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Spain

Proposal of autonomy for the Western Sahara, of 1974

[Source: Antonio Carro Martínez, "La descolonización del Sahara", Revista de Política Internacional nº 144 (1976)]

 

Legislation

Royal Order, July 10, 1885, establishing a Royal Commisar for the territory of Rio de Oro

[in Spanish]

 

Order, June, 26, 1934, establishing a General Inspection on Colonial Territories

[in Spanish]

 

Order, July, 20, 1946, to establish the legal regime of the Spanish West Africa

[in Spanish]

 

Order, January, 10, 1958, to reorganize the General Government of the Spanish West Africa

[in Spanish]

 

Law 8/1961, dated 19 April, 19, on organisation and legal regime of the province of the Sahara

[in Spanish]

 

Order 2604/1961, dated 14 December 1961, on the government and administration of the province of the Sahara

[in Spanish]

 

Order 3249/1962, dated 29 November 1962, on the local government of the province of the Sahara

[in Spanish]

 

Order 1024/1967, dated 11 May 1967, amending Order dated 29 November 1962 on the local government of the province of the Sahara, establishing the Yemáa or General Assembley

[in Spanish]

 

Law 40/1975, dated 19 November 1975, on decolonization of the Sahara 

[in Spanish]

 

Order of the Governor General of Sahara, dated 25 November 1975, appointing a Moroccan and a Mauritanian representatives at the Sahara General Governorate

[in Spanish]

 

Order of the General Commander in Canary Islands (Sahara sector), dated 12 January 1976

[in Spanish]

 

Royal Order 2258/1976, August, 10, on option of the Spanish citizenship by naturals of the Sahara 

[in Spanish]

 

Bill to grant Spanish citizenship to Sahrawis born unde Spanish Sovereignty, introduced on 8th April 2022 (122/000215)

[in Spanish]

 

Bill to grant Spanish citizenship to Sahrawis born unde Spanish Sovereignty, introduced on 5th December 2023 (122/000023)

[in Spanish]

Parliamentary documents

Cortes Españolas: Plenary. Debate on the Statute for the Sahara Decolonization

Minute 18 November 1975 [in Spanish]

 

Congreso de los Diputados Committee of Foreign Affairs: hearings on the process of decolonization of the Western Sahara

Minute of the hearing, 13 March 1978 [in Spanish]

Minute of the hearing 14 March 1978 [in Spanish]

Minute of the hearing 15 March 1978 [in Spanish]

Minute of the hearing 16 March 1978 [in Spanish]

 

Resolutiond of the Congreso de los Diputados (National Assembly) on the position of the Government of Spain concerning the Western Sahara conflict

Draft resolution, introduced on 25 March 2022 (BOCG, serie D, nº 431, 1 April 2022) [in Spanish]
Amendments to the draft resolution and text passed by the Congreso de los Diputados on 7 April 2022 (BOCG, serie D, nº 439, 13 April 2022) [in Spanish]

 

Resolution of the Commission for international cooperation of the Congreso de los Diputados, concerning the letter sent by the President of the Government of Spain to the king Mohamed VI supporting the Moroccan initiative about the Western Sahara

Draft resolution, introduced on 24 March 2022 (BOCG, serie D, nº 435, 7 April 2022) [in Spanish]
Text passed by the Commission for international cooperation of the Congreso de los Diputados, on 18 May 2022 (BOCG, serie D, nº 468, 9 June 2022) [in Spanish]

 

Resolution of the Congreso de los Diputados (National Assembly) on the foreign policy

Passed on 14 July 2022 [in Spanish]

 

Procedures before the Spanish Courts

Contentious-administrative procedures

Spanish nationality refused to a Sahrawi because of non exercise of option established in Order 2258/76

Supreme Court
Judgement 3412/1999, 18 May 1999 [in Spanish].

 

Spanish nationality granted to a Sahrawi by virtue of option established in Order 2258/76 and by birth in Spanish territory

Supreme Court
Judgement 7011/1999, 7 November 1999 [in Spanish]

 

Demand to recognition of status of stateless to a Sahrawi

Supreme Court
Judgement 8948/2007, 20 November 2007 [in Spanish]

 

Spanish nationality refused to a Moroccan because of its anti-Sahrawi activities carried in Spain by order of the Moroccan secret service

National High Cour (Audiencia Nacional)
Judgement 4250/2013, 24 October 2012 [in Spanish]

 

Demand for political asylum by a Sahrawi following the persecution launched after the destruction of the Akdeim Izik protestation camp

Supreme Court
Judgement 1971/2013, 27 March 2013 [in Spanish]

 

Refusal to recognize as "terrorist" activity a war action by  the Polisario Front, never included in an official list of terrorist organisations

National High Cour (Audiencia Nacional)
Judgement 772/2021, 3 March 2021 [in Spanish]

Civil procedures

Civil action for recognition of Spanish nationality (1998)

Supreme Court
Judgement 6268/1998, 28 October 1998 [in Spanish

 

Civil action against Fernando Bateta, Ignacio Cembrero and Unidad Editorial for alleged violation to the right of good fame of Ahmed Charai (2015)

First Instance Judge number 46 of Madrid
Judgement 184/2015, November 4, 2015 [in Spanish]

 

Civil action for recognition of Spanish nationality (2016-2020)

First Instance Judge number 14 of Palma
Judgement 161/2016, December 2, 2016 [in Spanish]

Palma District Court
Judgment 168/2017, May, 26, 2017 [in Spanish]

Supreme Court
Judgement 207/2020, May, 29, 2020 [in Spanish

 

Criminal procedures

Plaint for eventual crimes of genocide and tortures against Moroccan officials (2007)

Investigating Judge number 5 of the Audiencia Nacional
"Procedimiento Abreviado 362/2007 A", transformed in "Sumario 1/2015"


Plaint for eventual crimes of genocide and other crimes agains Sahrawi officials (2008)

Investigating Judge number 5 of the Audiencia Nacional
"Diligencias Previas, Procedimiento Abreviado 1/2008 A", transformed in "Sumario 1/2021"


Plaint for eventual crimes of genocide and tortures against Moroccan officials (2010)

Investigating Judges number 1 and 2 of the Audiencia Nacional
"Diligencias Previas 309/10 transformed in Sumario 4/2014"

Official statements, official letters and other communications to the United Nations

Statement by the representative of Spain on conditions in the Territories of Fernando P60, Rio Muni and the Spanish Sahara, 18 May 1961

Spain for the first time transmits information, in application of Article 73.e of the United Nations Charter, regarding the Non Autonomous Territory of Spanish Sahara

 

Letter dated 28 September 1973 from the Permanent Representative of Spain to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General

Spain informs about the exchange of letters between the Head of State and the Sahrawi General Assembly (Djemaa) expressing its commitment to defend the liberty of the Saharan people and the territorial integrity of the Sahara

 

Letter dated 10 July 1974 from the Permanent Representative of Spain to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General

Spain announces its will to enact an Statute of autonomy to create "the necessary framework to ensure that that self-determination will be genuinely free".

 

Letter dated 20 August 1974 from the Permanent Representative of Spain to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General

Spain communicates its will to hold a referendum, to be under the auspices of and supervised by the United Nations, during the first six months of 1975

 

Letter dated 13 September 1974 from the Permanent Representative of Spain to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General

Spain informs that is taking the necessary steps to ensure that only the indigenous inhabitants exercise their right to self-determination and to determinine, in consultation with the Governments concerned, the procedures for the holding of the referendum.

 

Letter dated 23 May 1975 addressed to the President of the Security Council by the Permanent Representative of Spain to the United Nations

[A/10095]

 

Letter dated 18 October 1975 addressed to the President of the Security Council by the Permanent Representative of Spain to the United Nations

[S/11851]

 

Letter dated 1 November 1975 addressed to the President of the Security Council by the Chargé d'Affaires ad interim of the Permanent Mission of Spain to the United Nations

[S/11864]

 

Letter dated 6 November 1975 addressed to the President of the Security Council by the Chargé d'Affaires a.i. of the Permanent Mission of Spain to the United Nations

[S/11867]

 

Letter dated 26 February 1976 from the Permanent Representative of Spain to the United Nations  addressed to the Secretary-General

[A/31/56, S/11997]

 

Letter dated 21 September 1979 addressed by the King Juan Carlos I of Spain to the King Hassan II of Morocco

[in Spanish]

 

Press Release 105-2009, "El Gobierno realiza gestiones para resolver la situación de Aminetu Haidar"

[17 December 2009] [in Spanish]

 

Note of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs concerning the Press Release 105-2009, about the situatio of Mrs. Haidar

[22 December 2009] [in Spanish]

 

Partial Submission of Data and Information on the Limits of the Continental Shelf of Spain to the West of the Canary Islands, pursuant to Part VI and Annex II of United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea

Part I. Executive Summary

 

Official Statement 149-2016, Passing awaya of Mohamed Abdelaziz

[31 May 2016] [in Spanish]

 

Answer of the Government to Senator Jon Iñárritu

"Spain is responsible of the management of the aerial space of Western Sahara"
[21 February 2017]  [in Spanish]

 

Official Statement 081-2020, Support for UN in guaranteeing ceasefire in Western Sahara

[13 November 2020]

 

Official Statement 083-2020, Condemnation of incident at Moroccan Consulate in Valencia

[15 November 2020]

 

Official Statement 093-2020, Joint statement by Spain and Morocco on high-level meeting

[10 December 2020] [non-official translation] [original text]

 

Official Statement 097-2020, Government of Spain calls Moroccan Ambassador to ask for clarifications regarding statements by Prime Minister on Ceuta and Melilla

[21 December 2020] [non-official translation] [original text]

 

Statement of the President of the Government of Spain in response to the communiqué of the Morocco's Ministry of Foreign Affairs dated the same day

[31 May 2021] [video in Spanish]

 

Government answer to the question raised by Senator María Carmen da Silva concerning the Western Sahara status and the relation of the Spanish government with the Frente Polisario

Parliamentary question [27 February 2024] [in Spanish]
Government answer [10 April 2024] [in Spanish]
The contents of this page were updated on 06.06.2024.