The drillship 'Atwood Achiever' has today entered the port of Las Palmas, Canary Islands. There it will do its final adjustments before starting the drilling in occupied Western Sahara.
Before the end of the year, the first drilling in occupied Western Sahara will take place.
The drilling will start in violation of international law, as described by the UN Legal Counsel.
“No state recognizes these waters as Moroccan, and such drilling is found illegal by the UN. This platform symbolizes the worst kind of drilling operation possible to imagine, it is simply a robbery of a people's wealth. It will directly contribute to undermine the UN peace talks”, stated Erik Hagen, chair of Western Sahara Resource Watch (WSRW).
The platform will drill between Western Sahara and the Canary Islands, in the waters of Western Sahara at over 2 kilometers water depth. No environmental study has yet been published, and oceanographers at Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria have warned that an oil spill would be taken directly onto the beaches of the Canaries.
“This drilling takes place outside of Moroccan national waters. So who will cover the bill if there is an oil spill onto the Canary beaches? The lack of legal framework and the ultradeep location of the drilling, means that there is a high risk involved for the Canaries. It is peculiar to see that Canary government allows its port in Las Palmas to be used to facilitate such kamikaze project”, stated Hagen.
The people of Western Sahara have carried out numerous protests over Moroccan government plans to do its first drilling in Western Sahara ever. Kosmos has not sought the consent of the people of the territory.
Morocco occupies the major part of its neighbouring country, Western Sahara. Entering into business deals with Moroccan companies or authorities in the occupied territories gives an impression of political legitimacy to the occupation. It also gives job opportunities to Moroccan settlers and income to the Moroccan government. Western Sahara Resource Watch demands foreign companies leave Western Sahara until a solution to the conflict is found.
It's not easy keeping up with all the different legal proceedings relating to Western Sahara. For the sake of clarity, here's an overview of the three different cases at the Court of Justice of the European Union.
Leading activists from Western Sahara are condemned to sentences ranging from 20 years to life imprisonment in connection to a mass protest in 2010 denouncing the Saharawi people’s social and economic marginalization in their occupied land; the Gdeim Izik protest camp.
At COP22, beware of what you read about Morocco’s renewable energy efforts. An increasing part of the projects take place in the occupied territory of Western Sahara and is used for mineral plunder, new WSRW report documents.
