Phoenix 24
A measure presented as historical reparation could reopen tensions with Morocco.
MADRID, SPAIN
Spain’s Congress has approved legislation allowing Sahrawis born in Western Sahara during Spanish administration—and their descendants—to obtain Spanish citizenship. The proposal received 168 votes in favour and 31 against, while 145 lawmakers abstained. It must still pass through the Senate before becoming law.
The measure could benefit between 70,000 and 110,000 people, although some estimates are higher. Eligible applicants would include Sahrawis living in Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara, refugee camps near Tindouf in Algeria and diaspora communities across Europe. Citizenship would provide access to Spanish documentation and the wider rights attached to European Union citizenship.
Supporters describe the initiative as a correction of Spain’s unfinished decolonisation. Madrid administered Western Sahara until 1976, when its withdrawal left many inhabitants without a clearly recognised nationality. Sumar parliamentarian Tesh Sidi, the first woman of Sahrawi origin elected to Spain’s Congress, argued that the proposal restores an identity and legal protection that Spain previously removed.
The governing Socialist Party and its coalition partners supported the bill. The conservative People’s Party abstained, maintaining that nationality should be recovered through ordinary residency procedures, while Vox opposed the initiative. The vote therefore combined historical responsibility with contemporary disagreements over citizenship and migration policy.
Morocco may interpret the legislation as recognition of a separate Sahrawi identity that challenges its claim of sovereignty over Western Sahara. The timing is particularly sensitive after the migration crisis in Ceuta placed relations between Madrid and Rabat under renewed strain. Spain endorsed Morocco’s autonomy proposal for the disputed territory in 2022, but granting citizenship to Sahrawis shows that the colonial legacy remains politically and legally unresolved.
Historical responsibility may be postponed, but its consequences rarely disappear.