The depletion of wealth and infrastructure as material pillars to stabilize the occupation
A human rights and legal report issued in the Spanish capital, Madrid, confirmed that the rulings issued by the Court of Justice of the European Union establish the exclusion of Western Sahara from the agreements concluded between the European Union and Morocco, including agreements related to civil aviation, stressing that operating flights to the occupied city of Dakhla raises legal problems related to sovereignty over the territory and the rights of the Sahrawi people.
This was stated in a report entitled “Tourism in the context of occupation: Dakhla from the military base to the pearl of the desert,” prepared by the Sahrawi working group in charge of natural resources and related legal issues. It highlighted the use of tourism and air transport in stimulating economic activity in the occupied desert cities, in light of the continuing dispute over the legal status of the territory.
The report was based on the rulings of the Court of Justice of the European Union, in particular the decisions issued in October 2024, which confirmed that Western Sahara is a separate and distinct territory from the Kingdom of Morocco in legal terms, noting that the application of trade and agricultural agreements and fishing and aviation agreements to the territory requires respect for the right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination and their consent.
Regarding air transport, the report clarified that the Euro-Mediterranean Aviation Agreement concluded between the European Union and Morocco does not include Western Sahara or its airspace, based on the decision issued in Case No. T-275/18 and official statements to the European Commission in December 2024.
The report considered that commercial flights linking European cities with occupied Dakhla pose legal problems regarding the extent of their compatibility with the international status of the territory, warning that concluding memorandums of understanding with airline companies with the aim of stimulating tourist traffic cannot, according to its proposal, grant legal legitimacy to arrangements that ignore the separate status of Western Sahara and the rights of its people.
He also warned that European companies that continue their activities in the region may face judicial procedures and claims related to the exploitation of airspace and infrastructure in a region over which the European judiciary does not recognize Morocco’s sovereignty under the relevant agreements.
In a related development, the Polisario Front announced, from Madrid, that it had begun taking legal measures before the Spanish judiciary to demand the cancellation of the license granted to the low-cost airline “Ryan Air,” which allows it to operate flights linking the Spanish capital, Madrid, and the island of Lanzarote with the occupied city of Dakhla.
The announcement came during a press conference held in front of the headquarters of the Spanish Parliament, with the participation of Abiy Bachrai Al-Bashir, the Special Advisor to the Sahrawi President in charge of natural resources and legal issues, along with the Front’s lawyer team, which included Spanish lawyer Jacinto Lara and Sahrawi lawyer Ashaba Massoud.
Abiy Bachrai Al-Bashir explained that the judicial move aims to push the Spanish government to withdraw the license granted to the company, considering that allowing flights to Dakhla contradicts the requirements of international legitimacy, which does not recognize Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara, and does not permit the disposal of its airspace and wealth without respecting the will of the Sahrawi people, represented by the Polisario Front.
The report confirmed that the Front and the Sahrawi human rights and trade union organizations are continuing their legal movements before European and international courts to challenge the agreements and contracts that they believe ignore the rights of the Sahrawi people, and to work to protect the region’s wealth, airspace and ports from exploitation that they consider to be illegal.
