business community to avoid. That may have been the main reason he resigned yesterday. Aftenposten, 24 April 2010.

Published 27 April 2010

Energy project stays out of Western Sahara

The big European energy project Desertec has announced it will not invest in occupied Western Sahara for "reputational reasons".

Published 25 April 2010

Western Sahara imports behind business scandal

The company of the most important person in Norwegian business life today, the President of the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise, is under investigation by Norwegian authorities. The reason is a failure to pay import tens of millions of euros on duties upon importing fish oil from occupied Western Sahara.

Published 23 April 2010

Canadian plunder vessel arriving NZ today

Today, a vessel owned by the Canadian CSL Group arrives New Zealand with phosphates from occupied Western Sahara.

Published 19 April 2010

Fourth Committee worried about plundering of colonies

Report of the UN General Assembly\'s Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee) voted on 28 October 2009 the report Economic and other activities which affect the interests of the peoples of the Non-Self-Governing Territories.

Published 17 April 2010

Demonstrating each week

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.

Published 15 April 2010

Norwatch: Halts imports of fish oil

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.

Published 14 April 2010

WSRW concerned about Russian fisheries in occupied Western Sahara

WSRW asked in a letter president Medvedev to explain what Russia has done to prevent violating international law by fishing in occupied Western Sahara.

Published 12 April 2010

Two vessels shipped phosphate to Colombia

So far this year, the Colombian port of Baranquilla has received 2 shipments of phosphate rock from occupied Western Sahara.

Published 11 April 2010

WSRW responds to UN Secretary General's report on Western Sahara

"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.

Published 11 April 2010

Giant purchases from Morocco/Western Sahara stopped

A Norwegian government owned company stops purchases from Morocco and Western Sahara, over ethical concern. The value of the purchases has amounted to around 10 million euros annually.

Published 10 April 2010

San Leon carries ahead

UN has said that looking for oil in Western Sahara is illegal. But the Irish firm San Leon Energy moves steadily forwards. Drilling underway next year.

Published 07 April 2010

WSRW requests UN to halt plundering and monitor human rights abuses

In its letters to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and all members of the Security Council, Western Sahara Resource Watch called for a human rights monitoring capacity to be included in the MINURSO mandate, as well as the establishment of a mechanism to place the proceeds from the exploitation of Western Sahara\'s natural resources under international administration until the status of the territory has been resolved. Read the letter here.

Published 01 April 2010

Health store stops fish oil from Western Sahara

Life, the largest health store chain in Scandinavia, has decided to stop new orders of Omega 3-supplements for its brand Biomega, Swedish and Norwegian media report.

Published 19 March 2010

German firm orders end to Moroco/Western Sahara fish oil usage

Last week, Swedish national TV revealed that a Norwegian Omega 3 fat acid producer sources its fish oil from ocupied Western Sahara. The tablets reaches customers on the Swedish market. Now, the German mother firm, Cognis, has ordered a stop to the continued use of material from Western Sahara and Morocco.
Read also: The German Corporation Cognis Cuts All Purchases from Morocco

Published 16 March 2010

WSRW demands end to Scandinavian fish oil imports

Swedish national TV revealed this week how fish oil from occupied Western Sahara is secretly sold on the Scandinavian market. Western Sahara Resource Watch and former German MEP Margot Kessler today sent a letter to the German firm Cognis, asking that they instruct their Norwegian subsidiary to halt the unethical imports.

Published 12 March 2010

Polisario requests EU to stop fisheries

In advance of next week’s first ever EU-Morocco summit, Polisario urges the EU Commission to halt illegal fisheries offshore occupied Western Sahara.

Published 07 March 2010

Uruguay, the new phosphate importer

Uruguay imported 2, or perhaps 3, shipments from occupied Western Sahara last year. The shipments were labelled as "Moroccan", and had a total value of 4,4 million dollars.

Published 04 March 2010

Poland struggles to draw the line

The Polish Ministry of Economy says that there is no need to “differentiate between the territory of Morocco and that of Western Sahara”. However, such a position is inconsistent with international law and resolutions of the UN General Assembly adopted over the last 40 years, said representative of Western Sahara Resource Watch (WSRW).

Published 02 March 2010