South Africa and Namibia welcome CJEU ruling on Western Sahara

On October 14 and 15, the foreign ministers of South Africa and Namibia held a new session of their political dialogue in the Namibian city of Swakopmund. In a joint statement, the two countries «welcomed the decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on October 4, 2024, that the European Commission had breached the right to self-determination of the people of Western Sahara when 2019 it concluded trade deals with Morocco that also cover products from Western Sahara».

The two Polisario allies stressed that «the CJEU ruling reaffirms the position of the two countries that only the people of Western Sahara have the right to decide on the utilization of the resources of Western Sahara in accordance with their right to self-determination». In the same communiqué, the two foreign ministers also condemned «Morocco's illegal occupation of Western Sahara».

For the record, the Algerian government welcomed the CJEU rulings of October 4 excluding Saharan products from the fisheries and agricultural agreements between Morocco and the EU.