Spain's Congress of Deputies approved legislation on Thursday that would grant nationality to Western Saharans born before September 1977, when Spain still governed the disputed territory now largely controlled by Morocco. The bill passed 168–31 with 145 abstentions and would extend Spanish citizenship through naturalisation to those individuals and their children, even without prior residence in Spain — potentially benefiting between 70,000 and 120,000 people. The legislation, which supporters say corrects a "historical injustice" of Spanish colonialism, now moves to the Senate for approval before it can become law.