World
Spain’s Parliament backs citizenship for Western Saharans born before 1977
After lower house approval, the bill to grant tens of thousands of Sahrawis citizenship now goes to the Spanish Senate.
Al Jazeera•
Spanish lawmakers have backed legislation that would grant citizenship to tens of thousands of Western Saharans who were born when Spain ran the disputed territory now largely controlled by Morocco.
Spain’s lower house of Parliament on Thursday approved the legislation 168-31, with 145 abstentions.
The text grants Spanish nationality to Sahrawis born before September 29, 1977 and to their children through naturalisation, even if they never resided in Spain.
The Algerian-backed Polisario Front independence movement seeks recognition of an independent state called the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.