Withdrawal of International Certification from Western Sahara Reveals Morocco’s Violations

The certification company LSQA (Uruguay – Austria) has announced that it ceased all its activities in Western Sahara, considering that it is not possible to proceed with certification in Sahrawi territory without complying with the requirements of the scheme issued by the Sahrawi authorities, providing the necessary guarantees to be able to issue the certification.

The Western Sahara Resource Watch (WSRW) published Tuesday a statement in which it revealed that LSQA wrote a letter to the Sahrawi Embassy in Montevideo in July, confirming the cessation of its activities in the region in alignment with international standards.

“It is not possible to proceed with certification in Sahrawi territory without complying with the requirements of the scheme issued by the Sahrawi authorities, providing the necessary guarantees to be able to issue the certification,” said the company.

“The situation in Western Sahara exposes a structural flaw in the certification system”, Karin Scheele of Western Sahara Resource Watch in Austria stated.

“Standards designed to assure trust are being used in a context where the rightful owners of the land have no say. LSQA stepped back once the implications became clear. The same reflection is now needed from other companies,” Scheele said.