New Report Exposes Morocco’s Ongoing Plunder of Western Sahara Phosphates

OSLO – The International Observatory for Monitoring Western Sahara Resources has accused Morocco of continuing to illegally exploit phosphates from occupied Western Sahara, in direct violation of international law and United Nations resolutions. The allegations were detailed in the Observatory’s annual report released this June, which documents ongoing resource plunder in the territory.

The report reveals that in 2024 alone, Morocco exported approximately 1.45 million tons of phosphate rock, valued at $319 million USD, from Western Sahara. While this marks a decrease from 1.59 million tons valued at $406 million USD in 2023, the Observatory stressed that such activities remain a “political and moral crime” that must be halted immediately. The report reiterated calls for Morocco to stop the exploitation and respect the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination.

The document also urges international companies and institutions to cease involvement in what it described as illegal transactions. It warned that phosphate revenues continue to provide a significant financial incentive for Morocco to maintain its occupation of the Sahrawi territory. According to the report, only four companies remained complicit in 2024, down from 15 in the previous year, and the number of vessels transporting phosphate from Western Sahara decreased from 29 in 2023 to 26 in 2024.

In a statement to the Algerian News Agency (APS), Ghali Zubeir, head of the Sahrawi Petroleum and Minerals Authority, welcomed the report, calling it “very important and providing accurate data.” He attributed the decline in foreign corporate involvement to legal victories won by the Polisario Front in European courts, which have increasingly challenged the legality of resource deals that exclude the Sahrawi people.

Zubeir emphasized, however, that despite these legal gains, 1.45 million tons of looted phosphate remains an “extremely high” figure for a territory that has suffered systematic exploitation since the beginning of Morocco’s occupation. He also noted Morocco’s ongoing efforts to expand its phosphate export infrastructure in Western Sahara, a move he said signals continued defiance of international norms.