Five hopeful Sahrawi youth from the refugee camps were selected on Wednesday 14th of August for a two year International high school education at one of 13 United World Colleges (UWC) around the World.
The Norwegian investor KLP announced 3 June that they have blacklisted the oil company Total from its portfolio due to the company's oil activities offshore Western Sahara. The Norwegian Government's Pension Fund might land on the same conclusion.
The Norwegian pension scheme KLP is excluding the French oil company Total from its investments. KLP considers Total's activities in Western Sahara unethical.
Find here images from demonstrations, May 2013. Click on the photos for high resolution versions.
A group of three Norwegians that travelled to occupied Western Sahara yesterday, is at this moment being expelled from Western Sahara.
The Western Sahara liberation movement, Frente Polisario, publishes its position on human rights monitoring.
Sultana Khaya, who visited Norway last year, has once again been assaulted by the police during a demonstration. Amnesty expressed concern about the assaults on peaceful demonstrators.
Norwegian owned shipping company admits carrying out shipments from Western Sahara. In two recent articles in a Norwegian newspaper, the company received heavy criticism. “When Norwegian government urges companies to stay away from Western Sahara, one should try to follow those advice”, said competitor.
UN is attempting once again to kick life into the negotiations on the much-debated desert region. For four decades the inhabitants have been waiting in vain to decide the future of their occupied homeland. Aftenposten, 4 Feb 2012.
A group of four Norwegian youth politicians were expelled from Western Sahara yesterday. Their goal was to meet with Saharawi human rights activists to learn more about the conflict, and the excessive human rights violations.
When Manu Chao entered the stage at City Hall Square on Saturday, he had a message about the worlds injustice. As always. published in Dagsavisen, 27 August 2012.
The French Spanish musician Manu Chao played at a music festival in Oslo on 25 August - with the Western Sahara flag on stage.
Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs was in April 2012 asked about the Norwegian government's position regarding expansion of the mandate of the UN operation in Western Sahara, to also include human rights monitoring.
Christian Democratic Party asks Norwegian Minister for Agriculture about Norway's work to recycle phosphates.
Norwegian company DNV, certified by the UN Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) to evaluate projects seeking CDM-funding, has issued a negative opinion on the Moroccan King's envisioned windfarm project in occupied Western Sahara - precisely for taking place in a politically controversial territory.
The Norwegian representatives in Geneva today underlined the need for Morocco respecting that Saharawi organisations are allowed to formally register.
Human rights activits Sultana Khaya thanked the Green Party of Norway for the support for the Saharawi cause at the annual meeting in Bergen, Norway, 15 April.
France objects to human rights in Western Sahara. Some twenty people demonstrated for respect of human rights in front of France's embassy in Oslo today.
FMC Corporation states that they have stopped importing phosphates from Western Sahara to Spain and that they should never have been kicked out of the Norwegian government's pension fund for lack of ethics.
The Norwegian fertilizer firm Yara states their position remains unchanged, and that they do not purchase phosphates from Western Sahara. Yara's new agreement with Moroccan phosphate firm specifically excludes purchases from Western Sahara, according to the company.
Covington & Burling, the US lobby law firm that lobbies for the Moroccan phosphate trade from occupied territory of Western Sahara travelled all the way to Oslo to explain to an investor how the Saharawis supposedly benefit from the trade. Still, the firm refuse to talk to Saharawis or civil society about the industry.
Asria Mohamed Taleb, journalist from Western Sahara currently living in Norway, today launched a book on the conflict. Download the book here.
Demonstrators kicked out of the protest camp in, have been demonstrating in the city of El Aaiun. Demonstrators put fire on several houses.
At a conference in Bergen 27 October, former UN Special Representative to Western Sahara aired his disappointment over the international communitys inability to solve the last colonial issue in Africa.
7 March 2011, Swedish national TV was supposed to have screened the film ‘Stolen’. The TV station took the film off the programme after taking into consideration the wishes of the main character of the film.
Former Rafto laureate criticised lack of openness in Moroccan courts at a seminar in Center for Middle Eastern Studies in Bergen, Norway. He was himself denied access to a court last month.
Sigrun Henjum defended today her PhD thesis on the iodine levels in the Saharawi refugee camps in Algeria.
A Norwegian humanitarian organisation and a university college has cooperated on researching the nutrition levels of the Saharawi refugees. The cooperation has led to a series of publications. See the studies here.
Associate Professor, Hans Morten Haugen, on a conference on Corporate Social Responsability in Norway, elaborated on how Norwegian importing firms relate to the advice of the Norwegian government to abstain from Western Sahara trade, and how they omit the proper due dilligence on human rights.
"I have no problem in stating, in retrospect, that it might have been a bad idea to take this assignment, CEO of seismic services firm Spectrum ASA told media today. Now, Irish oil minor San Leon has to find another subcontractor to process the geological data they collect from the occupied territory in violation of international law.
Morocco is continuing its oil programme on the Boujdour onshore block. These cars were filmed as they did geological surveys in the occupied territories.
Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs underlines that the wishes of the Sahrawis must be taken into account upon undertaking business in the territory of Western Sahara.
"We urge businesses to stay away from the territory since we do not recognise the annexation of Western Sahara" stated Norway's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Friday. An opening to invest in the "illegitimately annexed" territory is given under the condition it benefits the local population - "and with the local population we of course refer to the Sahrawi people", said the Deputy Minister.
The Norwegian Support Committee of Western Sahara supports the struggle for democracy across the Arab world. Dictators and security forces have for too long dominated the region and suppressed the peoples' call for freedom.
"Morocco does not have the right to exploit the areas resources as if they were its own", states Norwegian Minister for Foreign Affairs, underlining that fisheries in Western Sahara "must be exercised in accordance with the wishes and interests of the population involved".
A group of Nordic students were last night ordered to leave occupied Western Sahara by Moroccan police.
Two Norwegian tourists were detained in Western Sahara today. The two men were taken by the police few minutes after meeting the mother of Sahrawi prisoner of conscience, Brahim Dahane. The formal explanation they were given by the Moroccan police for their detention and expulsion was that "speaking with the local population is not explicitly permitted with a Moroccan tourist visa".
The Spanish embassy in Oslo does not wish to respond to the question whether the word “wishes” is mentioned in the conclusion of the UN 2002 legal opinion. In order to get an answer of how Spain interprets the UN document, a national Norwegian student organisation was referred to the Saharawi delegation in Madrid.