Throughout this writing, I intend to explain: why is there a group of Sahrawis in Barajas seeking protection? Why do you choose Spain? And above all, what obligations does this country have towards the Sahrawi people?
I understand that, for anyone familiar with international and colonial law, the title of this article may still be confusing, but I have not found another term to designate the protection provided for in article 73.a of the Charter of the United Nations. . And, furthermore, my intention is not to flood with scientific terms but to try to give a succinct explanation of the reason for a reality that has accompanied this country since it was a democracy and that, by reason or by his name, he does not want to accept. Precisely, the problem of the non-decolonization of the Spanish Sahara and the consequences of the Spanish policy, since the Transition, of throwing the ball forward and which now seems to hit the wall.
Thus, Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara) was a Spanish province until November 19, 1975., moment when Law 40/1975 was published, recognizing that it was a colony and authorizing the government to “carry out the necessary actions to proceed with decolonization”. It looks very pretty and in this transitional Spain it was sold as: Hey, the Sahara thing is already resolved. A few weeks before the publication of this law, the government with Prince Juan Carlos had ceded the territory to Morocco and Mauritania, which forced the exile of thousands of Sahrawis in the desert to escape the genocide which, until To date, the National Court is still investigating. But hey, that’s not the question and in the link to this other article you can find out more.
I’m getting to the point. In recent weeks, the presence of dozens of Sahrawi activists in Barajas demanding protection from Spain has made headlines. Spanish internal regulations, developing from the Geneva Convention of 1951, are limited to the protection deserved by people who, through well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, political opinions, sex, etc., are located outside the country. of their nationality or their residence and cannot or, because of these fears, do not want to claim the protection of this country.
Is this applicable to Sahrawis who are in Barajas? For some, yes. For others, perhaps, but what about the obligation that Article 73.a of the United Nations Charter imposes on administering Powers?
Of course, this adds another variable to the equation, since we are not dealing with people outside of Spain. In fact, one might wonder whether they should not continue to be considered Spanish. Well, that’s a topic for another article. The fact is that Spain continues to be the administrative power, legally speaking, of Western Sahara and, although it no longer has control of the territory invaded by Morocco in 1975, it still administers, among other things, the airspace and maritime rescue zones. And, logically, in Western Sahara, Spanish continues to be a living language. So, what better place to escape Moroccan persecution?
And despite its democratic governments, Spain continues to be the administrative power in Western Sahara. I’m not saying it: this is what the National Court says, among others, in Order 40/2014 of the Plenary Assembly of the Second Chamber which, surprise! It is signed by the current Minister of the Interior Fernando Grande-Marlaska. The same one who ordered the delivery to Morocco of 15 Sahrawis on Thursday evening. This is also what the United Nations General Assembly says, which has considered for more than half a century that Western Sahara is a Spanish colony (see for example resolution A/RES/78/81, which approves the report of the Secretary General A /79/63 – year 2023 – concerning information on non-self-governing territories). And finally, the judgments of the CJEU published this October 4 which insist on the fact that Western Sahara and its people are not Morocco.
Article 73 of the Charter of the United Nations, which governs the obligations of the administering Powers, establishes in section (a) that they are required to ensure, with respect for the culture of the respective peoples, their political, economic, social and educational. , the fair treatment of these peoples and their protection against all abuses. A fair treatment that, from experience, we all know that Morocco will not offer them, and an abuse that they will undoubtedly suffer as soon as they get off the plane chartered by the Spanish government.
Thus, if the Charter of the United Nations obliges the administering powers, including Spain, to treat their colonial peoples equitably and protect them from abuse, and if Western Sahara and its people are subject to fierce repression and unjust occupation military by Morocco (Resolution 34/37 et seq. of the UN General Assembly) which systematically and indiscriminately violates the rights of the Sahrawi people (reports from Amnesty International or HRW among others), would it not be legitimate that these people from the colony could request the protection of its metropolis?
We can understand, not to share, that the Spanish government will not intervene in Western Sahara to save the Sahrawis from the atrocities that Morocco is committing against them, but, since Spain will not go to help them, what what prevents him from protecting those who somehow manage to reach the “safe place”?
In the absence of an official response, I am left with what my intuition tells me: fear of Morocco.
