From the Global Campaign to Reclaim Peoples’ Sovereignty, Dismantle Corporate Power and Stop Impunity, we express our firm and unconditional solidarity with the Sahrawi people in their struggle for self-determination. We join our voices in demanding an end to the Moroccan occupation and to stop the transnational corporate plunder of Sahrawi land and resources.
Western Sahara is one of the last territories in Africa still under colonial rule. Since 1975, when Spain withdrew, Morocco has occupied most of the territory in violation of international law. Since then, the Sahrawi people have resisted decades of occupation, repression and exile, facing widespread and systematic human rights violations, including arbitrary detention, torture, enforced disappearances, land grabbing, forced displacement and the systematic persecution of activists and human rights defenders.
This occupation is sustained not only through military control, but also through a model of colonial extractivism that directly benefits transnational corporations and the interests of dominant economic elites and financial capital. The natural resources of Western Sahara —including phosphates, fisheries, agriculture and renewable energy potential— are exploited without the free, prior and informed consent of the Sahrawi people. This plunder not only violates international law but also contributes to normalising and perpetuating the occupation, exclusively benefiting Morocco and transnational corporations at the expense of the rights of the Sahrawi people.
In this context, we denounce the role of transnational corporations operating in the occupied territory or benefiting from the plunder of its resources, as well as the active complicity of governments and institutions that allow, legitimise or facilitate these activities. Corporate impunity is a central pillar in sustaining the occupation and the model of colonial extractivism in Western Sahara. It is therefore urgent to advance towards strong and effective legally binding instruments that end impunity, both in Western Sahara and other occupied territories across the world. One such instrument is the UN Binding Treaty on transnational corporations and human rights, currently under negotiation at the Human Rights Council, which must put an end to corporate impunity by establishing binding obligations for transnational corporations, legal liability mechanisms and guaranteeing effective access to justice and remedy for affected peoples and communities.
In light of this situation, we reaffirm our demands:
- An end to the illegal occupation and colonisation of Western Sahara by Morocco.
- Full respect for the right to self-determination of the Sahrawi people, including the recognition of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) as their legitimate representative.
- The right of return for Sahrawi refugees, under safe and dignified conditions.
- The release of all Sahrawi political prisoners unlawfully detained by the occupying power.
- An end to the plundering of Western Sahara’s natural resources by Morocco and transnational corporations, and respect for the free, prior and informed consent of the Sahrawi people.
- Effective protection of human rights in the occupied territories through independent international monitoring mechanisms.
- The guarantee of freedom of movement for all Sahrawi people.
- Compliance by African States with their regional and international commitments, particularly within the framework of the African Union and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
- Full compliance with international law by all States and international institutions, including the non-recognition of the Moroccan occupation and the obligation to refrain from any actions that may legitimise or support it.
- The European Union and its Member States must ensure that their policies, trade agreements and corporate activities fully respect international law, including rulings of the Court of Justice of the European Union, and must put an end to any agreements or practices that contribute to the exploitation of Western Sahara’s resources without the consent of the Sahrawi people.
We commit to continuing this struggle alongside the Sahrawi people until their rights are fully realised.
Solidarity with the Sahrawi people! The struggle continues!
