Former UN Legal Counsel Hans Corell urges in an article yesterday the EU to revise its Fisheries Partnership Agreement due to the Moroccan King's recent statement on Western Sahara. He also states that the oil exploration is in violation of the legal opinion he wrote for the UN Security Council.
In an article, The Responsibility of the UN Security Council in the Case of Western Sahara, appearing in International Judicial Monitor, 23 February 2015, former UN legal counsel Hans Corell slams the EU's and the international oil companies' approach to natural resource exploitation in Western Sahara.
Both the EU and the oil companies themselves use the UN Legal Opinion that Corell wrote to legitimise its operations.
Corell has particularly taken notice of the spectacular statement of the Moroccan King last year, in which the Moroccan government rejects dealing with the Western Sahara in the light of decolonisation and self-determination.
"Against this background, the [UN Security] Council should examine the legality of the EU-Morocco fisheries agreement. The appropriate way to receive an authoritative answer to this question is for the Council to request the International Court of Justice to give an advisory opinion on the question in accordance with article 96 of the UN Charter. In case the Council is unable to unite behind such action, the General Assembly could take the initiative."
Corell also slams the oil search going on in the territory:
"The latest development with respect to natural resources is a contract between Morocco and two companies, Kosmos and Glencore, relating to oil exploration and exploitation in the Cap Boujdour area off the coast of Western Sahara. I can see from the web that the two companies maintain that this contract is in conformity with my 2002 legal opinion. Regrettably, it is not. Already signing an agreement in which Morocco refers to Western Sahara as “the southern provinces of the Kingdom of Morocco” is at variance with Corporate Social Responsibility and the principles Protect, Respect and Remedy"; Corell notes.
Heidelberg Materials deepens its role in Morocco’s occupation of Western Sahara
The German company confirms once again that its operations in occupied Western Sahara are closely tied to Morocco’s infrastructure expansion in the territory - while continuing to dismiss the Saharawi people’s right to consent.
Record low number of importers of Western Sahara phosphates
Only three companies imported phosphate rock from occupied Western Sahara in 2025 - the lowest number ever recorded. The findings appear in our annual P for Plunder report, released today.
The conflict phosphates - four decades of plunder
For over 40 years, a Moroccan state-owned company has exported phosphate rock from occupied Western Sahara.
One of the richest coastlines in the world
The fish stocks of occupied Western Sahara have not only attracted the interest of the Moroccan fleet: other foreign interests are also fishing in the occupied waters through arrangements with Moroccan counterparts. Along the Western Saharan coastline, a processing industry has emerged.