• Morocco has demanded that Israel recognise its sovereignty over the disputed territory of Western Sahara before Rabat opens an embassy in Tel Aviv, the news outlet Axios has reported, citing four current and former Israeli officials involved in the matter. (vifindia.org)
  • On December 10, 2020, the Donald Trump administration in the US announced that "the United States recognizes Moroccan sovereignty over the entire Western Sahara territory. (atlasofwars.com)
  • Arguing that "an independent Sahrawi State is not a realistic option for resolving the conflict," the US declared that autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty is "the only basis for a just and lasting solution to the dispute. (atlasofwars.com)
  • Former colonizer of the territory, Spain, which had handed over the territory of Western Sahara to the invading Moroccan forces in 1975, once again in March 2022 rescinded recognition of SADR and accepted Morocco's claim of sovereignty over the territory. (atlasofwars.com)
  • The Trump administration as part of this so-called Abraham Accords bought off Morocco by supporting Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara," said Mr. Fletcher. (finalcall.com)
  • Sahara since 1975. (lu.se)
  • Once colonized as the Spanish Sahara, the area has been in dispute since Spain relinquished it in 1975. (finalcall.com)
  • The Polisario has engaged an armed independence struggle against Morocco from 1975 until a United Nations brokered ceasefire was reached in 1991. (finalcall.com)
  • In 1991, a truce was negotiated with the promise on a referendum on the right to self-determination of Western Saharan inhabitants, the Sahrawi. (lu.se)
  • The Sahrawi have little access to these resources, as many of the workers are Moroccan citizens who immigrated to Western Sahara to work in the industries. (iijd.org)
  • The Sahrawi have no control over the natural resources and the commerce from those resources in the Moroccan occupied territory. (iijd.org)
  • The Moroccan government controls the entirety of the coastline, preventing many Sahrawi from fishing, a lucrative industry. (iijd.org)
  • Moroccan controlled mines employ predominantly Moroccan employees, take phosphorus belonging to the Sahrawi and sell it to foreign companies under the Moroccan name. (iijd.org)
  • The report noted that in the Moroccan territory, "the Sahrawi people are not only denied their right to self-determination, but equally are severely restricted from exercising a series of other rights. (iijd.org)
  • Fighting between the Sahrawi People's Liberation Army and Moroccan occupying forces has intensified in the last days of 2022. (atlasofwars.com)
  • Morocco, Western Sahara - M oroccan forces illegally occupying the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) have come under repeated bombardment by the Sahrawi People's Liberation Army (SPLA) . (atlasofwars.com)
  • It separates the areas occupied by Morocco on the coast-side from the inland territory that is under the control of the Polisario Front (PF), recognized by the UN General Assembly as the Sahrawi people's international representative. (atlasofwars.com)
  • The ceasefire broke down after Moroccan troops crossed the berm to forcibly remove unarmed and peaceful Sahrawi protesters who were blocking an illegal Moroccan road to Mauritania through their territory. (atlasofwars.com)
  • The ceasefire had been secured in August 1991 after the UN Security Council (UNSC) established the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) with the promise of fulfilling the Sahrawi people's right to self-determination. (atlasofwars.com)
  • When Spain left, Morocco laid claim to the area triggering a resistance movement by the indigenous Sahrawi people refusing annexation of their lands. (finalcall.com)
  • In February 1976, the Polisario Front declared Western Sahara to be the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), with the support of allies that included Algeria. (finalcall.com)
  • The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) was proclaimed on 27 February 1976 to fill the legal vacuum in the context of Spain's unfulfilled obligation to lead the territory of Western Sahara to its decolonisation, and the withdrawal of the Spanish administration from the territory. (techsb.ca)
  • To date, large parts of Western Sahara are controlled by the Moroccan Governmentand known as the Southern Provinces, whereas some 20% of the Western Sahara territory remains controlled by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). (techsb.ca)
  • The area 446550km2 excludes all disputed territories, while 710850km2 includes the Moroccan-claimed and partially-controlled parts of Western Sahara (claimed as the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic by the Polisario Front ). (explained.today)
  • Western Sahara Resource Watch (WSRW) is a network organization working on the natural resource situation in Western Sahara. (wikipedia.org)
  • WSRW consists of organizations and campaigners from more than 40 countries researching and campaigning against the companies working in partnership with the Moroccan government in occupied Western Sahara. (wikipedia.org)
  • WSRW works to inform international companies about the UN Legal Opinion and of the ethical aspects of business practice in the territory. (wikipedia.org)
  • WSRW has previously carried out campaigns against the phosphate, oil and fish industries. (wikipedia.org)
  • WSRW asks UN Member States to raise the rights of the people of Western Sahara, for whom Spain continues to bear responsibility. (wsrw.org)
  • WSRW has reason to assume that a shipment of fish oil from occupied Western Sahara was discharged this afternoon in the Netherlands. (wsrw.org)
  • By 2030, half of Morocco's wind energy production could be generated illegally in occupied Western Sahara. (wsrw.org)
  • Since Joe Biden took office in January 2021, the endorsement of Morocco's occupation of Western Sahara has been reiterated. (atlasofwars.com)
  • Additionally, media reports said the deal included an alleged $3 billion investment package for Moroccan banks, hotels and a renewable energy company owned by Morocco's King Mohammed VI, said the New York Times. (finalcall.com)
  • Critics say taking Morocco's side disqualified the U.S. as a credible broker on the Western Sahara issue. (finalcall.com)
  • In the case of Morocco, until Mr. Trump recognized Morocco's illegal land claim, America maintained relations with a noncommittal posture toward the contradiction. (finalcall.com)
  • The former Legal Counsel to the UN Security Counsel, Mr. Hans Corell, comments on the EU's fisheries activities in Western Sahara. (wsrw.org)
  • A hearing in the EU Parliament indicates that there are many questions, and still few answers, on the EU's response to the EU Court ruling annulling bilateral agreements with Morocco over the inclusion of occupied Western Sahara. (wsrw.org)
  • Today, the EU Court of Justice has struck a blow to the EU's practice of applying trade and fisheries agreements with Morocco to occupied Western Sahara. (wsrw.org)
  • The organization also launches campaigns, encouraging multinational companies and governments not to invest and participate in trade in the occupied territories of Western Sahara until a peaceful solution to the conflict has been found. (wikipedia.org)
  • A Japanese-Canadian vessel that transported conflict phosphate from occupied Western Sahara was yesterday received by a floating protest in New Zealand. (wsrw.org)
  • The bay of Mogán at Gran Canary Island will next week be covered in conflict sand from occupied Western Sahara. (wsrw.org)
  • The Swiss-Russian company EuroChem was most likely behind a controversial imports of conflict minerals to Estonia in October. (wsrw.org)
  • No fishing in Western Sahara should take place until the conflict is solved. (fishelsewhere.eu)
  • As President Joseph Biden has been reversing policies of his predecessor, questions are floating about what his administration will do concerning the issue of Western Sahara, a disputed territory in North West Africa where conflict has recently escalated into war. (finalcall.com)
  • The little-known conflict was exacerbated in the final weeks of the Donald Trump administration by an unprecedented decision to recognize a sovereign claim to the territory by the Kingdom of Morocco. (finalcall.com)
  • The Western Sahara faces new hostilities, and the conflict is turning to a resource-based one. (techsb.ca)
  • Whilst most conflict over resources in North Africa are emerging over the scarcity of resources such as water , the Western Sahara conflict has the potential to be revived over the presence of valuable resources such as fisheries and phosphate. (techsb.ca)
  • The judicial activism in a relatively uncharted area in this field, external relations, was analyzed through a qualitative case study of the CJEU case Polisario Front , concerning the application of a EU trade agreement to the non-self-governing territory of Western Sahara. (lu.se)
  • The Polisario Front is the group that has been at war with Morocco over the years for the territory. (finalcall.com)
  • Morocco possesses the "last colony in Africa" with its occupation of the Western Sahara, which it long claimed since 1957 as its southern province. (finalcall.com)
  • A territory lying in North-Western Africa, Western Sahara borders Morocco in the north, Algeria in the north-east, Mauritania in the east and in the south, and its north-western coast borders the Atlantic Ocean. (techsb.ca)
  • Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa . (explained.today)
  • In 2011 the EU parliament terminated the last Fisheries Partnership Agreements with Morocco for the waters of Western Sahara. (wikipedia.org)
  • 1988: The Order of the Minister of Maritime Fisheries and the Merchant Navy No 1154-88 was instituted.This decree sets the minimum market size of the species fished in Moroccan waters. (techsb.ca)
  • Since 2006, the organization has worked to prevent the European Union entering agreements with Morocco covering the territory of Western Sahara, most importantly its Fisheries Partnership Agreements. (wikipedia.org)
  • Yesterday, the EU Court of Justice annulled two EU-Moroccan bilateral agreements. (wsrw.org)
  • The EU Court of Justice will rule on the Union's trade and fisheries agreements with Morocco in occupied Western Sahara on 29 September. (wsrw.org)
  • Following intermittent riots and revolts against colonial rule, in 1956, Morocco regained its independence and reunified. (explained.today)
  • He pointed out that Morocco through strong lobbying efforts has garnered the support of many Democrats including Black lawmakers to certify its illegal occupation of the Western Sahara. (finalcall.com)
  • In lieu of a referendum on self-determination, Spain ceded administrative control of the territory to Morocco and Mauritania, two nations that asserted claims over regions in the occupied territory. (iijd.org)
  • After a war in which the Frente POLISARIO was victorious, Mauritania and the Frente POLISARIO entered into an agreement in which Mauritania renounced all claims over Western Sahara. (iijd.org)
  • This did not change the status of Western Sahara as a non-self-governing territory, and prolonged the referendum. (iijd.org)
  • The Mexican imports of phosphate rock from occupied Western Sahara is picking up pace. (wsrw.org)
  • Agreement, or the Liberalization Agreement, aimed at liberalizing the European imports from Morocco, is also applied to Western Sahara. (lu.se)
  • The Spanish company today, yet again, refers to the territory as part of Morocco. (wsrw.org)
  • The territory in this case is Western Sahara, South of Morocco, who includes the territory as part of its own country. (lu.se)
  • This gave the Frente POLISARIO control over approximately one-third of the territory, leaving Morocco with the other two-thirds. (iijd.org)
  • Resources originating from the territory of Western Sahara are marketed by the Moroccan government as originating from Morocco, and companies wishing to take advantage of the resources present in the territory contract through the Moroccan government or Moroccan businesses. (iijd.org)
  • The SADR controls 20 percent of its territory-mostly barren desert, while 80 percent is controlled by Morocco. (finalcall.com)
  • Morocco also claims Ceuta and Melilla , making up about 22.8km2 more claimed territory. (explained.today)
  • It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to the east , and the disputed territory of Western Sahara to the south . (explained.today)
  • The payoff in exchange was Morocco signing the Abraham Accords of Arab nations normalizing relations with Israel. (finalcall.com)
  • The arms deal with Morocco is compared to the nearly $23.4 billion arms deal the U.S. gave the United Arab Emirates upon its inking the same Accords. (finalcall.com)
  • [15] Centuries of Arab migration to the Maghreb since the 7th century shifted the demographic scope of Morocco. (explained.today)
  • Initiated by the horse show association, the event includes notably the international model and gait show of Arab thoroughbreds, the Moroccan cup of Arab horses' breeders, the 2nd international barb horse championship and the Morocco Royal Tour final. (moroccanembassy.sa)
  • Polisario Front1, the liberation movement of Western Sahara, had fought to claim its independence but failed to do so. (lu.se)
  • Saharawis take part in 2014 conference on self-determination and independence held in Morocco. (finalcall.com)
  • The Sahrawis make up 500,000 people, with 170,000 living in UN administered refugee camps in Algeria and who fled a vicious independence war against Morocco that began in 1976. (finalcall.com)
  • Since independence, Morocco has remained relatively stable. (explained.today)
  • Letter dated 29 January 2002 from the Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, the Legal Counsel, addressed to the President of the Security Council [1] Morocco bans EU fishing vessels amid Western SaharaBBC News 14.12.2011. (wikipedia.org)
  • Somalia's government claimed on Saturday that the Al Shabab extremist group has for the first time asked to open negotiations, amid a military offensive the government has described as "total war. (vifindia.org)
  • 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. (wsrw.org)
  • Turkey has become the leading importer of fishmeal from occupied Western Sahara. (wsrw.org)
  • In 1963, following the passing of the information by Spain, on the basis of Article 73 of the Charter of the United Nations, the UN entered Western Sahara in the list of areas which were not governed independently. (techsb.ca)
  • Mali's junta leader on Friday pardoned all 49 Ivorian soldiers whose arrest in July triggered a bitter diplomatic row, a government spokesman said, just a week after the courts sentenced them. (vifindia.org)
  • The US government's approval of Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara came in exchange for its normalization of diplomatic relations with Israel on the same day. (atlasofwars.com)
  • The 'Alawi dynasty , which rules the country to this day, seized power in 1631, and over the next two centuries expanded diplomatic and commercial relations with the Western world . (explained.today)
  • The organization believes that the occupation of Western Sahara will continue as long as Morocco profits from it. (wikipedia.org)
  • It's a real viable test for democracy," said Linn Washington, an investigative reporter who traveled to Western Sahara. (finalcall.com)
  • They (Morocco) have subverted democracy for all of these decades," Mr. Washington said. (finalcall.com)
  • The region constituting Morocco has been inhabited since the Paleolithic era over 300,000 years ago, and the first Moroccan state was established by Idris I in 788. (explained.today)
  • An EU-Morocco Fisheries Agreement from 2013 would be both politically controversial and in violation of international law. (fishelsewhere.eu)
  • Saharawis in Bilbao, Spain, demonstrated as a cargo vessel is arriving to pick up more controversial windmill components for occupied Western Sahara. (wsrw.org)
  • Morocco controls two-thirds of Western Sahara including the entire coastline. (iijd.org)
  • The aquaculture company Gümüşdoğa turns the meal into valuable fisheries products for the European market. (wsrw.org)
  • In a move that surprised no one, the EU Council has appealed the recent EU Court of Justice stopping EU trade and fisheries in occupied Western Sahara. (wsrw.org)
  • The Chinese company China Molybdenum - which imported phosphate rock to its subsidiary in Brazil - will no longer purchase phosphate rock from occupied Western Sahara. (wsrw.org)
  • A subsidiary of the US company has signed a contract with the Moroccan king's energy firm for a large wind farm in Western Sahara, consistently referring to the location as part of Morocco. (wsrw.org)
  • What this means is that cherry tomatoes from Western Sahara can be sold at the European market labeled as originating from Morocco. (lu.se)
  • Morocco maintains the position that it has the legal right to control Western Sahara, and currently controls not only the government, but the natural resources as well. (iijd.org)
  • Western Sahara is an area rich in natural resources. (iijd.org)
  • Morocco currently controls the majority of Western Sahara's natural resources in the form of fisheries, phosphates and iron ore, and other resources. (iijd.org)
  • The occupying power has received key gestures of support from Western powers since fighting resumed, which many argue has emboldened it even further. (atlasofwars.com)
  • Moroccan forces continued "their savagery and violence," while Sahrawis "were forced by the international community to wait for nothing. (atlasofwars.com)
  • Speaking to The Final Call from Spain, Mr. Said argued, the U.S. has no rights to the Western Sahara to make it a part of any deal. (finalcall.com)
  • The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights investigated the human rights situation in Western Sahara in 2006. (iijd.org)
  • Western Sahara human rights activist Aminatou Haidar hopes for increased attention to the EU plundering of occupied Western Sahara. (fishelsewhere.eu)
  • 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. (wsrw.org)
  • Morocco also claims the Spanish exclaves of Ceuta , Melilla and Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera , and several small Spanish-controlled islands off its coast. (explained.today)
  • French and the Moroccan dialect of Arabic are also widely spoken. (explained.today)
  • HM the King also followed equestrian shows by French duo Fréderic Pignon and Magalie Delgado (singing and dancing with horses), French company Jehol (Cossak acrobatics) and Portuguese horseman Luis Valenca (Royal Carrousel). (moroccanembassy.sa)
  • The Italian company Enel is one of the firms that have taken the exact same approach as the EU when carrying out 'stakeholder consultations' in Western Sahara - a procedure now found invalid by the EU Court of Justice. (wsrw.org)
  • The Marinid and Saadi dynasties otherwise resisted foreign domination, and Morocco was the only North African nation to escape Ottoman dominion. (explained.today)
  • The Dec. 10 decision came weeks into the military action spurned by a Moroccan cease-fire violation. (finalcall.com)
  • 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. (wsrw.org)