Chahid Al Hafed (refugee camps), Feb 21, 2015 (SPS) - The General Coordinator of Saharawi Natural Resources Watch (SNRW), Dr. Ghali Zbeir, called for the need to expedite the establishment of a UN mechanism to observe the illegal pillaging of Western Sahara natural resources carried out by the Moroccan occupying state and some foreign companies.
SNRW cautioned, in a statement, against the serious and growing pace of illegal mining activities carried out by Moroccan occupying authorities in the occupied territories of Western Sahara, in a flagrant violation of international law applicable to the territories yet to be decolonized as is the case in Western Sahara.
The statement condemned the exploration and drilling operations being carried out since November 2014b in several occupied Saharawi cities by mining companies and teams belonging to the Moroccan occupying administration.
It also denounced Morocco’s intention to make a bidding next April to establish fish processing factories in the occupied city of Dajla and to grant of new licences for fisheries and aquaculture.
The Saharawi natural resources group underlined that the inaction of the UN, represented by its field groups, vis-à-vis the foreign companies’ involvement in illegal investment and exploration in Western Sahara, still under UN legal mandate, constitutes a “wrong message” that encourages the Moroccan occupation and its partners to continue ignoring international legitimacy and unfairly plundering Western Sahara wealth.
“The time has come to set up a UN mechanism to protect the Saharawi natural resources from unfair pillaging, which is obviously contrary to the dictates of international law and legitimacy,” highlighted the statement. (SPS)
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