Why does Spain have ‘enclaves’ in North Africa? | Migration News

Spain’s two tiny enclaves on the north coast of Africa have lengthy been a flashpoint in its relationship with Morocco, which the territories border.

The solely such European territories on African soil, they embrace the autonomous metropolis enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, in addition to Plazas de Soberanía – a bunch of rocky islands off the Moroccan coast, which embrace the Chafarinas Islands, Alhucemas Islands and Penon de Velez de la Gomera.

While Spain says it owns these enclaves, Morocco does not recognise Spain’s sovereignty over them and has been demanding their return since independence from France in 1956.

The territorial dispute has resulted in long-standing political tensions between Spain and Morocco.

Last week, after greater than 50,000 migrants surged over the border into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, these tensions between Madrid and Rabat intensified. While most have since returned to Morocco, a number of thousand stay in Ceuta this week.

So why does Spain have these territories in any respect and what does their future maintain?

Here’s what we all know:

Why does Spain have enclaves in North Africa?

The enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, together with a number of islets off the coast of Morocco, represent the final vestiges of the Spanish colonial empire.

Ceuta first got here below Portuguese rule in 1415 earlier than changing into a part of Spain in 1580, whereas Melilla was conquered by a Spanish nobleman in 1497. Ceuta remained below Spanish management after Portugal regained independence in 1640 following an extended battle.

“Spain reached its greatest extent in Latin America, and with the loss of Cuba, Costa Rica and the Philippines in 1898, it shifted its influence to Africa, although most European colonial powers had already divided it among themselves,” defined Yolanda Aixelà Cabré, an anthropologist at IMF-CSIC in Barcelona.

After the decolonisation of Africa in the final century, Ceuta and Melilla remained the one European-held territories on the African mainland. Although geographically in Africa, the enclaves are thought of Spanish territory and kind a part of the EU’s exterior border.

“For Spain, maintaining these enclaves [on the northern coast of Africa] is fundamental on a symbolic level because they reinforce Spanish grandeur, its imperial past which the State continues to consider a bearer of civilisation in contrast to barbarism, a notion perfectly encapsulated by the repetitive discourse that [Christopher] Columbus, representing the Catholic Monarchs, ‘discovered’ America,” she mentioned.

Why didn’t the enclaves cross to Morocco on independence?

Selim Balouati Lakhloufi is a historian and researcher specialising in the historical past of North Africa and the Rif mountainous area in northern Morocco, which stretches alongside the Mediterranean coast from Tangier to the border with Algeria. He mentioned Ceuta and Melilla live on as separate territories as a result of their origins “predate modern Morocco”.

“They are enclaves that have been occupied for centuries,” he advised Al Jazeera.

But since gaining independence from France in 1956 – which Spain recognised whereas retaining its enclaves – Morocco has persistently maintained that the territories of Ceuta and Melilla, which it calls “Sebtah and Melilah”, and the Plazas de Soberanía, are a part of its territory and has been demanding their return.

“This has always been used by the Moroccan political class as a point of criticism against Spain,” Lakhloufi mentioned.

Samir Bennis, a Washington, DC-based senior political adviser who can be the co-founder of Morocco World News and an knowledgeable on Morocco’s international coverage, mentioned since independence, Morocco’s territorial claims over Ceuta and Melilla have regularly been on the centre of tough relations between Spain and Morocco.

“Perhaps this issue would not have had the same detrimental effect on bilateral relations had Moroccan leaders shown greater determination in the early 1960s, during the height of the decolonisation period, to bring the matter before the United Nations and seek recognition of these two cities as colonial territories that should be liberated from any foreign presence,” he mentioned.

He defined that there are, nonetheless, two vital elements which led the Moroccan authorities to chorus from pursuing this course in their efforts to revive the nation’s territorial integrity.

“The first was the sheer scale of the territorial disputes between Spain and Morocco. Given the difficulty Morocco faced in simultaneously contesting Spanish control over several territories, the Moroccan government decided to proceed gradually in its efforts to recover the parts of Moroccan territory that remained under Spanish rule.”

“The second factor that led the Moroccan leadership to postpone addressing the question of Ceuta and Melilla was the willingness shown by the Spanish authorities to resolve their territorial disputes with Morocco progressively. In the end, this strategy proved highly beneficial for safeguarding Spain’s interests in the two cities,” Bennis added.

How sturdy is Morocco’s declare to those enclaves?

Morocco’s declare to the territories is comparatively weak, Bennis mentioned. But “the country can invoke a range of historical, geographical and human arguments that cast doubt on Spain’s position”.

Jamie Trinidad, a fellow and director of research in regulation at Wolfson College, Cambridge University, additionally mentioned that Morocco’s declare to the territories is weak below worldwide regulation. “It is a political, rather than a legal, claim, similar to Spain’s claim to Gibraltar, which lies across the strait from Ceuta,” he mentioned. Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory.

“In the 1970s, Morocco asked the UN to include the territories on the list of ‘Non-Self-Governing Territories’ overseen by the UN’s Special Committee on Decolonisation, but the Moroccan request was ignored by the UN,” he added.

What do individuals residing in these enclaves need?

Around 84,000 individuals stay in Ceuta and 86,000 in Melilla.

In Spanish possession since 1580, Ceuta is residence to a blended inhabitants of Christian and Muslim, Spanish and Moroccan residents and day employees who stay and work in relative concord.

But after greater than 50,000 migrants entered Ceuta illegally final week, divisions and tensions in the enclave have risen.

Hundreds of residents rallied on Sunday – two days after the surge of migrants to Ceuta – to oppose a deliberate far-right anti-migrant rally, forcing organisers to cancel the occasion.

“I am half Christian, half Muslim, as many in Ceuta are. We live peacefully together. But the numbers this time were scary,” Ceuta resident Isabel told Al Jazeera over the weekend.

Melilla, which has been in Spanish possession since 1497, can be residence to Spanish and Moroccan residents, in addition to small Jewish and Sindhi communities, the latter a diaspora of Hindu retailers who arrived following the 1947 partition of India.

The Plazas de Soberania is principally populated by Spanish navy personnel.

Lakhloufi famous that polling reveals an awesome majority of individuals residing in Ceuta and Melilla want to stay a part of Spain.

“This has been reflected consistently in public opinion and in the absence of any significant political movement advocating a change in sovereignty,” he mentioned. “Even the population with Moroccan origin want to stay as Spanish and European. This is because the social welfare difference between Morocco and the cities it’s really high,” he mentioned.

“At the same time, both cities maintain strong historical, cultural and economic ties with Morocco, making cooperation across the border an important aspect of daily life,” he added.

According to the Spanish authorities, Ceuta and Melilla are a part of the Schengen space, which ensures freedom of motion inside the EU, however are topic to a particular Schengen regime. People travelling between the enclaves and mainland Spain endure separate border checks.

“Schengen checks are carried out on exit by sea or air, the only two routes available. Therefore, no one can travel from Ceuta or Melilla to mainland Spain without being identified by the National Police at the port or the airport. In addition, ferry operators and airlines are required to verify travel documents,” a Spanish authorities doc states.

Will Spain surrender these enclaves?

Analysts are divided.

In March 2022, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez wrote to the Moroccan king, confirming Spanish assist for Moroccan sovereignty over the Western Sahara, which Spain gave up management of in 1975. Sanchez mentioned this was “the most serious, realistic and credible” initiative for resolving the decades-long dispute over the huge African territory and declared “a new stage” in Spain’s strained relations with Morocco.

Cabre mentioned, subsequently, that after final week’s overwhelming migrant inflow into Ceuta, Spain may finally cede sovereignty to Morocco.

“Their [the enclaves] mere presence is an unsustainable historical anomaly at a time when the decolonisation of European states is being promoted at all levels, like European countries returning of items stolen during colonialism and recognising the citizenship rights of their former colonies,” she mentioned.

But Lakhloufi does not anticipate a basic change in Spain’s coverage on the enclaves.

“What may change is the way Spain manages its relationship with Morocco, particularly regarding border management, migration and security cooperation. However, tactical adjustments should not be confused with a shift in Spain’s long-standing position on sovereignty. It’s usually Morocco that puts pressure on the borders, not Spain,” he mentioned.