The mail below was sent from Total to WSRW on 14 May 2013. This is Total's response to our concerns over the company not seeking the consent from the Saharawis, and questions about what their future plans in Western Sahara are.
See further correspondence between WSRW and Total here.
Thank you for your letter dated April 11th and for your acknowledgement that you took good note of our statement posted on “Business and Human rights” on December 14th, 2012.
As far as other questions are concerned, they exceed our domain: Total, as an Energy Company, does not deem itself legitimate to have views on political or diplomatic subjects that belong to the United Nations and that are still being debated within the relevant international institutions.
On the contrary, our position is to abide by the existing international legal framework; while we exert our due diligence to have the best assessment of the environment of our activities, it is not within our scope nor competences to anticipate, frame or dictate which solutions should eventually be chosen.
You will therefore understand my refraining from further answering your questions.
Yours, sincerely.
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.
US eyes minerals in occupied Western Sahara
Seeking to position itself as a key supplier of strategic minerals for Western powers, Morocco has signed a new agreement with the United States that covers Western Sahara’s waters and the critical minerals harboured there.
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.
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 to self-determination, and that respect for international law can coexist with the systematic ignoring of the EU’s own highest court.