The formerly Spanish Western Sahara has been occupied by Morocco since 1975 and is considered by the UN as a non-self-governing, undecolonized territory. Indigenous Sahrawis make up 30% of the population in the Moroccan-controlled zone; most have been displaced. Nevertheless, European cement companies do business there and supply building materials for the crew infrastructure.
Three cement plants in the occupied territory process imported clinker: two are mostly owned by Heidelberg Materials, one is owned by Holcim and the Moroccan royal family. The Sahrawi have no say or benefit; The plants are driving settlement construction and raw material extraction – such as Heidelberg’s cement for the port expansion of Laâyoune, central to Morocco’s phosphate exports.
Despite numerous UN resolutions on the right of self-determination and ECJ rulings demanding the approval of the Sahrawi, nothing changed – Heidelberg acquired another work in 2019. There has been renewed armed conflict since 2020; At the same time, the Group acts passively tolerating and cynically complicit, but only refers to the fact that, as a private company, it takes no position on the status of territories under international law.
Additional information:
- HeidelbergCement expands in Western Sahara
- Khadja Bedati on the provocations of Morocco and the economic interests in Western Sahara
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Thanks for the photos to Daniel KubirskiJoe Pohl and Credo.
