US president Donald Trump issued a statement today in which he backs Morocco's occupation of Western Sahara and the opening of a consulate in Dakhla, "to promote economic and business opportunities".
Outgoing US President Donald Trump on 10 December, on Human Rights Day, recognised Morocco's untenable claim to occupied Western Sahara, in return for Morocco normalising relations with Israel. Find the proclamation here.
The statement also stipulates that "the United States will encourage economic and social development with Morocco, including in the Western Sahara territory, and to that end will open a consulate in the Western Sahara territory, in Dakhla, to promote economic and business opportunities for the region."
The town of Dakhla is the location where a US bitoin mining company will establish a large energy project next year. Some agriculture products are allegedly also exported from the unsustainable greenhouses in the desert near Dakhla to North America.
"It is not for Donald Trump to decide the status of Western Sahara. International law has determined that this is the prerogative of the people of Western Sahara", says Sylvia Valentin, Chair of WSRW. "US recognition of Morocco's illegal occupation of Western Sahara does not make the occupation legal."
In response to the US move, the spokesperson of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres noted in a press briefing today that "Our stand on Western Sahara is unchanged".
The move marks a departure from longstanding US policy, which did not formally recognise Morocco's claim to the territory.
The US Trade Representative stated for instance in 2004 that the US-Morocco Free Trade Agreement does not include Western Sahara, since "The United States [...] do not recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara
One of the richest coastlines in the world
The fish stocks of occupied Western Sahara have not only attracted the interest of the Moroccan fleet: other foreign interests are also fishing in the occupied waters through arrangements with Moroccan counterparts. Along the Western Saharan coastline, a processing industry has emerged.
The CJEU Court Cases
Keeping track of the many legal proceedings relating to Western Sahara is not easy. This page offers an overview of the cases concerning the territory that have been before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).
Tūhana human rights advisors ignore human rights
A consultancy hired to assess phosphate imports from occupied Western Sahara into New Zealand concludes there is no problem.
MEPs push back on Commission over Western Sahara in EU–Morocco trade
MEPs from across the political spectrum sharply criticised the European Commission over its handling of EU-Morocco trade relations covering occupied Western Sahara, raising concerns over legality, transparency and an apparent disregard for Parliament’s role.