Western Sahara Resource Watch

Western Sahara Resource Watch | Morocco allocates land in occupied Western Sahara to green hydrogen investors Morocco’s ambitions to become a global green hydrogen powerhouse are accelerating. Yet, Rabat is allocating land in a territory it does not legally own.

🚨 Morocco has accorded land over which it has no tenable claim to gigantic #greenhydrogen projects.
Companies like #ACCIONA, #Nordex, #Ortus & #ACWA are moving into occupied #WesternSahara - without consent of its people.
#Greentransition doesn’t override international law.
wsrw.org/en/news/moro...

🔴 Four days after signing a #criticalminerals deal with Morocco that covers occupied #WesternSahara waters, the #USA hosted talks linked to #Morocco’s autonomy plan.
In geopolitics, parallel tracks are rarely unrelated.
👇
wsrw.org/en/news/us-e...

Western Sahara Resource Watch | TAQA-Moeve obtains land in occupied Western Sahara Morocco’s push for green hydrogen has taken a decisive step forward - on territory it does not legally own.

🔴 Morocco has reserved land for #TAQA – @moeveglobal.bsky.social’s green hydrogen project in Dakhla, occupied #WesternSahara.
But the land is not Morocco’s to give, and projects there require Saharawi consent.
Climate branding cannot mask that reality.
Details 👇
wsrw.org/en/news/taqa...

Western Sahara Resource Watch | EU-Morocco Statement: autonomy without self-determination, law without lawfulness A joint statement that came out of last week’s EU-Morocco Association Council asks readers to believe in a fiction: that an undefined autonomy plan imposed by an occupying power can satisfy the right ...

The joint statement from last week’s EU-Morocco Association Council asks us to suspend disbelief: autonomy without consent is self-determination, and respect for law means ignoring the EU’s own court. #WesternSahara
Here's why this matters.
wsrw.org/en/news/eu-m...
@ec.europa.eu @consilium.europa.eu

Western Sahara Resource Watch | Greenland Yes, Western Sahara No? The EU’s self-determination test As the European Union rightly rallies behind Greenlanders’ right to decide their own future in the face of external pressure, a test of the EU’s real commitment to self-determination is quietly unfold...

🔴 #Greenland yes, #WesternSahara no?
As the #EU defends self-determination in the #Arctic, a test is unfolding in Brussels.
Tomorrow, EU ambassadors discuss the EU position vis-à-vis Morocco.
WSRW urges @consilium.europa.eu to follow the law - not geopolitics.
wsrw.org/en/news/gree...

Research. Document. Holding power to account.
And much of our work is volunteer driven.

If you’re able to support independent research on #WesternSahara - through a monthly or one-off donation - it truly helps: wsrw.org/en/support-us

Thank you for following & sharing. Happy holidays.

Moroccan companies in occupied #WesternSahara use foreign certification schemes to reach international markets.
Check out our new report on controversial "responsibility" and "sustainability" labels.
wsrw.org/en/news/new-...

🚨 SGS certified Moroccan firms in occupied #WesternSahara, falsely claiming fish came from the “Moroccan EEZ”.
When exposed, SGS deflected responsibility.
wsrw.org/en/news/cert...

📢 OUT NOW!
🌍 New report: Greenwashing Occupation.
Renewables cannot erase occupation.
Today we publish the most comprehensive mapping of #Morocco’s energy projects in #WesternSahara - and the companies enabling them.
wsrw.org/en/news/new-...

Western Sahara Resource Watch | ASC withdraws from occupied Western Sahara Certification scheme ends involvement with Azura Group and declares that no future certifications will be granted to companies in the occupied territory.

A win for accountability! 🎉
Congratulations to #ASC for taking a truly responsible stand in halting all certifications in occupied #WesternSahara.
A major step for integrity in the sector.
wsrw.org/en/news/asc-...

Western Sahara Resource Watch | Morocco plans another giant power line from occupied Western Sahara Don’t be fooled by the clean-energy rhetoric on this new 1,000 km power line – this is about infrastructural annexation of occupied land.

Don’t be fooled by the #cleanenergy branding. #Morocco’s newly announced mega-corridor to move power out of occupied #WesternSahara deepens its infrastructural annexation.
Companies should think twice before getting involved.
Read more: wsrw.org/en/news/moro...
#climatejustice #justtransition

Western Sahara Resource Watch | Parliament greenlights Morocco’s labelling grab EU lawmakers today had a golden opportunity to stand up for European consumers -  and chose not to take it, with a one (!) vote margin.

💔 Lost by ONE vote.
@Europarl_EN
has backed #Morocco’s push to twist #EU marketing standards - at the expense of EU law, consumers, and the people of #WesternSahara.
Full story 👇
wsrw.org/en/news/parl...

Western Sahara Resource Watch | Farmers block Azura warehouse in France and launch legal action Growing pressure on EU–Morocco trade deal as French farmers today launch legal steps and storm Azura’s entry point for Western Sahara produce in Perpignan. 

🚨 BREAKING: French farmers have stormed & blocked #Azura’s warehouse in Perpignan - the main #EU entry point for produce from occupied #WesternSahara - and have now launched legal action over alleged import-fraud.
Growing pressure on the EU–Morocco deal.
wsrw.org/en/news/farm...

Western Sahara Resource Watch | S2H2+Bm silent on location of planned green hydrogen project Swedish company S2H2+Bm Concept AB has so far refused to clarify whether its planned green hydrogen plant will be located in Morocco proper or in occupied Western Sahara.

🔴 Green hydrogen or #greenwashing?
Swedish firm S2H2+Bm refuses to clarify the location of its planned investment: #Morocco or occupied #WesternSahara?
wsrw.org/en/news/s2h2...

Western Sahara Resource Watch | Commission under fire for Western Sahara origin derogation Representatives from all political groups in the European Parliament today grilled the European Commission over bending EU rules to appease Morocco with regard to labelling of products from occupied W...

🚨 Unprecedented unity in @europarl.europa.eu #Agriculture
Committee: every political group criticised the @ec.europa.eu's derogation allowing #Morocco to re-label produce from occupied #WesternSahara.

EU law is clear - the origin must be Western Sahara.

wsrw.org/en/news/comm...

MEPs to grill European Commission over tweaks to EU-Morocco pact | Euractiv The EU executive is pushing preferential tariffs and wants products to be labelled with Moroccan regional names rather than with ‘Western Sahara’

MEPs to grill @ec.europa.eu on its latest attempt to fold occupied #WesternSahara into the EU-Morocco trade framework.
#Saharawi consent is still missing, and EU obligations are still being ignored.
www.euractiv.com/news/meps-to...

The certification scheme #GlobalGAP that claims to champion legal compliance has circulated misleading information about #EU labelling rules for products originating from occupied #WesternSahara. wsrw.org/en/news/glob...

Western Sahara Resource Watch | Retail giant quietly deletes fake information French agri-supplier Sofruce deleted false territorial claims and certificate references after scrutiny.

🚨 Fake maps and origin claims - all wiped within 48 hours of our inquiry.
Anima/Sofruce, the importer we exposed this week for mislabelling cherry tomatoes from occupied #WesternSahara, has been busily scrubbing its website.
wsrw.org/en/news/reta...

Western Sahara Resource Watch | UN’s Western Sahara vote raises more questions than it answers Behind the headlines and diplomatic spin suggesting that the Security Council is now siding with Morocco lies a more complex reality - one that hinges on the very right that Rabat has spent decades tr...

What does #UNSC Resolution 2797 really mean for #WesternSahara?
Hint: not what #Morocco’s PR machine claims.
Self-determination remains the legal baseline - even as the Council's imbalance raises serious concerns.
Our breakdown👇
wsrw.org/en/news/uns-...

Western Sahara Resource Watch | EU’s labelling chaos already hitting supermarkets A packet of cherry tomatoes sold this week in a French supermarket illustrates the confusion triggered by the European Commission’s rushed attempt to adapt EU consumer and trade rules to Morocco’s cla...

🚨 French supermarket sells #WesternSahara products labelled with #Morocco’s imposed administrative divisions - a confusion created by the @ec.europa.eu's rushed attempt to adapt EU rules to Morocco’s occupation.
EU law still requires “Western Sahara”.
👉 wsrw.org/en/news/eus-...

Western Sahara Resource Watch | MarinTrust certifies irresponsible fisheries in occupied waters The certification system greenwashes multimillion-euro fisheries products from occupied Western Sahara - under false country of origin. 

The certification system Marintrust greenwashes multimillion-euro fisheries products from occupied #WesternSahara - under false country of origin.
wsrw.org/en/news/mari...

Western Sahara Resource Watch | Uruguayan-Austrian certification firm withdraws from Western Sahara The certification company LSQA has ceased all activity in Western Sahara, where it had previously certified Moroccan producers operating in the occupied territory. 

Wonderful & responsible decision by Uruguayan-Austrian certification company LSQA which abstains from further work for #GLOBALGAP in occupied #WesternSahara due to the occupation.
wsrw.org/en/news/urug...

EU ambiguity on Western Sahara frozen conflict is a “glaring source” of vulnerability for Sahrawis, study shows The European Union’s legal ambiguity on the Western Sahara frozen conflict is an increasingly glaring source of vulnerability for Sahrawis, a new study shows. The lack of an EU firm position on the no...

📌 New study shows the #EU’s legal ambiguity over occupied #WesternSahara is a “glaring source” of vulnerability for the #Saharawi people, as their rights continue to be ignored in EU‐Morocco agreements despite mounting legal precedents.
news.exeter.ac.uk/faculty-of-h...

Whatever happened to Enel’s Tiskrad wind farm in occupied #WesternSahara?
Ten years on, the project’s gone silent - no updates, no mention in reports, and
@EnelGroup won’t say why.
wsrw.org/en/news/enel...

How Not to Trade with Occupying Powers: Western Sahara and the Amendment to the EU-Moroccan Association Agreements On October 3 2025, the EU and Morocco concluded an amendment (‘the amendment’) to the EU-Mediterranean Agreement (‘the association agreement’). With the approval of the Council it is already being app...

Recommended read: "The upshot of the #EU’s policy in practice is to provide economic sustenance and symbolic legitimacy to a situation that is widely regarded as unlawful under international law: Morocco’s occupation of #WesternSahara."
www.ejiltalk.org/how-not-to-t...

Western Sahara Resource Watch | Global Diligence defends operations on occupied land The legal advisory firm Global Diligence, which presents itself as expert on ‘heightened due diligence’, misrepresents international law in occupied Western Sahara.

A rare glimpse into how legal firms justify doing business in occupied #WesternSahara.
Global Diligence’s recent seminar exposed the legal acrobatics used to defend work for the occupier - and our new article dismantles each claim, point by point.
wsrw.org/en/news/glob...

Western Sahara Resource Watch | MEPs shocked by Commission's Western Sahara bypass In a hearing at the European Parliament earlier this week, lawmakers expressed outrage at how the Commission sidestepped them to push through a new agreement covering occupied Western Sahara, in viola...

🔴“Totally unacceptable.”

MEPs slam @ec.europa.eu for bypassing @europarl.europa.eu
to push a new EU-Morocco deal that covers occupied #WesternSahara - ignoring CJEU rulings and democratic scrutiny.

Read MEPs' reactions here! 👇

wsrw.org/en/news/meps...

Fepex sounds warning over new EU agreement with Morocco Federation says it will cause a sharp increase in fruit and vegetable exports from the North African country

🇪🇺 Spain’s fruit and vegetable exporter federation FEPEX is urging the @europarl.europa.eu to reject the new EU–Morocco trade deal covering #WesternSahara, saying it breaches two CJEU rulings and harms EU producers.
www.fruitnet.com/eurofruit/fe...

MEPs urge European Parliament President to act on controversial trade agreement with Morocco - Enhedslisten.EU MEP Per Clausen has taken the initiative to a cross-party letter that asks the EP's President to act on the trade agreement with Morocco.

Bravo! MEPs urge ‪EU Parliament President Metsola to rebuke @ec.europa.eu for:
1️⃣ Pushing a Morocco deal before Parliament's consent
2️⃣ Ignoring ECJ rulings
3️⃣ Rewarding Morocco’s illegal occupation of #WesternSahara
The EU can’t defend #RuleOfLaw while breaking it.
enhedslisten.eu/nyheder/meps...

YouTube video by Cogito Western Sahara "The Worst Police State I've Ever Seen"

🎬 This powerful documentary by Cogito on #WesternSahara goes well beyond the headlines, including on the role of the territory's resources in the conflict, the EU’s complicity and the legal reality that it is not Moroccan territory.
A must watch!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-T2h...