The bill that will allow people born in Western Sahara during the Spanish administration period to obtain Spanish nationality has passed the subcommittee stage in Congress this Tuesday, after PSOE, Sumar, and the rest of the government's left-wing partners have reached an agreement. The objective is for the text to be approved in July by both the Justice Committee and the Plenary.
The initiative remained stalled for more than a year in Congress's 'deep freeze', and the plurinational group, the original promoter of the proposal, had been trying to revive it since April through a series of transactional amendments aimed at progressive parties, including the PSOE, to unify the different contributions.
In recent weeks, PSOE and Sumar have moved closer and have sealed a pact on several changes to the initial text, which received the subcommittee's approval this Tuesday with the support of the left-wing partners, while Junts opted to abstain. PP and Vox expressed their rejection and voted against it, although without the capacity to halt the progress of the norm.
Sumar anticipates that the bill will reach the Justice Committee on July 14, in a public session, with the intention that it can be put to a vote in the last Plenary session before the summer break, scheduled for July 23.
The future law aims to recognize Spanish nationality for Sahrawis and their descendants who resided in the former Spanish province before August 11, 1976, when the territory was still under Spanish sovereignty, a measure that, according to Sumar's calculations, could affect around 50,000 people.
COULD BENEFIT 350,000 PEOPLE
The status of a Sahrawi born under these circumstances will be accredited through a Spanish DNI (even if expired), registration in the census for the Western Sahara Referendum issued by the UN, birth certificate, family book, school enrollment certificate, retirement pensions, or hospitalization and medical assistance certificates, among other documents. The PSOE has refused to recognize documents issued by the Polisario Front as valid, as it is not officially recognized as an authority.
The rule would also apply to the Sahrawi migrant population residing in Spain, which Sumar estimates at around 300,000 people, who will only be required to have two years of legal and continuous residence, and not three, to be able to apply for nationality, thus equating their situation to that of those from Hispanic America, of Sephardic origin, or from other former territories under Spanish sovereignty.
The application for acquisition of nationality will be exempt from fees and must be submitted within a maximum period of three years from the entry into force of the law, which will take place six months after its publication in the Official State Gazette.
After the approval of the draft report by the committee, Sumar deputy Tesh Sidi, of Sahrawi origin, recalled that currently many Sahrawis residing in Spain are covered by the Statelessness Statute, which, as she detailed, prevents them from working normally, denies them full equality of rights, and prolongs the procedures for obtaining nationality beyond ten years.
TRANSCENDENTAL STEP
For Sumar's Justice spokesperson, Enrique Santiago, the bill took a "transcendental step" this Tuesday in Congress and represents "a first recognition and reparation" for the Sahrawi people, although he pointed out that the pending historical reparation remains "to do everything possible" to guarantee their right to self-determination and sovereignty in their territory.
For his part, PSOE deputy and rapporteur, Artemi Rallo, stressed that the Lower House has taken a "definitive and irreversible step" to open the door for Sahrawis to access Spanish nationality, coinciding with the year in which the 50th anniversary of Spain's withdrawal from the Sahara is celebrated.
Artemi recalled that the possibility for Sahrawis to opt for Spanish nationality was already contemplated then, but in practice they could not exercise that right, which is why he described the initiative as a gesture of "reparation," "justice," and "solidarity" with the Sahrawi cause. PSOE and Sumar now trust that Junts—whose abstention was key for the report to progress—will eventually join the final agreement.