In 2010, the Dutch company Fugro promised to never again undertake operations in occupied Western Sahara. On Christmas Eve 2019, their vessels returned.

Next month, Spain’s human rights track record will be reviewed by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. WSRW asks UN Member States to raise the rights of the people of Western Sahara, for whom Spain continues to bear responsibility.
 

A Japanese-Canadian vessel that transported conflict phosphate from occupied Western Sahara was yesterday received by a floating protest in New Zealand. 
 

The construction work on the controversial beach of Mogán in Gran Canary started 2 December.

This morning, the New Zealand Rail and Maritime Transport Union issued a statement saying that they will "consider our options around refusing to berth the ship" if phosphate importer Ravensdown does not allow port workers to register their protest with the captain of the ship.

For the second time in less than two months’ time, the very same oil tanker has made the direct voyage from occupied Western Sahara to the port of Rotterdam. The Dutch government clarifies the content of the ship.

The bay of Mogán at Gran Canary Island will next week be covered in conflict sand from occupied Western Sahara.

With the operationalization of the Paris Agreement as key-point on the agenda of COP25, will the UN Climate Change Conference finally clarify whether States can help combat climate change by violating the Geneva Convention and the UN Charter?

The 300 MW farm is the first of the two wind farms that Italian company Enel Green Power and Germany's Siemens will build together on occupied land. Construction starts in 2021.

Ravensdown is "risking potentially disruptive direct action by refusing to allow port workers to register their protest at the importing of Blood Phosphate from the Western Sahara", says the New Zealand Rail and Maritime Transport Union.

The former Legal Counsel to the UN Security Counsel, Mr. Hans Corell, comments on the EU's fisheries activities in Western Sahara.

Polisario Front has announced its intention to subscribe to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) - a global standard for good governance of oil, gas and mineral resources.

Turkey has become the leading importer of fishmeal from occupied Western Sahara. The aquaculture company Gümüşdoğa turns the meal into valuable fisheries products for the European market.

A French-Norwegian seismic survey vessel has entered Saharawi waters four times. The company behind the exploration blames its Dutch client.

The UK company GeoEx is now trying to sell the seismic data it collected of the seafloor of occupied Western Sahara. WSRW warns possible clients to stay away.

WSRW has reason to assume that a shipment of fish oil from occupied Western Sahara was discharged this afternoon in the Netherlands.

Tenders are expected to be launched before the end of the year.

And another vessel is on its way.

The representative organisation of Spain's farming sector, COAG, cautions that Morocco is working to increase agricultural exports from occupied Western Sahara into the European Union.

German and Irish law organisations demand that Messe Berlin ceases to accept the controversial French tomato producer Azura.

Protesters blocked two trucks at Ravensdown's plants and approached New Zealand's Prime Minister on the country's dependency on illegally exploited conflict minerals from occupied Western Sahara.

Protesters target Ravensdown over its continued purchases of illegally exploited phosphate rock from the last colony in Africa: occupied Western Sahara.

The Swedish industrial group that in recent years has refused to answer questions on its participation in Morocco's phosphate plunder in Western Sahara now claims the exploitation of the conflict mineral is legal.

Are you casting your vote for the EU elections? Find here a complete overview of MEP candidates who have supported the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara in previous controversial votes. Choose wisely.
 

The Bremen port authorities have now confirmed WSRW’s hypothesis that a shipment of fishmeal from Western Sahara arrived in Bremen (Germany) two weeks ago – though they erroneously locate the town of origin, El Aaiun, in “Morocco”.

When requesting answers on human rights from HeidelbergCement with regard to its operations in occupied Western Sahara, Saharawi Khadja Bedati was told that the company "deliberately makes social sponsoring of various sports clubs".

On Tuesday, a cargo vessel arrived at the port of Bremen with a new probable cargo of conflict meal.

Incentivized by Morocco's plans to construct another port to accommodate its exports of conflict minerals from occupied Western Sahara, port construction firm Archirodon Group NV opens a subsidiary in the last colony of Africa.

At last week's annual meeting, the German company Continental failed to answer questions relating to the firm's controversial agreement in occupied Western Sahara.

The representation of the people of Western Sahara has today initiated legal proceedings against the EU Council over their decision to conclude a trade agreement for occupied Western Sahara with Morocco.

The New Zealand farmer cooperative Ravensown is one of the main importers of phosphate rock from occupied Western Sahara.

Morocco shipped 1.93 million tonnes of phosphate out of occupied Western Sahara in 2018, worth an estimated $164 million, new report shows. Here is all you need to know about the volume, values, vessels and clients.

The UK Court has concluded that the UK government has acted unlawfully in granting preferential tariff treatment to products from Western Sahara through a deal with Morocco, and in granting fisheries quota's for fishing in Western Sahara under a fish deal with Morocco.

The contract of German manufacturing giant Continental AG for the Bou Craa mine expires in 15 months from now.

OCP, Morocco's state-owned phosphate company which exploits the phosphate reserves of occupied Western Sahara, is registered on both the Irish Stock Exchange and on the Casablanca Stock Exchange. As such, it regularly submits Prospectuses, a detailed overview of activites for investors. Find OCP's publicly available Prospectuses here.

Polisario has a case, but it should be pursued when the time is right, Court implies.

415 MEPs supported the new EU-Morocco Fisheries Partnership Agreement that will be applied expressly to occupied Western Sahara. Find out who they are, here.

The imports of fishmeal into Germany from occupied Western Sahara is a lot larger than what has been known to the public so far, according to fresh data from the Bremen government.

Notwithstanding four consecutive rulings of the EU's highest Court calling such a practice illegal, the European Parliament has just now voted in favour of the EU-Morocco Fisheries Agreement that will be applied to the waters of occupied Western Sahara.

The Government of New Zealand has requested that the two local companies importing phosphate rock from Western Sahara source their raw materials from elsewhere than the occupied territory.

In its letter to the European Parliament, the leading international human rights NGO highlights the need for an opinion of the EU Court of Justice on applying the EU-Morocco Fisheries Agreement to a territory that is under occupation.

An unprecedented number of Euro-Parliamentarians have backed a proposal to refer the proposed EU-Morocco Fisheries Agreement - which will be expressly applied to occupied Western Sahara - to the EU Court of Justice.

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.

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.

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.

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.

"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.

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?

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.

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

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

From the end of this year, 2 of 3 global importers of Western Sahara's controversial conflict minerals are from New Zealand. This week, locals protested in the city of Dunedin.

A sad Human Rights day for the Saharawi people. Just hours after the resignation of the leading MEP, the European Parliament's International Trade Committee backed extending EU-Morocco trade to occupied Western Sahara.

According to the EU Council, it cannot make public a legal opinion on a future EU-Morocco trade deal in occupied Western Sahara as that would "carry the risk compromising the capacity of reaching an agreement on the dossier".

Amid investigations into potential breach of code of conduct due to her membership on the Board of pro-Morocco lobby group, MEP Patricia Lalonde resigned today as the European Parliament's rapporteur on the proposed extension of the EU-Morocco trade deal into occupied Western Sahara.

The global match-maker of private accommodation has delisted providers in Israeli settlements and Crimea, but seem to apply different standards to similar situations of occupation. Saharawis object.

95% of the energy needed by Morocco to plunder the phosphates of Western Sahara is delivered via SiemensGamesa windmills. The company has now prolonged its service contract for the controversial windmills for another 15 years, while continuing to refuse to comment on Saharawi consent.

The EU Ministers for Competitiveness have discretely approved the proposed EU-Morocco fish deal, that is intended to apply to occupied Western Sahara. Sweden was the only Member State to oppose, citing the lack of consent of the people of Western Sahara.

BREAKING: the Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled that the EU-Morocco Aviation Agreement does not apply to Western Sahara.

Changes could soon take place in the ownership of a controversial oil block in occupied Western Sahara. New player: Wolverine Energy and Infrastructure from Canada.

A letter signed by 95 Saharawi civil society organisations appeals to the EU Parliament and Council "to prevent EU plundering of a people's fish in Western Sahara".

The UK-French company Vigeo Eiris certified and defended a Moroccan-Saudi energy project in occupied Western Sahara. WSRW calls on the board to engage on the matter.

The Ambassadors of the EU Member States have just now voted in favour of the proposed EU-Morocco Fisheries Agreement and Protocol, that is intended to apply to occupied Western Sahara. A final vote by the EU's Fisheries Ministers is imminent.

The EU's Foreign Affairs branch claims to Member States and the European Parliament that the Western Sahara liberation movement does not want to meet to discuss a new EU-Moroccan fisheries agreement in Western Sahara. Polisario uttered its deep frustration over this misrepresentation in a letter to the EEAS.

Major conflict of interest arises following revelations that the European Parliament's rapporteur on the Western Sahara trade file is Board Member of a pro-Morocco lobby group.

Saharawi refugees protested against the Swiss-Swedish company's contract for the Moroccan government on occupied land.

Previous confidential EU legal opinions on trade with and fisheries in occupied Western Sahara were later found to be wrong by the EU Court of Justice. WSRW has today requested the EU Council to publish the current legal documents.

While the EU Member States have not yet concluded on the newly proposed EU-Morocco fisheries agreement for waters offshore occupied Western Sahara, the Commission is already pushing the European Parliament to get to work.

The Swiss-Swedish technological giant ABB got contracted to build the infrastructure that is set to connect a new wind farm in occupied Western Sahara to Morocco's national electricity grid.

The text of the new EU-Morocco Fisheries Partnership Agreement - which includes Western Sahara in its geographic scope but has been negotiated exclusively between the EU and Morocco - has now been presented to the European Parliament for approval.

WSRW challenges these 23 MEPs to read the Opinion they favoured, and come up with one solid argument to back up their vote. The 23 suggest including occupied Western Sahara in a trade agreement with Morocco.

The Moroccan government is now using all possible arguments to pull individual Euro-parliamentarians in their direction. At stake: the extension of a new EU-Morocco trade agreement to the territory it holds under occupation.

Members of the European Parliament request more clarity before voting on the Commission's proposed trade deal for Western Sahara. Meanwhile, 93 Western Sahara civil society groups lament the Parliament rapporteur's lack of diligence on the file.

During the business summit set up by the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Morocco (CFCIM) in occupied Western Sahara, French companies could sign contracts on the spot – “putting them at risk of financial and reputational damages”, says WSRW.

A briefing distributed by Moroccan officials in the corridors of the European Parliament claims, among other things, that “signing an agreement with the EU that does not include the Sahara, would be perceived as an implicit recognition of Morocco’s non-sovereignty over this territory”.

WSRW has asked the EU Commission to clarify how the application of its proposed trade deal for Western Sahara to only the Moroccan-occupied part of the territory, is in line with its duty to respect territorial integrity.

The Irish organisation GLAN today filed a complaint against the Irish/UK oil company San Leon Energy for violating the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.