The bay of Mogán at Gran Canary Island will next week be covered in conflict sand from occupied Western Sahara.
The artificial tourist beach of Playa de Mogán, on the south west corner of Gran Canary Island, is soon to be covered with sand from occupied Western Sahara. The construction work will last from 2 to 5 of December, according to a Tweet from the Municipality of Mogán 29 November.
The Canary delegation of Western Sahara's national liberation movement Polisario wrote in a statement on 25 November that it "condemns" the project, stating that it "contributes to the occupation and to the Moroccan regime's repression of the civilian Saharawis" in the territory.
In 2018, Polisario's lawyers specifically warned about possible legal actions in Spanish courts against companies importing sand from the occupied territory.
Local pro-Saharawi associations in the Canaries have already protested the municipality's plans to the local authorities.
It is not clear if the incident is related to the construction of the beach in Mogán, but the small bulk vessel Dura Bulk arrived Las Palmas harbour on the morning of 1 December 2019 with sand from Western Sahara. After a short while anchored offshore Port of Las Palmas, and without discharging the cargo, the vessel left Las Palmas at 11 am CET today, heading southwards along the coast of Gran Canary Island. Dura Bulk has for a number of years transported sand from Western Sahara to the Canaries. See graphic below of the ship movements today.
Western Sahara Resource Watch has over the years repeatedly written about the exports of sand from Western Sahara into Spain and Portugal.
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.
The CJEU Court Cases
Keeping track of the many legal proceedings relating to Western Sahara is not easy. This page offers an overview of the cases concerning the territory that have been before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).
Tūhana human rights advisors ignore human rights
A consultancy hired to assess phosphate imports from occupied Western Sahara into New Zealand concludes there is no problem.
MEPs push back on Commission over Western Sahara in EU–Morocco trade
MEPs from across the political spectrum sharply criticised the European Commission over its handling of EU-Morocco trade relations covering occupied Western Sahara, raising concerns over legality, transparency and an apparent disregard for Parliament’s role.