OVIEDO, Spain 

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez insisted on Thursday that the North African enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla are Spanish. 

“Ceuta and Melilla are Spain. Full stop,” said Sanchez in parliament after opposition politicians grilled him over recent claims by the Moroccan government.

In a letter to the UN Council of Human Rights over the treatment of migrants, Rabat argued that “the Kingdom of Morocco has no land borders with Spain” and that Melilla is an “occupied territory,” according to several Spanish media outlets.

The two tiny territories are Europe’s only territory on the African mainland and have been under Spanish rule since the 17th century.

Since Morocco’s independence, however, the country has insisted that Ceuta and Melilla are yet to be decolonized. Rabat has attempted to argue this at the UN level but has failed to convince the body that the enclaves are non-self-governing territories.

The recent letter sent to the UN Council of Human Rights was in response to a shocking tragedy that saw at least 23 Africans died while attempting to cross from Morocco into Melilla.

Videos emerged of violent repression by Spanish and Moroccan authorities. The UN condemned the situation and urged independent investigations.

Since then, Morocco has sentenced several migrants involved in the mass crossing to as many as three years in prison.

Mass migration is a significant concern for Ceuta and Melilla, and massive militarized border fences surround both territories.

The enclaves have also been sensitive to ongoing territorial disputes around Western Sahara.

In 2021 spring, Morocco allowed thousands of migrants to pour into Ceuta after it was leaked that the leader of the Western Sahara independence movement was being treated for COVID-19 in Spain.

After the incident, Spain replaced its minister of foreign affairs.

Then, in March 2022, Spain radically changed its tune on Western Sahara. While previously neutral, Madrid said Rabat’s idea to bring the territory under Moroccan control was “the most credible” and “serious” plan on the table.

This outraged Algeria, a key supporter of Western Saharan independence.

Consequently, Algiers suspended a friendship treaty with Spain and is no longer the country’s top natural gas supplier.

Yet, even the move to back Morocco on Western Sahara has not been enough to completely smooth over bilateral relations between Madrid and Rabat.