The Spanish Parliament supported the citizenship of Western Sahara for those born before 1977

Following approval by the lower house of parliament, a bill to grant citizenship to tens of thousands of Sahrawis now goes to the Spanish Senate.

Spanish lawmakers have backed legislation that would grant citizenship to tens of thousands of Western Saharawis who were born when Spain ruled the disputed territory now largely controlled by Morocco.

Spain’s lower house of parliament on Thursday approved the law by 168 votes to 31, with 145 abstentions.

The bill still needs Senate approval before it becomes law.

The text grants Spanish citizenship to Sahrawis born before 29 September 1977, as well as to their children by naturalization, even if they have never resided in Spain.

While the exact number of beneficiaries is unknown, Sahrawi groups estimate between 70,000 and 120,000 people could benefit from the law, which supporters call a solution to “historical injustice” at the hands of colonial Spain in Western Sahara.

Tensions with Morocco

The vote comes at a particularly sensitive time for Madrid’s historically sensitive relationship with Rabat due to the migration crisis in Spain’s North African territory of Ceuta and the mass arrival of at least 70,000 migrants from Morocco in July.

Spain’s left-wing government has avoided blaming Morocco – which does not recognize Spanish sovereignty over Ceuta and Spain’s other North African territory of Melilla – but the right has accused Rabat of orchestrating the wave for political reasons.

Morocco claims sovereignty over Western Sahara and began to assert control over the territory after the end of Spanish rule.

The Algerian-backed Polisario Front independence movement seeks recognition of an independent state called the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.

Many Sahrawis live in refugee camps in Tindouf in western Algeria or elsewhere abroad, while others remain in Western Sahara.

Against this backdrop, the initiative to grant Sahrawis Spanish citizenship divided opinion in Morocco, but did not attract condemnation from the government.

Moroccan media quoted Ramadan Messaoud, a member of the Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs, as saying in July that Rabat had “no problem” with Sahrawis receiving Spanish citizenship. Others have done so “over the last few years,” noted Messaoud, who is also president of the Sahrawi Association for Human Rights.

“Restoration” of personality

Western Sahara was a Spanish colony until 1975, when Spain relinquished control under agreements with Morocco and Mauritania.

Spain’s ruling Socialist Party and its junior left-wing partner Sumar, who put forward the initiative, were among those to support the bill, while the opposition conservative People’s Party abstained and the far-right Vox voted against it.

“With the adoption of this law, we are restoring – and I emphasize, restoring – the Spanish national identity card to the Sahrawis who once owned it and from whom this state took it away,” said Tesh Sidi of the left-wing coalition Sumar, the first woman of Saharan origin to serve in the Spanish parliament.

The bill will now go to the Senate, where amendments are expected, before returning to the lower house for final approval.