AM-CC condemns State's discriminatory treatment of Sahrawis in migrant regularization

Assembly Majorera – Coalición Canaria Fuerteventura has reproached the Spanish State Government for the discriminatory treatment of the Sahrawi people in the migrant regularization process approved on Tuesday by the Council of Ministers, which excludes applicants for statelessness status—a collective composed mostly (96 %) of people from Western Sahara.

The party demands explanations from the central executive and joins the complaints lodged by jurists, Sahrawi social organisations, and the Regularización Ya movement, the initiative’s promoter, which has confirmed the exclusion of this group following the State Council’s opinion.

According to them, the decision was taken despite the existence of viable alternatives for inclusion. Based on these facts, Assembly Majorera – Coalición Canaria questions the hypocrisy of the Spanish Government’s new action that “avoids addressing a situation that directly affects the Sahrawi people so as not to upset Morocco.”

“Spain has a historic debt to the Sahrawi people and cannot keep turning its back for political reasons: it is not just an administrative issue, but justice and dignity for a people who have been waiting for answers for decades. One cannot appeal to justice and rights while leaving out those who are in an equally vulnerable situation.”

For this reason, the formation announces it will launch an initiative in the regional Parliament to urge the Government of the Canary Islands to intercede with the State and include applicants for statelessness status in the regularization process under conditions similar to those granted to asylum seekers, “who have indeed been included,” they point out.

From AM‑CC they underline that they support regularization, but they do not understand the differentiated treatment of this Sahrawi collective, to which “without an apparent legal reason, they are prevented from regularizing their situation.”

“In the party we wonder how a measure that is meant to provide a solution for asylum seekers who did not fit into the previous reform and to regularize people in irregular administrative situations generates a comparative grievance by excluding those who apply for statelessness status, when it is a legal situation similar to those who apply for asylum.”

“This means that asylum seekers who have not received a response can resort to this residence authorization, while statelessness applicants who are in the same legal situation are excluded.”

They also note that, unlike asylum seekers—who can access the labour market after six months—statelessness applicants do not have work authorization, hindering their integration and stability.