Western Sahara: Spanish Lawmakers Back Citizenship for Sahrawis

What the report says

Spanish lawmakers have approved a bill that could open the door to Spanish citizenship for tens of thousands of Sahrawis and their descendants, according to Deutsche Welle’s report distributed by AllAfrica. The measure would apply to people born in Western Sahara before Sept. 29, 1977, when the territory was still under Spanish rule, and would also allow some descendants to seek nationality through naturalization.

The lower house vote, held on Thursday, is only one step in the legislative process. The bill now goes to the senate, where it would need final approval to become law. Lawmakers backing the proposal came mainly from Spain’s governing Socialist Party and its coalition partner Sumar, while the conservative People’s Party abstained and the far-right Vox party voted against it.

The issue is politically sensitive because it touches on Spain’s relationship with Morocco, which claims sovereignty over Western Sahara and controls most of the territory. The report said the vote came against the backdrop of renewed friction between Madrid and Rabat after a large migrant influx into Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta in July. Western Sahara remains listed by the United Nations as a non-self-governing territory, and the Polisario Front continues to seek independence for Sahrawis from camps in Algeria and elsewhere.