While civil society clearly expresses the protection of human rights, political elites place other interests above international law. On 12 February the European Parliament adopted the Fisheries Agreement with Morocco, which is extended to the Sahrawi waters by 415 votes to 189, with 49 abstentions. This is a decision that goes against the various decisions of the European Court of Justice. The court finds that Morocco is not entitled to rule on the waters of the Western Sahara, since it is a non-decolonized territory.

Although it can give the impression that this is a decision that responds to economic interests, it is part of a political logic in which the Sahrawi people are the main victims. By including the Sahrawi waters in the Fisheries Agreement with Morocco, the European Union recognises the sovereignty of the Alau State over the Western Sahara by recognising its ability to manage the natural resources of the occupied territory. According to international law, this is in the hands of the representatives of the Saharawi people, the Polisario Front, and not of the occupying Power.

Morocco will receive EUR 52 million per year as compensation for the permit of the European vessel to work in Sahrawi waters, without taking into account the benefits obtained by the plundering of other natural resources (phosphates, water and sand). This amount is very different from European aid to Saharawi refugee camps in 2018 through the European Commission’s Department of Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection: EUR 9 million.

By endorsing the agreement, the European Union has ensured that it is an important ally in controlling the southern border in exchange for supporting Moroccan occupation. The Spanish State has a significant influence on this protection, both because it is part of that border and because it has responsibilities towards the Saharawi people.

Spain, the colonizing power of Western Sahara, still has to carry out an unfinished process of decolonization of the Saharawi territory that was granted to Morocco and Mauritania through illegal Tripartite Agreements. International law obliges us to ensure the benefit of the population and, consequently, of its natural resources, that the Sahrawi people exercise their right to self-determination.

On the contrary, the Spanish state monitors its relationship with the occupier with a visit by King Philip VI on the day the European Parliament decides to extend the Fisheries Agreement. In this way, Spain and the European Union are once again turning their backs on a people who have suffered 43 years ago different human rights violations, the result of the denial of the right to decide.

But faced with the neglect of political leaders, on 27 February, society and the solidarity movement show that the Sahrawi people are not only in the legitimate struggle for self-determination and the return to the territories that were expelled 40 years ago. Let us therefore once again celebrate the fact that civil society shows us more dignity than politicians, defending the rights of the Sahrawi people and not forgetting the Western Sahara, even if it is a media silence.