Shaheed El Hafed, 12 September 2026 (SPS)- President of the National Council, member of the National Secretariat, Bashir Mustafa Sayed, described the Spanish Parliament’s vote on a bill granting Spanish nationality to Sahrawis born in Western Sahara during the period of Spanish colonial administration, and to their children under the legal conditions, as an incomplete part of the great debt Spain still owes to its former colony.
In a statement, Bashir Mustafa Sayed said the vote constituted a politically and historically significant milestone, bringing questions of memory and Spain’s historical responsibility toward the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination back to the forefront of Spanish political life.
He stressed that the parliamentary debate demonstrated that the Western Sahara issue remains present in Spain’s political and popular conscience, and that Spain’s historical responsibility toward the Sahrawi people is “a historical fact that cannot be overlooked,” despite attempts by some political positions to obscure or evade it.
The National Council President recalled that Spain left Western Sahara “in a tragic and chaotic manner,” without enabling the Sahrawi people to exercise their right to self-determination, despite the commitments and obligations associated with the decolonization process. He said this legacy had left Spain, by virtue of history, law, and memory, with a great debt toward the Sahrawi people that cannot be settled by a single decision, however important.
He described the parliamentary decision as an important step that restores recognition to part of the historical memory and confirms the continuing historical ties between the two peoples. He added that enabling eligible children and grandchildren to recover their Spanish nationality, pending completion of the legislative and legal process, represents “a drop of justice and a modest beginning on the road to correcting part of the historical injustice.”
The statement stressed that the Sahrawi people “are not seeking an alternative identity,” having chosen their national identity and their path toward freedom and independence. Rather, he said, the issue concerns individual and historical rights, justice for victims and their families, and the recovery of part of the rights taken away as a result of the manner in which Spanish colonial presence in Western Sahara ended.
Bashir Mustafa Sayed called on Spain not to limit its responsibility to addressing certain individual consequences of the past, but to translate it into a courageous and unified political position that uses its standing within the European Union and internationally to defend international legality, support the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination and independence, recognize their state, and contribute effectively to ending colonialism in Western Sahara.
In this context, he strongly criticized the shift taken by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in 2022, when he aligned himself with Morocco’s position on Western Sahara, considering that the continuation of this stance places a political responsibility on the Spanish government to review a choice that “has seriously harmed Spain’s credibility and its historic relations with the Sahrawi people.”
The statement also highlighted what it described as “the gap between discourse and practice” among some Spanish political voices that had engaged in excessive rhetorical posturing on Western Sahara before revealing their positions at the moment of the vote, particularly when the rights of the Sahrawi people and Spain’s historical responsibility were at stake.
Bashir Mustafa Sayed extended his thanks to the various Spanish political forces that supported the bill and helped bring it to this stage, as well as to the lawmakers who voted in favor of recognizing Sahrawis’ rights and restoring part of their historical rights.
He paid special tribute to Teslem Sidi, whom he described as “a loyal and committed daughter of the Sahrawi people,” praising her efforts and determination in defending the rights, memory, and dignity of the Sahrawi people, and considering her work a continuation of the Sahrawi woman’s struggle.
The National Council President concluded by expressing his hope that the legislative process would be completed and that today’s step would mark the beginning of a new path through which Spain reclaims its historical and political role and responsibility, in line with its obligations as the administering power of the territory, and supports the Sahrawi people’s inalienable right to self-determination and independence in accordance with international law.
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