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Since the EU won't ask them, Saharawi groups have once again been left with no other choice than to contact EU institutions themselves to indicate they do not want the EU-Morocco Fisheries Agreement applied to their waters.

Published 06 February 2019
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As the European Parliament shapes up to vote on including occupied Western Sahara into the EU-Morocco fisheries agreement, the newly published Freedom in the World report by Freedom House categorises the territory as the seventh most repressive human rights place on the planet.

Published 06 February 2019
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The Norwegian vessel that turned 180 degrees upon arriving South African waters with fish from occupied Western Sahara, has spent the last two days discharging its cargo in the port of Abidjan. An international request for detaining the vessel was sent out to African states.

Published 04 February 2019
A young Saharawi tea merchant has today died after having set himself on fire three days ago. His self-immolation was reportedly in protest of Morocco's economic restrictions imposed on Saharawis living under the yoke of Morocco's occupation of their homeland.
Published 04 February 2019
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Agricultural groups in Spain strongly criticize the European Parliament's support for extending EU-Morocco trade relations into Western Sahara, stating that it harms the interests of the EU's own fruit and vegetable farmers.

Published 31 January 2019
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"You may have access to paragraphs 1 to 3 including footnotes 1 to 7". The EU Council replied to WSRW's request for public access to its legal opinion on including Western Sahara in the new EU-Morocco fisheries agreement.

Published 30 January 2019
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Nutrien - until now the biggest importer of phosphate rock from Western Sahara - has ended its trade. But what about the stock-exchange registered Sinofert Holdings in which they are the second biggest owner?

Published 27 January 2019
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Only hours after Green Glacier this afternoon arrived Cape Town with a probable cargo of frozen fish from Western Sahara - it started on the 1 week trip back to West Africa without having offloaded any of its controversial cargo.

Published 25 January 2019
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The Canadian company Wolverine last month completed the take-over of Petromaroc, the small company with interest on the Zag block in occupied Western Sahara

Published 23 January 2019
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A Norwegian vessel that is likely transporting frozen fish from occupied Western Sahara could be on thin ice. In three days from now, 'Green Glacier' will enter South African waters - the jurisdiction that detained a stolen cargo from Western Sahara in 2017.

Published 23 January 2019
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The deal will is now tabled for a final vote in the Parliament's plenary session of 13 February.

Published 23 January 2019
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The Indian company Coromandel Fertiliser Ltd last week for the first time acquired phosphate rock from occupied Western Sahara.

Published 21 January 2019

The national liberation movement of Western Sahara, Frente Polisario, sent out a press release after the vote in the European Parliament of 16 January 2019 regarding a new trade agreement that covers occupied territory.

Published 17 January 2019

The European Parliament today approved a new EU-Morocco trade agreement for Western Sahara, without having asked the people of Western Sahara whether they want it. "A sad day for democracy and those who believe in rule of law", WSRW comments.

Published 16 January 2019
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The leading MEP on the proposal to extend EU-Morocco trade relations into occupied Western Sahara wants a legal opinion to be certain the proposed Western Sahara trade scheme meets the standards of the highest EU Court. The European Parliament is to vote this afternoon.

Published 16 January 2019

Today, 444 (!) members of the European Parliament decided to ignore the EU case law and vote to include occupied Western Sahara into a trade agreement With Morocco. See here which parliamentarians who voted for this travesty of justice, and whom tried to prevent it.

Published 16 January 2019

WSRW got access to a release sent out to international media by Western Sahara's liberation movement.

Published 15 January 2019

The leading MEP on the controversial Western Sahara trade file has introduced a last minute extra vote on UN consultations and the deal's potential effects on the UN-led peace process.

Published 15 January 2019
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A proposal to undo the ALDE push of removing a debate on Western Sahara trade from the European Parliament's agenda was lost by a narrow margin. These are the 153 parliamentarians who prevented a public discussion on the issue of extending EU-Moroccan trade into occupied Western Sahara.

Published 14 January 2019
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The French multinational ENGIE operates in occupied Western Sahara. WSRW today wrote the company, asking how they consider the legal-ethical aspects of such operations.

Published 11 January 2019
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97 Saharawi civil society groups have, again, reminded the EU Commission and the European Parliament that the people of Western Sahara have never consented to, nor approve of, the extension of the EU-Morocco trade deal into their occupied homeland that is up for Parliamentary vote next week. Read their full letter here.

Published 11 January 2019
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In 2015 and 2017, the Norwegian shipping company Spar Shipping transported two large cargos of phosphate rock from occupied Western Sahara to India. The company announced today that further trade from the territory is out of the question.

Published 11 January 2019
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The proposed trade scheme for occupied Western Sahara denies EU consumers the right to know the true origin of covered products, just like it failed the right of the people of Western Sahara to decide whether they wanted the deal in the first place.

Published 10 January 2019
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As the European Parliament prepares to vote on the extension of the EU-Morocco trade deal into occupied Western Sahara, WSRW calls on newly appointed Rapporteur Marietje Schaake to save her and the Parliament s reputation by suspending the procedure and starting over from scratch.

Published 07 January 2019