Fifty years have passed since Spain definitively left Western Sahara, marking the beginning of a prolonged period of disputes and uncertainties for the Sahrawi people. Today, five decades later, the Spanish government has excluded a portion of these Sahrawi descendants from a royal decree intended to regularize over half a million individuals, according to data from Moncloa. The exclusion stems from the fact that thousands of Sahrawis residing in Spain are in an irregular situation and are currently undergoing a process to be recognized as stateless persons—individuals not recognized as nationals by any state. The Spanish government does not acknowledge the Democratic Arab Republic of Sahrawi, which complicates their status.
This situation has led the Council of State to reject their inclusion in the decree, citing concerns over the potential for "legal insecurity" and the duplication of processes that could arise from merging the applications of asylum seekers with those of individuals seeking stateless status. Despite the initial drafts of the royal decree not excluding these individuals, the government complied with the Council's ruling.
In light of this exclusion, Salamu Hamudi, the political representative of the Polisario Front in Spain, has condemned the royal decree as a "tremendous injustice" towards the Sahrawi people, asserting that it exemplifies a clear alignment between Sánchez's government and the Moroccan monarchy. Hamudi argues that Moncloa is "afraid" of upsetting Morocco, leading to a capitulation that seeks to please the North African kingdom. He emphasizes that every action taken by the PSOE regarding the Sahrawis is interpreted through the lens of not wanting to irritate Morocco, highlighting that this exclusion directly impacts Sahrawis, as approximately 90% of the over 3,000 applications submitted in 2025 were from Sahrawi individuals, totaling around 2,700 to 2,800 cases.
It is also crucial to remember that with Sánchez’s rise to power, Spain underwent a radical shift in its stance on the Western Sahara issue, endorsing Morocco's autonomy proposal from 2007. After decades of tension between Madrid and Rabat, Sánchez concluded that the most "sensible, realistic, and credible" solution for determining Western Sahara's sovereignty was to establish it as an autonomous region within Morocco. This marked a departure from supporting a self-determination referendum under UN auspices, a decision made without consulting the Congress of Deputies.
Following this shift and alignment with Morocco, the Polisario Front in Spain had hoped that the regularization process initiated four years later would serve as a "hope" for the illegal Sahrawis in Spain. However, Hamudi expresses disappointment, stating that this exclusion represents a direct attack on the Sahrawi people. He also criticizes the Sánchez government for delays in processing applications for Sahrawis to attain stateless status, which hinders their ability to obtain work permits and extends beyond one year. "They process the applications but lack follow-up on the situation of the Sahrawis," he adds. Simultaneously, the Polisario Front highlights a lack of humanitarian response from the government regarding the dire situations faced by sick Sahrawis in refugee camps in Algerian territory, where many require evacuation due to inadequate resources.
The last-minute exclusion of Sahrawis from the regularization process comes at a time when the PSOE's minor coalition partner in government seeks to revive a legislative proposal aimed at granting nationality to Sahrawis born under Spanish administration. In April 2025, the Congress voted to process this Sumar bill despite the PSOE's opposition. The various groups submitted their proposed amendments in May of the previous year, but discussions on these amendments did not commence until May 3. While another session is anticipated to negotiate changes to the law, no date has been established yet.
From the Polisario Front's perspective, excluding a people who "meet the minimum requirements" for regularization is unacceptable, and they demand a resolution. They report ongoing communication with all political formations in the lower chamber, except for the PSOE and Vox, and are solely seeking a rectification of the government's decision.
As reported by abc.es.
