Spanish Congress examines naturalizing Sahrawis born under Spanish rule

The plenary assembly of the Spanish Congress of Deputies gave the green light to the examination of a bill on granting nationality to people from the Western Sahara territory born under Spanish rule of the region.

On February 14, the Congress approved the resumption of discussion on this proposition, as the initiative, presented by the confederal group of Unidas Podemos party, obtained 168 votes in favor, 118 votes against and 53 abstentions.

If approved , the measure, which Pedro Sanchez’ party will have to defend in Congress, will grant nationality to all Sahraouis born before February 26, 1976, date on which the territory of Western Sahara ceased to be under Spanish rule.

The proposed naturalization bill, registered in April 2022, has already been included in the draft agenda approved by the Council, reports Europa Press.

In its text, the Unidas Podemos group proposes to grant nationality to the descendants of the Sahrawis in question, with a 5 year registration deadline from the approval.

The elected representatives from the far-left party demand that Saharawis with a regularized situation in Spain can access Spanish nationality through residence after only two years, as is the case with “other nations with strong historical roots with Spain.”

The conditions of eligibility are normal, reports the same source, citing “a national identity card verifiable by the police even if it has expired, a certificate of registration in the census for the referendum on Western Sahara issued by the United Nations, or a birth certificate issued by authorities in the Sahrawi refugee camps of Tindouf, and legalized by the Polisario representation in Spain.”

Birth certificates or family registers would also issued by the Spanish administration, as well as other documents that could indicate “a birth in Western Sahara before the above date.

The elected officials of the far-left political formation believe that the content of their text is “in line with the agreement of the Congress of 2016, which called for the amendment of Article 22 of the Civil Code to include Sahrawis in the groups benefiting from a reduced period of two years in access to nationality through residence.”

Podemos says that this proposed law “contributes to settle, although partially, the historical debt contracted with the Sahrawi population.”

The ruling party’s bill comes just two weeks after the high-level meeting between Morocco and Spain, held in Rabat.