“I ask the EU to please take into account the rights of my people. We, the Saharawi, are saddened over the way this fisheries agreement with Morocco affects our struggle”, stated the Saharawi refugee Senia Abderahman to the European Commission.
The French owned bulk vessel 'Tenor' has in September completed a big shipment to New Zealand of phosphates from occupied Western Sahara. French organisation urges company to halt further transports from the territory.
"If the EU is to raise its credibility with the African Union, reviewing its stance toward Africa’s last colonial conflict would be a good place to start", reads WSRW's letter published in European Voice today.
For more than a month, Aminatou Haidar, the internationally awarded Saharawi human rights activist and President of Saharawi Human Right organisation CODESA, has waited for a reply from the EU’s ambassador to Morocco, Mr. Eneko Landaburu. The EU ambassador is failing to respond to a simple question regarding the legality of the EU fisheries in occupied Western Sahara.
See photos of the vessel 'Christine O' arriving at port Risdon, Hobart, Tasmania, yesterday afternoon. The vessel contained phosphate rock from occupied Western Sahara, purchased by Impact Fertilisers.
This afternoon, a bulk vessel is set to arrive port of Risdon, Hobart, Tasmania, with phosphate rock plundered from occupied Western Sahara. 8 Swiss parliamentarians protest the continued imports.
PotashCorp is the most important customer of phosphate rock from occupied Western Sahara. The rock is exported from Western Sahara by the occupying power, Morocco, in violation of international law. In this interview on Canadian Broadcast Corporation, lawyer Jeffrey Smith explains why it is wrong.
The vessel MV Brasschaat, managed by Belgian firm Sobelmar Antwerp, arrived yesterday at Port of Klaipeda, Lituania, with conflict minerals despite requests of asking the vessel return to El Aaiun with its cargo.
"You should not look for legal or economic arguments to maintain what you do. It is simply wrong", stated a concerned Tasmanian teacher in a letter to the importing firm this week. This new video shows the shipment of phosphates that arrived Impact Fertilisers in Tasmania, July 2010, from occupied Western Sahara.
The Florida fertilizer company Mosaic Co explains that it does not longer carry out imports from occupied Western Sahara. The firm has no delivery contracts, nor any plans of purchasing. PCS is today the only remaining North American importer of phosphates from the occupied territory.
As this photo was taken, the bulk vessel Doric Victory headed directly to occupied Western Sahara to load phosphate rock.
"We urge BHP to issue a statement that upon acquiring PotashCorp, all phosphate-imports from occupied Western Sahara will be terminated", stated Western Sahara Resource Watch in a letter to BHP Billiton Sunday night.
The Trade Union of Saharawi Workers in El Aaiún, occupied Western Sahara, started a general strike this morning, denouncing the “policy of segregation applied by Morocco” and the “plundering of Saharawi natural resources”.
Louisiana fishermen, victims of the BP Gulf spill, could be moving their place of work to an occupied country, supporting an illegal and brutal regime. This might be the reality if Washington lobbyists get what they want. Press release, Western Sahara Resource Watch, 30 July 2010.
See this great footage of the first ever flashmob musical against the plundering of Western Sahara, in Mercadona-supermarkets across Spain. Mercadona sells canned fish originating from occupied Western Sahara, under their store brand ‘Hacendado’.
A microscopic organism, 3 billion years old, could be the latest support for Morocco’s occupation. Another life-giving natural resource is just located inside the occupied territory of Western Sahara.
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.
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.
The European Commission misuses a UN document to legitimise its fisheries in occupied Western Sahara.
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.
"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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
In advance of next week’s first ever EU-Morocco summit, Polisario urges the EU Commission to halt illegal fisheries offshore occupied Western Sahara.
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.
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).
Brussels, 23 February 2010 - In a previously confidential legal opinion, the European Parliament’s Legal Service has declared fishing by European vessels in Western Sahara’s waters to be in violation of international law. Press release.
WSRW can today present the 11 page statement from the European Parliament’s Legal Service. The statement – concluding that EU fisheries in occupied Western Sahara under its current shape is in violation of international law - has been kept from the public for 7 months.
A report from the Moroccan state and mining company ONHYM from September 2009 reveals that Morocco is exploring the uranium potential in occupied Western Sahara.
Since July 2009, a legal opinion written by the European Parliament’s legal service has been held outside of public knowledge. The extraordinary text concludes that the EU fisheries in Western Sahara under its current shape must stop.
The Australian fertilizer producer Incitec Pivot imports phosphate from occupied Western Sahara in violation of international law. Australian Council of Trade Unions, and Australia Western Sahara Association protested at the company's annual general meeting.
"It is a violation of international law for the natural resources of Western Sahara to be exploited in this way. But the EU continues to buy permits from Morocco for EU fishing vessels which allows them to fish in Western Saharan waters. The people of Western Sahara have never given their permission for this to happen", stated MEP Jill Evans in a press release.
Western Sahara human rights activist Aminatou Haidar hopes for increased attention to the EU plundering of occupied Western Sahara.
Today an international campaign was launched to make the EU withdraw its vessels from the waters offshore the occupied territory of Western Sahara. Press release, 6 November 2009.
WSRW and Defense Forum Foundation repeats question to the USTDA as to what is being done to prevent US funds from being used by the Moroccan government in Western Sahara.
Arriving first week of November.
An Australian fertilizer firm has announced a phasing out of phosphate imports from occupied Western Sahara. Norwatch recently wrote that the Norwegian Government’s pension fund was part owner in the company’s mother firm, Wesfarmers. Norwatch, 23 October 2009.
As the unemployed 32 year old Abdellah El Boukzati demonstrated against the plundering of Western Sahara, Moroccan police intervened.
In this video, recorded 28 september 2009, the former Spanish prime minister Felipe Gonzalez, claims that there is currently no plunder of Western Sahara - since there is "no economic activity" taking place there. He also claims that the area used to be part of Morocco before the occupation in 1975.
The two Irish oil companies that are looking for oil in occupied Western Sahara are about to merge. The firms are undermining international law.
In a statement last week, the EU Commission again omitted a central point from the UN opinion on natural resources in Western Sahara : the Sahrawis’ wishes.
At the UN Fourth Committee on Decolonization held in New York on 6-12 October, WSRW called for the United Nations to send a Mission of Observation to Western Sahara, to monitor the natural resource exploitation from the territory.
The fertiliser producer Incitec Pivot states in Australian Farm Journal that they are fully dependent on phosphate from occupied Western Sahara.
The Norwegian Government Pension Fund has invested billions of Norwegian kroners in companies that participate in the plunder of Western Sahara. An examination carried out by Norwatch shows that Pension Fund companies are behind two-thirds of all phosphate purchases in the occupied country. Norwatch, 06 October 2009.
The Norwegian seismic services company PGS has entered in on the ownership side of the Irish oil company San Leon Energy. The funds placed by PGS will help enable increased oil exploration in occupied Western Sahara.
From 1999 till today, Moroccan authorities have massively opened for oil exploration in occupied Western Sahara.