Two days after the rental site Airbnb announced it would stop listing properties in illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, an Airbnb official told The Times of Israel on November 21 that it would consider dropping listings in Western Sahara as well. “In the statement we issued on Monday, we noted that we have developed a framework for evaluating how we should treat listings in occupied territories around the world. Western Sahara is one example of a place where we will use this framework,” the official said.
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As the UN renews its mission in Western Sahara, Frank Elbers reports on the continued tension between local governments, natural resource companies and the Sahrawi people.
Full article in OpenCanada.
On February 27, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that a fisheries agreement between Morocco and the European Union is not applicable to Western Sahara, which Morocco has occupied since the former colonial power Spain withdrew in 1975. The ruling followed a decision by a court in South Africa earlier that month, holding that 50,000 tonnes of phosphate mined in Western Sahara was illegally sold by the Moroccan government. Both court cases were initiated by civil society organizations that are part of a growing international solidarity movement for the Sahrawi cause. Is this boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement for an independent Western Sahara, often called Africa’s last colony, finally gaining traction?
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Southeast Europe – Zuidoost-Europa correspondent
