Perpignan, June 1, 2026 (SPA) Trade union and civil organizations launched a new campaign targeting the agricultural-industrial group “Azzurra” because of its activities in the occupied Western Sahara.
Through an open letter and a popular petition, the “Catalonia for the Freedom of the Sahrawi People” group, along with a number of French organizations, demanded that the company respect the decisions of the European judiciary, stop presenting the city of Dakhla as a Moroccan city, and ensure that true declarations of origin are placed on products exported to Europe.
The owners of this initiative believe that the issue goes beyond purely commercial aspects, as it relates to respect for international law, the right of the Sahrawi people to dispose of their natural resources, and the duty of companies operating in the European market to refrain from contributing to the perpetuation or normalization of the occupation of Western Sahara.
In their open letter, the signatories denounced the media and commercial materials issued by the “Azzurra” group, which present Dakhla as being located in “southern Morocco.” They consider that this description contradicts the rulings issued by the European judiciary, which has repeatedly confirmed that Western Sahara enjoys a “separate and distinct” legal status from Morocco.
The organizations recalled that the Court of Justice of the European Union confirmed, on October 4, 2024, that the agreements concluded between the European Union and Morocco cannot be applied to Western Sahara without the consent of the Sahrawi people. She also noted that the same court ruled that Western Sahara must be referred to as the origin of the tomatoes and cantaloupes grown in the region, and not Morocco.
According to the petitioners, the issue also concerns the right of European consumers to obtain accurate and transparent information. They believe that marketing Sahrawi products as being of Moroccan origin contributes to obscuring the legal reality of the region and deprives consumers of knowing the true source of the goods they buy.
The campaign also highlighted the economic and environmental impacts of intensive agriculture in the Dakhla region. The signatories denounce what they describe as an industrial agricultural model based on excessive exploitation of desert water resources and unfair competition for European producers. They stress that the revenues resulting from these activities do not benefit either the Sahrawi people or small farmers in the region.
The open letter stated: “No company can base its image of social responsibility on erasing the existence of an entire people,” as the authors of the letter accuse the “Azura” group of contributing to the normalization of the occupation of Western Sahara by presenting the territory as merely a Moroccan production area.
The signatories demand that the company immediately correct all its informational and commercial materials, clearly indicate “Western Sahara” as the origin of the products in question, publish a list of its activities and partners operating in the occupied territory, and indicate how it intends to respect the principle of free and genuine consent of the Sahrawi people with regard to the exploitation of natural resources.
In the event that a public response is not received from the company, the signatory organizations announced their intention to resort to the competent institutions and European oversight bodies, as well as solidarity networks and consumer rights organizations.
This initiative is supported by a number of French political, trade union and human rights organizations, including the Confederation of Peasants, the French League for Human Rights, the Movement Against Racism and for Friendship Among Peoples (MRAP), the “Sud-Solidaire” union, and the Friends of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, in addition to other organizations in solidarity with the Sahrawi people.
The campaign organizers confirm that the basic message is clear: European judiciary rulings must be implemented, Western Sahara’s resources may not be exploited without the consent of their rightful owner, the Sahrawi people, and no company should benefit from deliberate ambiguity regarding the legal status of the territory. (SPA)
