London, Jan 14, 2015 (SPS) - The Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and UN Legal Counsel, Hans Corell, has indicated that drilling operation being carried out in the occupied territories of Western Sahara “violate international law,” demanding an urgent action from the Security Council.
Speaking to Middle East Business Intelligence (MEED), Corell said that the contracts signed between Morocco and the US oil company Kosmos Energy, as part of the current drilling programme, “have violated the principles of international law that apply to countries yet to complete the decolonialisation process.”
Condemning the ongoing oil exploration in occupied Western Sahara as illegal, the former UN legal counsel urged the Security Council of the UN to act in order to stop such activities.
Corell, a Swedish lawyer, underlined that if the UN turns a blind eye to oil drilling that flies in the face of international law, it could undermine regional stability as well as its own authority.
He also noted that the UN has shown increasing reluctance to push Morocco over the Western Sahara, despite the kingdom defying the organisation on a number of issues, including refusing to allow its special representative for the territory, Christopher Ross, to step foot in the territory. (SPS)
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