• 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)
  • Sahrawis [indigenous Western Saharans] are standing on the sidelines of this project, waving their arms and telling companies to stop doing this on behalf of the Moroccan government. (ipsnews.net)
  • The Polisario Front, a political group of indigenous Sahrawis, wants independence. (prwatch.org)
  • The North African neighbours have been locked in a bitter rivalry for decades over the disputed territory of Western Sahara, which was a Spanish colony until 1975. (mailerlite.com)
  • 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 October 1975, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) rejected claims from Morocco and Mauritania regarding their alleged sovereignty over the territory. (regjeringen.no)
  • Western Sahara is a United Nations designated non-self-governing territory that has been subject to an occupation by Morocco since it invaded in 1975. (middleeasteye.net)
  • The Moroccan occupation of most of SADR's territory since 1975 has been receiving increasing Western support, despite a consensus in international law that Morocco has no legitimate territorial claims over SADR, whose right to self-determination is well-recognized. (towardfreedom.org)
  • 8 On 16 October 1975, the International Court of Justice handed down the Advisory Opinion requested (Western Sahara, Advisory Opinion, ICJ Reports 1975, p. 12). (wsrw.org)
  • After resignation of Personal Envoy of the Secretary General Horst Kohler in May 2019, the UN Security Council returned to one-year renewals of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara. (state.gov)
  • The UN installed a peacekeeping force called the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) charged with monitoring the truce and coordinating the referendum on self-determination in the Western Sahara. (finalcall.com)
  • Following years of armed conflict between Morocco and the Algerian-backed Polisario Front, the international community established the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) in 1991. (ipsnews.net)
  • MINURSO intended the referendum to determine whether the Western Sahara would become an independent state or part of Morocco, but the vote was never able to be implemented due to disagreements over who was eligible to take part. (ipsnews.net)
  • Unlike Morocco, the Polisario Front did not want to allow Moroccan settlers in the Western Sahara to participate in the referendum. (ipsnews.net)
  • This communique, which was made public on Monday, September 19, reiterated, "UN Security Council Resolution 690 (1991)… calls for the self-determination of Western Sahara through a free and fair referendum administered by the UN and the AU. (towardfreedom.org)
  • 6 On 20 August 1974, the Kingdom of Spain informed the UN that it proposed to organise a referendum in Western Sahara under UN auspices. (wsrw.org)
  • Furthermore, the UN General Assembly called upon the Kingdom of Spain, which it treated as the administering power, to postpone the referendum that it was planning to organise in Western Sahara until the General Assembly had decided on the policy to be pursued in order to accelerate the decolonisation process in the territory. (wsrw.org)
  • The background for this request was that the Minister of Finance had received letters from the Western Sahara Support Committee and the Government of the SADR (Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic), asking him to disinvest from the Fund's investments in the company Kerr-McGee Corporation. (regjeringen.no)
  • For all these reasons, we demand from the Spanish Government coherence and firmness in its defence of International Law and the support and respect for the legitimate right to freedom of the Saharawi people, as well as the formal recognition of the diplomatic status of the Polisario Front, as the sole and legitimate representative of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic. (pressenza.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)
  • 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)
  • Advocacy groups like the Western Sahara Resource Watch (WSRW) contest the legality of foreign businesses, like Kosmos, working with the Moroccan government to exploit Western Saharan resources. (ipsnews.net)
  • WASHINGTON, Mar 11 2014 (IPS) - Even as U.S. and Moroccan executives meet to discuss strengthening private sector ties between the two countries, advocacy groups are raising concerns about plans by a U.S. energy firm to explore for oil in the contested territory known as Western Sahara. (ipsnews.net)
  • The Moroccan government hopes to capitalise on its 2006 free trade agreement with the United States and encourage U.S. investment in the country by presenting it as a gateway to European, Middle Eastern and African markets. (ipsnews.net)
  • There's a lot going on in Morocco, and the question is how can it leverage what it has to attract American investments to Morocco that can then be directed to a European market or south to the African markets," Jean AbiNader, the executive director of the Moroccan American Trade and Investment Centre, a non-profit established by Morocco's King Mohammed VI, told IPS. (ipsnews.net)
  • While international investors in renewable energy have long favoured Morocco, enabling the construction of solar plants and wind farms, U.S. and European corporations are also rushing to take advantage of concessions for possible oil reserves, some of which are potentially located in the Western Sahara, which many people view as under Moroccan occupation. (ipsnews.net)
  • To date, no other state recognises Moroccan sovereignty over the Western Sahara, which is on the United Nations list of Non Self-Governing Territories. (ipsnews.net)
  • The company Kerr-McGee Corporation 3 Through its subsidiary Kerr-McGee du Maroc Ltd. entered in 2001 into a contract with the governmental Moroccan oil company ONAREP regarding geological and geophysical studies off shore Western Sahara. (regjeringen.no)
  • Moroccan authorities describe Western Sahara as "Moroccan Saharan Provinces", and claim sovereignty over the area. (regjeringen.no)
  • According to the UN, however, Western Sahara is still a Non-Self-Governing Territory, and, as such, not subject to Moroccan sovereignty. (regjeringen.no)
  • We express our strongest condemnation of the new aggression perpetrated by the Moroccan army against the Saharawi population, as well as our total rejection of the unacceptable behaviour of the Spanish Government in the face of the worrying events in Western Sahara. (pressenza.com)
  • We urge the Spanish Government to fulfil its obligations as the administering power of the Saharawi territory pending decolonisation so that the Saharawi population can gain access to their freedom and independence and, in turn, we demand that the Spanish Government immediately cease the sale and donation of arms to the Moroccan army. (pressenza.com)
  • We denounce the crimes against humanity committed by Morocco in the Occupied Territories of Western Sahara and the ongoing harassment and brutality with which the Moroccan apparatus of repression treats the Saharawi civilian population, activists and journalists. (pressenza.com)
  • Last Sunday, Moroccan security forces arrested six Sahrawi demonstrators in the occupied territory of Western Sahara after protests broke out in response to the death of a hunger striking Sahrawi prisoner, Hassana al-Wali. (middleeasteye.net)
  • I knew Hassana for decades, he was a brave campaigner, especially on the issue of removing the landmines laid by the Moroccan army in Western Sahara because his father was killed by a landmine," said Mohammed al-Baikam, the secretary-general of the fishing associations of Dakhla and a friend of the deceased. (middleeasteye.net)
  • The Moroccan government wanted him in prison for years because of his stand against torture and police violence, they wanted him silenced and now they have finally succeeded," Baikam told Middle East Eye. (middleeasteye.net)
  • Nevertheless, in late 2020, then-U.S. President Donald Trump had announced his decision to open a consulate in occupied Western Sahara, in effect recognizing it as Moroccan sovereign territory. (towardfreedom.org)
  • The data is collected by arranged interviews with focus groups consisting of university students in Rabat, Morocco, in order to investigate the trends and the extent of the occurrence of French in speech situations where intra- sentential code-switching between colloquial Moroccan Arabic and French is present. (lu.se)
  • The Kingdom of Morocco claims the territory of Western Sahara and administers the territory that it controls. (state.gov)
  • 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 statement further claimed that Morocco and Kenya had signed a joint statement agreeing that "in deference to the principle of territorial integrity and non-interference, the Republic of Kenya [had extended] total support to the serious and credible autonomy plan proposed by the Kingdom of Morocco" as the only possible solution to the Sahara issue. (towardfreedom.org)
  • After its independence in 1956, the Kingdom of Morocco demanded the 'liberation' of Western Sahara, considering that that territory belonged to it. (wsrw.org)
  • If the answer to the first question was in the negative, it also requested the International Court of Justice to rule on the issue of the legal ties between Western Sahara and the Kingdom of Morocco and the Mauritanian entity. (wsrw.org)
  • 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 Polisario Front is the group that has been at war with Morocco over the years for the territory. (finalcall.com)
  • The SADR controls 20 percent of its territory-mostly barren desert, while 80 percent is controlled by Morocco. (finalcall.com)
  • After calling for Western Saharan independence from Spain, Morocco took control of the territory, which it calls the Southern Provinces, in 1976 after the Spanish withdrew. (ipsnews.net)
  • Western Sahara, a Spanish protectorate since 1884, was, according to the provisions of the UN Charter, established as a Non-Self-Governing Territory in 1963. (regjeringen.no)
  • The agreement did not alter the status of Western Sahara as Non-Self-Governing Territory under the UN. (regjeringen.no)
  • The latest round of UN-brokered Western Sahara negotiations between Morocco and the Polisario Front ended without agreement-as Rabat signed contracts with foreign oil companies to explore in the occupied territory. (newjewishresistance.org)
  • Replica Bags Wholesale In 2012, I traveled to Western Sahara, a disputed territory of Morocco, with a group of journalists. (sturgisdevelopment.com)
  • Western Sahara -- a North African territory and one of the last remaining official colonies, or non-self governing territories -- is controlled by Morocco . (prwatch.org)
  • Morocco, however, claims the territory forms its "southern provinces" and is part of a historic "greater Morocco" with Rabat maintaining near full control of the area. (middleeasteye.net)
  • Thousands, including hundreds of unaccompanied children, arrived in Ceuta in mid-May amid a diplomatic row between Spain and Morocco over the future of Western Sahara, a territory annexed by Rabat in the 1970s. (sandiegouniontribune.com)
  • 1 Western Sahara is a territory in north-west Africa bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria to the north-east, Mauritania to the east and south, while its west coast faces the Atlantic. (wsrw.org)
  • 7 By Resolution 3292 (XXIX) on the Question of the Spanish Sahara, adopted on 13 December 1974, the UN General Assembly decided to request the International Court of Justice for an Advisory Opinion on whether Western Sahara (Rio de Oro and Sakiet El Hamra) was, at the time of its colonisation by the Kingdom of Spain, a territory belonging to no one (terra nullius). (wsrw.org)
  • Government and business leaders from the United States and Morocco are gathering in Rabat this week for the second annual Morocco-U.S. Business Development Conference. (ipsnews.net)
  • 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)
  • Amnesty International on Wednesday broke news that seven Sahrawi hunger strikers had ended their fast, reportedly after being promised better prison conditions, but the victory is a small one and only helps to illustrate the wider abuses going on behind the scenes in the Western Sahara. (middleeasteye.net)
  • Wali was an active member of the pro-independence indigenous Sahrawi movement and was also known for his human rights work on torture and police brutality. (middleeasteye.net)
  • The Sahrawi government in exile, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), opposes the occupation and claims that 30 Sahrawi political prisoners have gone on hunger strike this year alone. (middleeasteye.net)
  • Saharawis take part in 2014 conference on self-determination and independence held in Morocco. (finalcall.com)
  • Its aim was to achieve independence for Western Sahara. (regjeringen.no)
  • doesn't accept advertising income, corporate underwriting or government funding because nothing is more important to us than our editorial independence. (democracynow.org)
  • He was detained and sentenced to three years' imprisonment for his involvement in pro-independence, anti-government protests in Dakhla in November 2011. (middleeasteye.net)
  • Later that year, Spain entered into an agreement with Morocco and Mauritania concerning the transfer of power over Western Sahara. (regjeringen.no)
  • In the Agreement, Spain confirmed her intentions of contributing to the decolonisation of Western Sahara, and to transfer the duties as Administrative Power to Morocco and Mauritania. (regjeringen.no)
  • To the north, the Sahara skirts the Mediterranean Sea in Egypt and portions of Libya, but in Cyrenaica and the Maghreb, the Sahara borders the Mediterranean forest, woodland, and scrub eco-regions of northern Africa, all of which have a Mediterranean climate characterized by hot summers and cool and rainy winters. (wikipedia.org)
  • Algeria is sandwiched between Tunisia and Morocco on the north coast of Africa on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. (istizada.com)
  • Morocco is not willing to allow the people the right to self-determination today, and the oil industry is becoming an obstacle in terms of putting pressure in Morocco to accept that right. (ipsnews.net)
  • Morocco last month broke off diplomatic relations with Iran, alleging that Tehran had provided financial and logistical support as well as surface-to-air missiles to the Algerian-backed West Saharan liberation movement , Frente Polisario, using Hezbollah as an intermediary. (therealnews.com)
  • Authorities and religious leaders in Tajikistan and Algeria have in recent weeks accused Iran of subversive activity and propagating Shiism while Morocco last month announced that it was breaking off diplomatic relations with the Islamic republic. (therealnews.com)
  • In the most recent incident, Ash-Sharq Al-Awsat, a pan-Arab, Saudi-owned newspaper , quoted, former Algerian Ministry of Religious Affairs and Endowments official Idah Falahi as demanding the withdrawal of Iranian diplomat Amir Mousavi because of his "extensive contacts with civil society groups, through Facebook and social media" and alleged attempts to meddle in the dispute between Morocco and Algeria over the Western Sahara. (therealnews.com)
  • It…became apparent that Mousavi was in fact an Iranian intelligence agent , whose remit was to interfere in the dispute between Algeria and Morocco over the Western Sahara conflict," said Ash-Sharq Al-Awsat columnist Tony Duheaume. (therealnews.com)
  • We can now officially add Thailand to the growing list of countries where people peacefully calling for change, expressing an opinion, or discussing government policies may trigger invasive surveillance with a profound toll on an individual's freedom of expression, privacy, and sense of security," said Etienne Maynier, Technologist at Amnesty International. (amnesty.org)
  • Matt does a Dutch und pain with fairly 35 people RD& in Western Australia. (nukefix.org)
  • But it also states that "while the specific contracts … are not in themselves illegal, if further exploration and exploitation activities were to proceed in disregard of the interests and wishes of the people of Western Sahara, they would be in violation of the principles of international law applicable to mineral resource activities in Non-Self-Governing Territories. (ipsnews.net)
  • is a free source of independent news for tens of millions of people around the world, but less than 1% of our global audience donates to support our critical journalism. (democracynow.org)
  • Mohamed al-Korshan, representative of the Bedouin community in the West Bank, spoke at the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, calling for recognition of his people as a displaced indigenous group. (newjewishresistance.org)
  • The mortality rate among indigenous people is twice that of the rest of the population. (europe-solidaire.org)
  • Many people have a limiting narrative about life in the Middle East, and tend to lump the countries all together: assuming they all speak Arabic, are majority Muslim, have economies based on oil, and have non-Democratic governments. (istizada.com)
  • To the south, the Sahara is bounded by the Sahel, a belt of dry tropical savanna with a summer rainy season that extends across Africa from east to west. (wikipedia.org)
  • 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)
  • Authorities in Melilla said on Monday that 119 African men have entered the autonomous city from a group of over 200 who tried to jump over the double fence that separates the Spanish enclave in northern Africa from Morocco. (sandiegouniontribune.com)
  • In 2002, Morocco awarded contracts for oil exploration in the Western Sahara to a U.S.-based company, Kerr McGee, and the French-based Total S.A. In response, the United Nations issued what is known as the Corell Opinion regarding the legality of resource extraction in Western Sahara. (ipsnews.net)
  • In a letter from the Ministry of Finance dated 12 December 2004, the Petroleum Fund's Council on Ethics was asked to assess whether the investments by the Fund in the company Kerr-McGee could constitute a violation of the Ethical Guidelines for the Government Petroleum Fund. (regjeringen.no)
  • According to the constitution, the king appoints the head of government from the political party with the most seats in parliament and approves members of the government nominated by the head of government. (state.gov)
  • Ukraine to secure first IMF loan to nation at war, Jordan parliament votes to recommend expelling Israeli ambassador, conciliation between Iran and Saudi Arabia raises hopes for peace in Yemen, Central African States decide to introduce an indigenous currency, Israel refills lake with desalinated water, US life expectancy declines. (mailerlite.com)
  • Morocco is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary national legislative system under which ultimate authority rests with King Mohammed VI, who presides over the Council of Ministers. (state.gov)
  • Nor, contrary to Randall's position, does the fact that Facebook is a private company and blocking other users from a page you set up is one of many features it offers change the constitutional analysis. (sturgisdevelopment.com)
  • Also known as Western Sahara, SADR is a founding member of the African Union (AU) and the continent's last colony, fighting a war for liberation from Morocco. (towardfreedom.org)
  • 3 In 1963, following the transmission of information by the Kingdom of Spain pursuant to Article 73(e) of the Charter of the United Nations, the UN added Western Sahara to its list of non-self-governing territories. (wsrw.org)
  • This was a setback to Morocco, which had declared a diplomatic victory over SADR prematurely, before any official announcement by the Kenyan government. (towardfreedom.org)
  • The UN, the AU, the Court of Justice of the European Union and the International Court of Justice all maintain that Morocco has no legitimate territorial claims over SADR. (towardfreedom.org)
  • The joint report by the Thai NGO iLaw, Digital Reach and The Citizen Lab found that the infections spanned 2020 to 2021 and involved prominent individuals leading the mass pro-democracy protests, which called for major political and economic reforms, as well as academics and human rights defenders who have publicly criticized the Thai government. (amnesty.org)
  • This has turned Israeli cyber into a world leader, so much so that over 40% of investments in the sector globally in 2020 went to Israeli companies and entrepreneurs. (business-humanrights.org)
  • Since then, however, both multinational energy firms and Western Saharan advocacy groups have construed the U.N. opinion to favour their respective stances. (ipsnews.net)
  • The name "Sahara" is derived from the Arabic word for "desert" in the feminine irregular form, the singular ṣaḥra' (صحراء /ˈsˤaħra/), plural ṣaḥārā (صَحَارَى /ˈsˤaħaːraː/), ṣaḥār (صَحَار), ṣaḥrāwāt (wikipedia.org)
  • We also urge Spanish companies to stop their plundering activity in Western Sahara, not only because it contravenes international law, but also because the only legitimate owner of these resources and their legal representative is the Saharawi population, whose fundamental rights are being trampled upon. (pressenza.com)
  • Critics say taking Morocco's side disqualified the U.S. as a credible broker on the Western Sahara issue. (finalcall.com)
  • There were no reports of disappearances by or on behalf of government authorities during the year. (state.gov)
  • But the reports from recent days regarding offensive-cyber company NSO, which joins a long list of exposes in Calcalist over recent years, must push the responsible authorities, both inside and outside of the industry, to reassess the situation. (business-humanrights.org)
  • The Corell Opinion recognises Morocco as the de facto administrative power of Western Sahara. (ipsnews.net)
  • The testes of the indigenous bacteria favoured stipulated by the four much screenwriters: client, browser, choice and transition. (rosencpagroup.com)
  • Asked to explain the sudden change in stance and dissonance within the government, Kenya's Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua told KTN News on Monday, "This was an administration in transition-[having been] only one day in office… We had many visitors, there [were] so many delegations, and communications had to be made. (towardfreedom.org)
  • Observatorio Ciudadano COVID-19 Nicaragua) is an organization that seeks to monitor and follow the evolution of the pandemic in Nicaragua, where the government is not systematically monitoring the cases related to COVID-19. (participedia.net)
  • Algerian president says relations with Morocco reach point of no return. (mailerlite.com)
  • The newspaper reported that Iran was seeking to recruit Algerian Shiites who travel to the holy city of Karbala in Iraq and was using Iranian companies as vehicles to promote Shiism. (therealnews.com)
  • 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)
  • Western Sahara, a former Spanish province, has been in exile, repression and occupation for 45 years, without having been given a solution in accordance with international law. (pressenza.com)
  • In the same vein, we request the mediation of the Spanish government so that the Saharawi prisoners, many of whom are unjustly sentenced to sentences of between 10 and 30 years, and even life imprisonment, are released as soon as possible. (pressenza.com)
  • There were few examples of investigations or prosecutions of human rights abuses by officials, whether in the security services or elsewhere in the government, which contributed to impunity. (state.gov)
  • Venezuela is a nuisance for western and Latin American elites. (europe-solidaire.org)
  • Since 12 February, the electronic site of news and popular debates Aporrea.org has been blocked for access inside Venezuela by the state company CANTV - Movilnet. (europe-solidaire.org)
  • Rajiv Shah, Distinguished Fellow in Residence at the School of Foreign Service, and Michael Gerson, specific powerplant for the Washington Post, emphatically sent at Georgetown about the m-d-y they have followed for the health Search for Government, viewing the set of works and morning in halt. (rivercitybassclub.org)
  • 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)
  • Non-commercial news needs your support. (democracynow.org)
  • States have binding obligations under international law to not only respect human rights, but also to protect them from abuse by third parties, including private companies. (amnesty.org)
  • Wali's activism saw him meet with international delegations that visited Western Sahara. (middleeasteye.net)
  • The highest peak in the Sahara is Emi Koussi, a shield volcano in the Tibesti range of northern Chad. (wikipedia.org)
  • NSO Group, the company behind Pegasus, claims that it only sells products to government intelligence and law enforcement agencies. (amnesty.org)
  • The new report was released one year after the global Pegasus Project revelations, which uncovered how governments worldwide were using NSO Group's invasive Pegasus spyware to put human rights activists, political leaders, journalists and lawyers under unlawful surveillance. (amnesty.org)
  • Following repeated calls for the surveillance industry to be regulated, some steps have been taken in the right direction - but government action has not yet been enough. (amnesty.org)
  • In previous Nonviolence News editions, we've also shared stories of efforts to keep law students out of the oil industry, and engineering students out of weapons and surveillance companies. (nonviolencenews.org)
  • The Blockchain Research Institute BRI is an independent, global think tank, dedicated to exploring and sharing knowledge about the strategic implications of blockchain on business, government, and society. (aryawadwalkar.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)
  • Bharti Airtel Limited (commonly shortened to Airtel and stylised airtel) is an Indian global telecommunications services company based in New Delhi, India. (unionpedia.org)
  • For several hundred thousand years, the Sahara has alternated between desert and savanna grassland in a 20,000-year cycle caused by the precession of Earth's axis (about 26,000 years) as it rotates around the Sun, which changes the location of the North African monsoon. (wikipedia.org)
  • A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. (state.gov)
  • Implicitly criticizing the new president's hasty announcement, the communique signed by principal secretary Ambassador Macharia Kamau added, "It should be equally noted that Kenya does not conduct its foreign policy on Twitter or any other social media platforms, rather through official government documents and frameworks. (towardfreedom.org)
  • After being sentenced to jail for "participation in an illegal demonstration" and "forming a gang", Wali was taken to a detention facility in Western Sahara's would-be capital city Laayoune. (middleeasteye.net)