The Turkish vessel Yasa Gulten is soon to arrive New Zealand with phosphates from occupied Western Sahara. It will be the second time in less than a year.
The news that Irish oil firms Island Oil & Gas, Longreach and San Leon have obtained a full exploration licence for an area near occupied Smara, has triggered a response from the native inhabitants of the territory. And it\'s not a welcoming one.
Both San Leon and Island Oil & Gas have announced that the Zag Reconnaissance Licence has been upgraded to a full Exploration Licence. The Zag basin is located near Smara, occupied Western Sahara.
While under peace talks, Morocco is speeding up its plans for illegal oil search in occupied Western Sahara. The provocation has led Polisario to protest Morocco's actions to the UN Security Council. Read letter dated 6 July 2009 here.
Australian agribusiness magazine Landmark in its latest issue elaborates on the world depleting phosphates deposits, and Australia's dependency on phosphate rock from occupied Western Sahara.
WSRW, together with Dr. Werner Ruf, professor for international relations at University of Kassel, demand that the German shipping company stops future shipments from Western Sahara.
1 July 2009, Sweden will take on the presidency of the European Council. Western Sahara Resource Watch urges in a letter today the Swedish government to raise the issue of the legality of the EU-Moroccco fisheries agreement.
2 vessels, one Spanish and one Cape Verdean, have been detained by the Moroccan coastguard after illegal fishing in Western Sahara.
Up to 524 square kilometres of Island Oil and Gas acreage are missing in Western Sahara/Morocco.
Irish oil firms will explore for oil in the Smara area in complete violation of international law.
The oil tanker Purple Gem is said to have carried a Saharawi flag upon entering the port of El Aaiun this week. Then the Moroccan police intervened.
Email sent from WSRW Florida to Mosaic Co, 12 June 2009.
Press release from the Western Sahara Campaign UK today, announces that a delegation of MP’s, High Commissioners and representatives of the exiled Western Saharan government today will go to 10 Downing Street to call on the British government to take the lead in resolving the Western Sahara conflict.
In 2005, USTDA stated that it "has not and would not support any activities in Western Sahara”. On 4 June 2009, Western Sahara Resource Watch and the US based Defense Forum Foundation sent a letter to the agency asking how this policy will be followed, considering the grants which are now being given to infrastructure projects for Morocccan fisheries. WSRW points to the fact that most of the Moroccan fisheries is taking place in Western Sahara.
"Future MEPs from Europe Ecologie will work to put an end to the natural resources plundering of Western Sahara", stated the French party in a letter to WSRW. Europe Ecologie is France\'s third largest political party in front of the European Elections on June 7th.
"During the preparatory work on the agreement, which was decided through qualified vote, Finland and certain other states, pointed to the fact than the Western Sahara territorial waters not had specifically been excluded from the agreement’s area of application. Also for years to come, Finland finds it important that international law be respected upon the exploitation of natural resources in Western Sahara", stated Finland's minister of Foreign Affairs in Finnish parliament, 8 May 2009.
Refugees from Western Sahara demonstrated this week against a Norwegian company which is fishing in the country’s waters. According to the Norwegian Support Committee for Western Sahara, the company is violating international law.
The Norwegian investor KLP has today announced that they have kicked out the Australian firm Incitec Pivot from its funds. The company imports phosphate rock from Western Sahara, which is occupied by Morocco. Norwatch, 2 June 2009.
Find here details on the articles published as part of the Ifremer-Total studies in Dakhla, Western Sahara.
Sahrawi refugees on the Canary Islands on 27 May demonstrated against a Norwegian fishing vessel which was docked in Las Palmas harbour.
Western Sahara Resource Watch demands Murmansk Trawl Fleet to immediate terminate fisheries in occupied Western Sahara.
Western Sahara Resource Watch demanded in a letter on 19 March 2009 to the scientific journal Tectonophysics, that research done by a PhD student at the Norwegian Geological Survey should not be published. The geological research in occupied Western Sahara is done in cooperation with Moroccan oil authorities, but without the consent of the Sahrawi people.
A research fellow attached to the Norwegian Geological Survey has been working on an oil research project in the occupied Western Sahara. Western Sahara Resource Watch requests that a scientific geological journal temporarily suspend further publication of her research data. The research institute is itself sceptical of the research project.
Sahrawi student Senia Bachir Abderahman asks Washington lawfirm Covington & Burling to tell her how they can claim phosphate plunder in occupied Western Sahara is to the benefit of the Sahrawis.
The Norwegian seismic company Fugro-Geoteam has completed its controversial exploration offshore occupied Western Sahara. Their employer’s plans to become established on the Canary Islands have aroused strong reactions. Norwatch, 15 April 2009.
The Danish organisation Afrika Kontakt demands that the Danish government do not support Morocco's occupation through the EU cooperation.
The US lawfirm Covington & Burling helps Morocco in the illegal plunder of phosphates from occupied Western Sahara. The Sahrawi student Senia Bachir Abderahman is trying to get answers from the lawfirm as to how they can defend the plunder of her homeland.
Western Sahara Resource Watch today sent letter to the members of the UN Security Council, requesting them to demand a halt of plundering of occupied Western Sahara.
On 8th April 2008, Polisario sent a letter to the Security Council protesting the plundering of Western Sahara. The letter has now been published as an official document of both the General Assembly (A/63/871) and the Security Council (S/2009/198).
Is an oil war about to erupt in the middle of the Atlantic, with the Canary Islands embroiled right in the middle of the conflict? Tenerife News, 16 April 2009.
In January, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic claimed their Exclusive Economic Zone offshore Western Sahara. Here is the SADR legislation.
The company Prospectiuni from Romania are specialists on geological surveys.
A Thai owned, Danish operated vessel has recently arrived Colombia with phosphates from occupied Western Sahara.
The Swedish tour operator Ving has removed information from their homepages claiming that the occupation of Western Sahara in 1975 took place in a peaceful manner.
Statement from Western Sahara Resource Watch, 24 March 2009.
The Norwegian Council for Africa wrote in February about the shipping company Atlantic RTI which transported fish from occupied Western Sahara. The company now says they will prevent their vessels from being used for such purposes in the future.
Faroe Islands national TV ran the Sahrawi demonstration against oil industry in Western Sahara as main story on its evening news 17 March 2009.
France Libertés: Fondation Danielle Mitterrand - an NGO with special consultative status in the Human Rights Council - has submitted a written statement to the council denouncing the plundering of Western Sahara.
Sahrawi refugees on the Canary Islands yesterday protested against the Norwegian oil search in occupied Western Sahara. They demanded that the project be stopped.
For a few days more you will still find tomatoes from occupied Western Sahara on the vegetable counters of the Norwegian grocery store Coop. On Wednesday they stopped the controversial import. Norwatch, 11 March 2009.
Morocco has hired key lobbyists in the US to promote its illegal phosphate sales. While selling legitimate phosphate from Morocco, their government owned phosphate company OCP also exports phosphate from occupied Western Sahara to the US. Such trade is in violation of international law.
Norwegian Council for Africa: When The Norwegian Council for Africa visited occupied Western Sahara between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, we photographed a freighter that later turned out to be Norwegian. The shipping company Atlantic RTI confirmed the fish transport and said they dislike that their ship has been utilised in the occupied area.
BASF is member of UN\'s corporate social responsibility initiative Global Compact. But to Inner City Press, the company still refuses to disclose their "expert opinion" as to why they believe their imports of phosphates from occupied Western Sahara is legal. See video from the UN.
Former chairman of the Nobel Committee, and yesterday’s laureate of Student Peace Prize 2009 criticise the Norwegian-Dutch involvement in oil search in occupied Western Sahara.
The Nordic Committee of Co-operating Social Democratic Youth Organisations (FNSU), consisting of organisations from all the Nordic and Baltic countries, demands renegotiation of EU-Morocco fisheries agreement to exclude occupied Western Sahara.
The Irish oil company Island Oil and Gas - and their partners in San Leon - today announced their intention to upgrade their licence in occupied Western Sahara from a frontier licence to an exploration licence.
"WSRW believes it is time for the Saharawi people to settle the question of how they wish to be governed through the referendum which the UN calls for. Then it will be clear to companies with whom to deal", writes WSRW in letters to the editor in the petroleum journals Upstream and Petroleum Africa.
Fertilizer producer Yara receives critisicm in Norway for its 2008 phosphate purchase from occupied Western Sahara. The company answers they hope Western Sahara "will be liberated one day, and then the inhabitants will benefit if we can receive their phosphate quickly".
The Ministry of Trade and Industry knew about the transaction but did not try to stop the import of phosphate from Western Sahara. Norway may have broken international law.
The vessel Ennerdale with link to El Aaiún, 2008.
Download Afroil, 20 January 2009, covering the oil industry in Western Sahara.
The government of the Faroe Islands supports the Western Sahara people\'s right to self-determination over its natural resources.
Irishmen Bryan Benitz and and Paul Griffiths are leading a company that is planning to profit from an occupation.
Morocco has apparently launched a big onshore exploration programme in Western Sahara.
LONDON, Jan 22 (Reuters) - The Western Sahara independence movement Polisario said on Thursday the European Union must stop boats fishing off the disputed territory's coast and announced a legal framework to back up its claim to the area's resources.
Uranium, diamonds, gold, niobium. ONHYM's mining programme in southern parts of occupied Western Sahara is speeding up. See where their projects are here.
WESTERN Sahara's Petroleum Authority has accused Kosmos Energy of violating international law by awarding Fugro-Geoteam a contract for a major seismic survey in Morocco's Southern Provinces, writes Barry Morgan. Upstream, 23 January 2009.
Western Sahara Resource Watch demands that Fugro-Geoteam terminate their profoundly unethical activities, and immediately withdraw their vessel "Geo Caribbean" from the Western Saharan waters. Fugro works in occupied Western Sahara on behalf of Moroccan authorities. Read open letter to Fugro, 12 January 2009.
A huge Norwegian research vessel has in secret travelled to the coast of occupied Western Sahara. This weekend the Norwegian company Fugro-Geoteam started a controversial operation to carry out oil exploration, in defiance of the advice of the UN and the Norwegian government. Norwatch, 12 January 2009.
From this port, in El Aaiun, Western Sahara, the international phosphate plundering is taken place.
Gas tanker 'Lingegas' has visited occupied Western Sahara.