The European Court of Justice has this morning ordered the annulment of a trade agreement between Morocco and the European Union since it includes the territory of Western Sahara. "A landmark decision in the history of the occupation of Western Sahara", states WSRW. Press conference in Brussels, Friday.
Former UN officials and Danish civil society strongly critical to the plans of Vestas to bid for controversial energy projects in occupied Western Sahara.
At the occasion of the 40th anniversary of Morocco’s invasion into Western Sahara, the Moroccan king delivered a speech that leaves no doubt about his colonial intentions. Major lucrative projects are planned, and those who oppose them “will have to assume the responsibilities for their decisions”.
WSRW has received images of fish being dumped in the desert near the town of Dakhla to hide over-fishing. The pictures were taken two days ago.
WSRW has received footage of Saharawis protesting in front of digging machines, supposedly owned by the Moroccan state owned phosphate company OCP. The Saharawis claim that Morocco is confiscating their land to allow more foreign investments in the occupied territory.
In refering the case on the questionable legality of UK imports from Western Saharan products to the European Court of Justice, the UK Judge stated that "there is an arguable case of a manifest error by the [European] Commission in understanding and applying international law relevant to these agreements.”
... and finds the ongoing exploration and exploitation of the territory's resources in violation of international law.
A UN Treaty Body has, for the first time, issued a set of strong recommendations pertaining to Western Sahara while reviewing Morocco's compliance with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
LATEST (16.10.2015): Morocco rejects UN recommendations.
Massive numbers of Saharawi refugees gathered last weekend to send a clear message to Irish oil company San Leon Energy which is looking for oil in their occupied homeland: "San Leon: go home". Find high resolution footage of the protest, free of charge.
The journal Global Change, Peace & Security last week published a series of articles on natural resources in Western Sahara.