Special Representative Sanchez Amor (right) meets with Adolfo Canepa, Speaker of the Parliament of Gibraltar, and Gemma Araujo, Mayor of La Linea.MADRID, 7 March 2014 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Special Representative on Border Co-operation Ignacio Sanchez Amor (Spain) visited the border between Spain and Gibraltar on 5 and 6 March to observe the situation on the ground and consult with local stakeholders, in accordance with the work plan he submitted to the Standing Committee in February 2014 in Vienna.

Spain claims historical rights to Gibraltar and negotiations with the United Kingdom on sovereignty issues have gone through several phases since the end of the Franco regime. Franco had ordered the so-called "fence" between Spain and Gibraltar closed in 1969. The land border was reopened in 1982 for pedestrians and in 1984 for vehicles. Control of the border crossing has been a frequent subject of dispute between Spain and the United Kingdom – a dispute which also involving local authorities and civil society in Spain and authorities in Gibraltar – especially given the intense movement of people, including tourists and the approximately ten thousand Spanish workers employed in the colony.

Gibraltar's tax regime is different from Spain's, a disparity which has been exploited through smuggling, mainly of cigarettes. There is also an unresolved dispute over the domain of the surrounding waters and, by extension, the economic activities of both parties in the bay. Those activities includes fishing and "bunkering," the practice of passing fuel from one boat to another to allow for refueling without docking.

In these circumstances of political disagreement about the substantive issues of sovereignty -- although discussed bilaterally between the two governments and in international fora such as the UN -- the effects on the ground are often burdensome to locals and their livelihoods.

Intensive border controls cause queues of vehicles and people, which in turn has resulted in a decrease in trade on both sides of the border and a growing public outcry, especially on the part of the workers who must cross the border twice a day.

During his visit to the border area, Sánchez Amor met with the Speaker of the Parliament of Gibraltar, Adolfo Canepa; the Mayor of the Spanish border town of La Línea, Gemma Araujo; as well as with the Cross-Border Group, which brings together trade unions and business people from both sides. He also met with the Association of Spanish Workers in Gibraltar and Coordinadora Por Una Frontera Humanitaria, an association whose work focuses on the humanitarian impact of border issues.

Meetings were also held with Professor Jesús Verdú of the University of Cadiz, a specialist on immigration and border issues; the Chief Legal Advisor to the Government of Gibraltar, Michael Llamas; and the Special Representative of the Spanish Foreign Ministry in the Campo de Gibraltar, Julio Montesinos.

The OSCE PA Special Representative urged all parties to take into account the human scale of the conflict while defending their positions and be sensitive to the effect of the dispute on individuals, families and businesses. Sánchez Amor also urged local authorities and civil society on both sides of the border to maintain and strengthen networks and co-operation structures, which can help to mitigate the effects of the conflict and help avoid any steps that may create tension.

(Text translated from the original Spanish)