Stateless Sahrawis excluded from regularization

AM‑CC Criticizes the State for Discriminatory Treatment of Sahrawis in Migrant Regularization

The Majorera Assembly – Canary Coalition Fuerteventura has condemned the Spanish central government for what it calls discriminatory treatment of the Sahrawi people in the migrant regularization process approved on Tuesday by the Council of Ministers. The measure leaves out applicants for statelessness status, a group that is 96 % composed of people from Western Sahara.

The party is demanding explanations from the central executive and joins the complaints lodged by lawyers, Sahrawi social organisations, and the “Regularización Ya” movement that promoted the initiative. The movement confirmed that the group was excluded following the Council of State’s opinion.

According to the party, the decision was taken despite the existence of viable alternatives for inclusion. Based on these facts, the Majorera Assembly – Canary Coalition questions the hypocrisy of the Spanish government’s latest action, which it says “avoids addressing a situation that directly affects the Sahrawi people so as not to upset Morocco.”

“We wonder how a measure intended to provide a solution for asylum seekers who did not fit into the previous reform ends up creating a comparative grievance by excluding those applying for statelessness, even though their legal situation is similar to that of asylum seekers,” the party said.

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

For this reason, the formation announced that it will launch an initiative in the regional parliament to urge the Canary Islands government to intervene with the State and include statelessness applicants in the regularization process under conditions similar to those granted to asylum seekers, who have indeed been included.

AM‑CC stresses that it supports regularization overall but does not understand the differentiated treatment of this Sahrawi cohort, which is “prevented from regularizing its situation without any apparent legal justification.”

The party also points out that, unlike asylum seekers—who can access the labour market after six months—statelessness applicants do not receive work authorisation, hampering their integration and stability.

“Spain has a historic debt to the Sahrawi people and cannot continue to turn its back on them for political reasons. This is not merely an administrative issue; it is a matter of justice and dignity for a people who have been waiting for answers for decades. One cannot appeal to justice and rights while excluding those who are equally vulnerable,” they concluded.