The International Observatory for Monitoring Natural Resources in Western Sahara (Western
Sahara Resource Watch) has denounced the green hydrogen projects that Morocco plans to
launch in the occupied territories, emphasising that Rabat has “no legal mandate” to exploit
the natural resources of this non-self-governing territory.
“The development of green energy cannot be at the expense of the fundamental rights of a
people,” said Sara Eyckmans, coordinator of WSRW, in a statement, emphasising that these
projects “risk whitewashing the occupation under a green pretext.”
She recalled, in this regard, that Morocco “has no legal mandate to exploit natural resources
or extend its infrastructure programs in the territory it occupies,” calling on all selected
investors to “ensure that their activities are fully compliant with international law and do not
serve to consolidate the ongoing occupation.”

Indeed, the Moroccan government has confirmed several green hydrogen production projects,
many of which are planned in occupied Western Sahara.
According to this NGO, Morocco’s “controversial ambitions” in green hydrogen for the
occupied Western Sahara have come back to the forefront following new statements by the
Minister of Energy Transition, Leïla Benali, during a session in Parliament on June 23, during
which she presented an update on the country’s hydrogen strategy, which includes several
projects.
WSRW nevertheless emphasises that “most of the areas designated for project development
are located in Western Sahara, outside Morocco’s international borders.”
“About 3/4 of the land made available by the Moroccan government is not in Morocco, but in
the occupied Western Sahara,” the NGO further stated, recalling that “the Western Sahara is a
non-autonomous territory according to the United Nations, under illegal Moroccan occupation
since 1975.”
“International jurisprudence, particularly the rulings of the Court of Justice of the European
Union and the reports of the conventional bodies of the United Nations, emphasise that the
Sahrawi people must give their consent to any economic activity in Western Sahara,” added
the observatory.