Since , they have enjoyed a limited degree of self-government as Autonomous Communities. The cities are a magnet for thousands of traders and menial workers who cross the border from Morocco each day to earn a living. Increasingly Ceuta and Melilla's heavily fortified borders have come under pressure from African migrants seeking a better life in Europe.
Human rights groups and the European Union have raised concerns with Madrid about the deportation of illegal immigrants. Ceuta and Melilla enjoy local autonomy and have their own governments, led by city presidents. They return deputies and senators to the Spanish parliament. This will happen when Spain restores the Rock of Gibraltar, without giving up the Spanish-controlled territories in North Africa to Morocco.
Fencing the two enclaves is part of a comprehensive strategy which has taken several forms and steps aimed at perpetuating the status quo. Granting autonomous status, passing immigration laws and organizing visits by the Spanish King and ministers are key elements of this strategy. Since the adoption of this law, Ceuta and Melilla officially became autonomous cities within the Spanish juridical framework.
The granting of autonomy contains a clear message for Morocco to the effect that any claim to recover the enclaves would complicate the status quo of Spanish occupation.
Moreover, this change-of-status involved the inhabitants of Ceuta and Melilla as third parties in the dispute, which further complicates the question of the two enclaves.
Some commentators argue that the loosening of ties between the Spanish central government and the two towns by the granting of autonomy might be regarded as a provocation. By increasing the power of a population, it is even more likely to resist incorporation into Morocco than it was the authorities based in Madrid.
For example, Spain passed a new immigration law in in preparation for its entrance into the European Community. According to this law, the majority of Muslims living in the enclaves could only apply for Spanish citizenship after ten years of residence. In addition, possession of an identity card meant that they would have to wait ten years to apply for citizenship and there would be no guarantee they would acquire it.
On the other hand, without this document, they would be liable for deportation. This had been expressed by some right-wing Spanish newspapers. The danger of theses fences is that the EU financial support for their construction might be considered as an implicit recognition of their being the de facto EU southern border.
Therefore, regardless of the competition for regional influence in the Strait of Gibraltar and any unrest between Morocco and Spain that may be fuelled by the continued Spanish occupation of Ceuta and Melilla, maintaining the current status quo in the region remains the most acceptable option for all international actors concerned.
Liverpool: Liverpool University press, , p. He alleged civilizational fault lines replaced the political and ideological boundaries of the Cold War. Rezette, The Spanish Enclaves in Morocco.
Paris: Nouvelles Editions Latines, , p. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, , p. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, , p. Sovereignty in an Age of Globalization. New York: Columbia University Press, , p. Washington: The World Bank, , pp. Geneva: International Labour Office, Creative Commons - Attribution 4. Check if your institution has already acquired this book: authentification to OpenEdition Freemium for Books.
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Search inside the book. Even the Arabic Wikipedia describes the two cities as Moroccan under Spanish control. However, although Morocco went to war to capture Western Sahara after the Spanish evacuated the territory in , its pursuit to regain control of Ceuta and Melilla has been lukewarm at best.
Crucially, Morocco failed to press its case at the UN, to include them among territories that are yet to be decolonized, also known as non-self-governing territories. You may also be interested in:.
Moroccan political scientist Samir Bennis says after independence from Spain and France, Morocco acted in good faith, assuming the issue would be resolved amicably in the future, but the Spaniards didn't respond in kind. Today, Spain rejects categorically any talk of negotiation on the two cities, and insists that they have been Spanish for more than five centuries and that they are an integral part of the Spanish state.
But Mr Bennis questions the Spanish claim on historical and legal grounds. But what does international law say on the claim and the counter-claim?
There are significant legal and political barriers to any change in status of those territories in favour of Morocco," writes Dr Jamie Trinidad of Cambridge University in the UK. The idea of Morocco taking over these cities against the wishes of their populations is almost unthinkable in this day and age," he adds.
Migrants swim to cross the border of Tarajal in Ceuta, Spain. On the night of 18 May, a total of 5, Moroccan nationals entered the Spanish city of Ceuta, located on the North African coast, May 18, France to host international conference on Libya elections. Photo taken from Wikimedia Commons, public domain image. Last Update: May 18, pm. You can unsubscribe at any time.
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