Phosphate is being mined in the occupied Western Sahara against the will of the Sahrawi people. Swiss companies are repeatedly involved in the transportation of the raw material. This is also the case in 2023, as a new report shows. Companies involved in mining and transportation support the status quo of the occupation of this last colony in Africa. The phosphate rock used in the mine
This year's edition of the cross-disciplinary art festival Culturescapes is dedicated to the Sahara. With several film evenings, discussion rounds and a city tour, terre des hommes schweiz puts the Western Sahara in the spotlight. At this year's edition of the art festival Culturescapes, terre des hommes switzerland is participating as a partner on Western Sahara. This against the background that the Western Sahara is a program country.
In the Hamada desert, more than 174,000 Sahrawi refugees are waiting to return to their homeland Western Sahara. While this is still occupied by Morocco, terre des hommes switzerland is working with the Sahrawi youth organization UJSARIO in the Smara refugee camp to help young refugees. In the midst of the Sahrawi refugee camp Smara between mud huts, picturesque scrap metal and Sahrawi tents
Climate change threatens the future of humanity on our planet. In our project countries in the Global South, young people are directly affected by the impacts of climate change. One example is young people in Mozambique who have lost their homes and loved ones due to the severe cyclones in 2019, or young smallholders in Brazil's northeast whose harvests are being threatened due to the absence of
Away from the current World Cup and the success of the Moroccan team, complaints have been filed against Morocco in UN human rights cases. Sahrawi students are still imprisoned as political prisoners. Morocco achieved a sensation by reaching the World Cup semifinals. The jubilation was great when the team became the first African team ever to advance this far. This success
The phosphate deposits in Morocco and the occupied Western Sahara are among the largest in the world. The raw material plays a considerable role in the forgotten conflict over the last colony in Africa. A recent report sheds light on the mining and trade of phosphate rock, which is needed for the production of fertilizers - a business with Swiss involvement.
Media release - Fertilizer producer EuroChem, headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, received a shipload of phosphate rock from Western Sahara in Estonia in October. Phosphate mining in the occupied Western Sahara violates international law. Importing the phosphate rock from the former Spanish colony is therefore unethical and the company is acting without credibility.
In the forgotten conflict over Western Sahara, there is an anniversary, but no reason to celebrate. Most Sahrawis still live in refugee camps or under Moroccan occupation. The situation is again very critical.
Media release - The signs point to war in the decades-old conflict between Morocco and the Sahrawi liberation movement Frente Polisario. The human rights activist Laila Fahkouri has been staying in the Sahrawi refugee camps in the Algerian desert since March. For young people, the situation is particularly grueling, she tells terre des hommes switzerland. Condemned to do nothing, they become vulnerable,
The ceasefire between Morocco and the Frente Polisario, the political representation of the Sahrawis, lasted almost thirty years. In mid-November, the conflict escalated and now the signs point to war. The young Sahrawi Laila Fakhouri is campaigning for a peaceful solution to the conflict and for the rights of her people. Since March, the
Kasernenhof 8
CH - 4058 Basel
Tel. +41 61 338 91 38
Mon-Thu, 9-12 am and 2-5 pm
Fri 9-12
Bank details
Post account 40-260-2
IBAN-Number: CH18 0900 0000 4000 0260 2
