This is how wide you smile when you contribute to the continued illegal occupation of a country.
Irish company San Leon is leading the way in the onshore exploration of oil and gas in occupied Western Sahara. In the photo above (from 2009), the Irish company's representatives were meeting with Moroccan government officials to sign an agreement for oil exploration in occupied Western Sahara.
By working with Morocco to pursue the natural riches of Western Sahara, San Leon is helping to steal resources belonging to the indigenous population of Western Sahara, in turn undermining efforts at the UN to resolve the 35-year-long dispute between Morocco and the Frente Polisario.
In a well-known legal opinion provided to the UN Security Council in early 2002, the UN's Legal Adviser pronounced that further exploration for oil resources in Western Sahara would be illegal if the Sahrawi people had not given its consent.
How can it be wrong to develop renewable energy, in a world that is in desperate need for a green transition? In Western Sahara, the problems are numerous.
The Advocate General of the EU’s top Court backs the legal status of the people of Western Sahara. Final Judgment expected in a few months.
Labelling those products as originating in the Kingdom of Morocco instead of originating in Western Sahara breaches EU law, the Advocate General of the EU Court of Justice concludes.
After undertaking work for the Moroccan state phosphate company in Western Sahara, the Danish consultancy giant COWI states that it “will not engage in further projects" in the occupied territory.