The EU’s Morocco problem

On Wednesday, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) delivered a vindication for the people of Western Sahara. In a long-awaited ruling on a trade deal between the European Union and Morocco, the court reiterated long-established international law that Western Sahara is not part of Morocco, and therefore that trade agreements that include Western Sahara cannot be signed with Morocco.

The EU must now convey a clear message to Morocco that, in keeping with this judgment, it will immediately halt all agreements, funding and projects used by the Moroccan government to reinforce its illegal occupation of Western Sahara. The EU and its member countries must also ensure that all private companies and entities under their jurisdiction also cease their engagement with Morocco, in respect of any exploitation of the natural resources of Western Sahara.

With the legal judgment finally and unambiguously made, it is the responsibility of each and every EU member state and institution to immediately comply with the ruling, and to ensure that Morocco’s illegal exploitation of Western Sahara’s resources ceases.

This means that food products like tomatoes or fish that come from Western Sahara cannot be sold as Moroccan; that phosphate mined at Bou Craa cannot be included in Morocco’s exports; and that renewable energy resources like solar and wind developments cannot be implemented in Western Sahara without the permission of the local Sahrawi population.

A report released last month by Western Sahara Resource Watch details how Morocco is spending EU development funding on fishing sector technology in Western Sahara. A full implementation of the latest ECJ ruling means that this will have to stop; EU credibility is at stake if it fails to comply.

It is time for the EU and its member states to act decisively in order to ensure that they are no longer complicit in Morocco’s illegal occupation of Western Sahara.

Furthermore, as the ECJ ruling makes clear, the EU would be in violation of international and regional human rights law if it fails to comply. Morocco reports details of its development projects to the European Commission, which must approve them individually if they are to receive EU funding. With the ECJ’s judgment, there is no ambiguity about the situation: Western Sahara is not part of Morocco, and EU funding for Moroccan developments in the territory only entrenches a brutal and illegal occupation. A plea of ignorance will no longer suffice for those who illegally exploit the resources of the people of Western Sahara.

Wednesday’s victory also abolishes Morocco’s claim to any jurisdiction over Western Sahara and upholds the legal opinion of the International Court of Justice dating back to 1975, which rejected Morocco’s claims of sovereignty over Western Sahara — a precedent that has been reinforced time and time again, including by the United Nations, the African Union, and now by the ECJ.

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The challenge for the EU is how to help end Morocco’s illegal occupation of Western Sahara — an occupation characterized by brutal, systematic and well-documented human rights abuses, including mass detentions and routine threats by security services to rape the wives and sisters of Sahrawi activists.

The EU must now clearly and explicitly acknowledge these facts and legal precedents in all its dealings with Morocco. The EU must clearly convey its commitment to a just and lasting solution to the conflict over Western Sahara, as well as its determination to uphold its obligation to protect the rights of the Sahrawi people, including their right to self-determination and their right to benefit from the natural resources of their territory.

The EU has long been held up as a bastion of human rights and justice. It is difficult to see how Mogherini’s actions fit into this narrative.

I urge the EU to take a more urgent and proactive approach in support of a just resolution to the conflict in Western Sahara within the framework of the United Nations. It is imperative that the EU plays a more constructive role in resolving this long-standing injustice.

On the day of the ruling, the EU’s top foreign policy official, Federica Mogherini, released a joint press statement with the Moroccan minister of foreign affairs, Salahddine Mezouar. The statement did not mention the argument at the core of the court’s ruling — that Morocco does not have the authority to sign trade deals involving Western Saharan resources.

Instead, the statement attempted to spin the ruling as a defeat for the Polisario Front, the movement fighting to end Morocco’s illegal occupation. This blatant hypocrisy needs to stop. The EU has long been held up as a bastion of human rights and justice. It is difficult to see how Mogherini’s actions yesterday fit into this narrative.

We in Western Sahara have kept our faith in the diplomatic process. The region’s legal status has been made unavoidably clear by Europe’s highest court. It is time for the EU and its member states to act decisively in order to ensure that they are no longer complicit in Morocco’s illegal occupation of Western Sahara.

Continued EU involvement in the exploitation of the natural resources of Western Sahara and its territorial waters is a violation of international law. It entrenches Morocco’s illegal occupation of Western Sahara, rewards its intransigent obstruction of the U.N. peace process, and is a stain on the EU’s record and reputation. We look forward to working with the EU and the international community to ensure justice and peace in Western Sahara, now and in the future.

Mohammed Sidati is the EU representative for the Polisario Front.