March 2026 Newsletter

50th year Anniversary of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic

Unfortunately 2025 saw the 50th year anniversary of the brutal Moroccan occupation. 2025 also marked a year in which the international community appeared to betray the Saharawi further than before, with the UK and the UN security council amongst those who have accepted the Moroccan Autonomy plan as the most viable. Yet no one has yet seen this plan or is knowledgeable of what it entails. 

Although 2025 marked the 50th anniversary of the occupation, this period is also significant in marking the anniversary of the proclamation of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) on the 27th February 1976.  Although the occupation marked the beginning of one of the most brutal regimes on the planet and the start of a military occupation and theft of land. The proclamation of their nation must also be celebrated, as through thick and thin, and through betrayal and hardship, the Saharawi have remained the most resilient of peoples, and never once allowed extremism to infiltrate their honourable cause. They have remained an example to all of us. 

These coming months please consider joining our organisation as a member, or more importantly affiliating your local Trade Union branch, as it is through solidarity that we can pursue justice for the last remaining colony in Africa, and for the hundreds of thousands of Saharawi who have patiently waited 50 years for the simple ask of nationhood, self determination and justice. There will be celebrations in the Tindouf refugee camps this Spring.

You can help!

Western Sahara Campaign UK (WSCUK), is a campaign group run solely by volunteers and without the backing of any organisations or major donors, this means the important work that we carry out can only happen with your support. 

We never normally push for donations as a main task of our supporters. However if you are able to donate any amounts, no matter how small, our campaign would be eternally grateful. Please donate here. If you are not in a position to donate money, please consider donating some of your time if you are able to. Please reach out to us at chair@wsahara.org.uk and express your wish to volunteer, and someone will reach out to you as soon as possible. 

In the meantime please consider following our social media here: Facebook, X (Twitter) and Instagram.

Talks in Madrid

It has been made public that secretive talks have been held in Madrid, Spain. They have been hosted by the USA and in attendance have been: Algeria, Polisario Front, Mauritania and Morocco. The talks took place at the American Embassy in Madrid on the 8th and 9th of February this year. These talks also mark the first official diplomacy between Algeria and Morocco since they severed all diplomatic ties in 2021. 

Nothing has been released of these talks and these contents and points of discussion remain unknown. WSCUK is keeping a close eye on all progress made here and any updates will be shared by us as soon as they are known.

Christopher Nolan's the Odyssey

Cinema has been used for decades to challenge the status quo and share stories of those who are often ignored. However this is sadly not always the case. 

Christopher Nolan is a titan in the film industry and one of the leading directors the sector has ever seen. Unfortunately, however, he appears to be indifferent to the situation in Western Sahara and has failed to recognise the suffering of the Saharawi people.

His upcoming and highly anticipated film the Odyssey which premiers this Summer has betrayed the Saharawi. The film has been revealed to include filming in occupied Western Sahara. The filming took place in the occupied city of Dakhla, however ignorance cannot be used as an excuse by Nolan. The Moroccan Minister of Culture even visited the filming site and met with Nolan as they posed together for picture opportunities. This is nothing short of a betrayal. 

This also marks the first major film to have scenes filmed in the occupied territory and we hope does not mark a slippery slope,  paving the way for further filming. 

Nolan chose Dakhla but the landscape and scenery could have been achieved in countless other areas and did not require the use of one of the longest occupations. Christopher Nolan has shown himself to care for little but money and fame. WSCUK has attempted to contact him and the production companies multiple times and have received no responses, and he has not yet made any public comment on this situation, this is nothing but insulting to the Saharawi. 

WSCUK does plan to host a protest event at the upcoming red carpet premier for the Odyssey in London. We do not yet know the date of this event but we believe it will take place early to mid July. Please keep an eye out for communication relating to this.

All Party Parliamentary Group

 All Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs), are useful  tools for engaging and lobbying the British Government. They  play an important role in the workings of Parliament and facilitate communications between politicians and government ministers. 

APPGs must have officers from the party of government and from the main opposition. Unfortunately, under the previous Tory government the rules on APPG’s were changed, putting a limit on the number of APPGs of which an MP can be an officer.  this has resulted in many APPG’s falling out of the system, including the Western Sahara APPG. 

We are desperately in need of a Tory MP or Lord to become an officer on the APPG on Western Sahara.  This role was previously held by the MP Peter Bottomley who is no longer an MP. 

Please write to us if you know of any MP or Lord alike who represents the Conservative Party and may be able to join the APPG as an officer. Please use this letter here for guidance.

Foreign Office - the need to pressure

We previously wrote to you to explain that sadly the British Government have accepted the Moroccan Autonomy plan as “the most credible, viable and pragmatic basis for a lasting resolution of the dispute”, as has a recent UN resolution tabled by the USA. This autonomy plan is nothing short of a baseless validation of the occupation with no real details of any sustenance about the autonomy plan have been released. 

However it remains imperative that we maintain pressure on the British Government to honour and call for self-determination. Although it is an oxymoron, the recent communique jointly made by the UK which accepted the autonomy plan as viable, did also call for self determination, and the Foreign Office in recent communications to questions raised by MP’s have reiterated this point. We need to maintain pressure on the foreign office and the British Government to ensure that self determination does not silently fall away from official British responses and policy. 

Please contact your local MP today and ask them to contact the foreign office on your behalf, please see guidance for this here.

Food Labelling and the theft of an identity

Food labelling has long been an issue in the Western Sahara occupation, with many products from the occupation being sold to consumers under the false origin label of Moroccan. However this has maintained a difficult,  lengthy policy and campaign to pursue. 

However it appears that the British Government are at least aware that products from the occupied Western Sahara must not be labelled as Moroccan. This was confirmed by the Minister of State for Food and Rural Affairs, MP Angela Eagle. Who, in response to a question raised by Labour MP Kim Johnson ( a longstanding ally of the Saharawi), gave the following answer to a question about the labelling of goods: “It is the UK position that where origin information is given for food products made or grown in the Western Sahara, it must give accurate origin information and cannot be labelled as Moroccan.” This is a strong position and one that we can now bring directly to supermarkets and retailers. 

Please do write to your local retailers or supermarkets asking for clarity of whether food items from Western Sahara are accurately labelled as legally required under UK law.