Rights International Spain (RIS) has submitted a report to the UN Human Rights Committee that illustrates the main human rights violations occurring in Spain. This body will review Spain’s periodic report on the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 2015, then publish the list of the issues to be answered by the country. The document submitted by RIS contributes to this list, reflecting the main issues of concern in the field of human rights and civil liberties.
The report analyzes the situation in Spain with regard to the different rights contained in the Covenant. It highlights the lack of adequate policies against racial and gender discrimination and refers to the pervasive problem of ethnic profiling by police. It also explains the serious human rights violations that are taking place during the application of migration control policies, especially inside the migrant detention centers and at the Ceuta and Melilla borders, where both Spanish law and international asylum law is being violated. It also shows that the standards against torture are not being complied with, due to the absence of proper domestic legislation, the poor communication of proper detention standards and policies, and that there are no or insufficient investigations into allegations of torture. The submission also reports the obstacles faced by the victims of the Spanish Civil War and Franco’s dictatorship due to the Amnesty Law, the lack of public polices of support for the victims and the failure of courts to comply with international human rights law.
The report questions several legal reforms imposed by the government, saying they violate international human rights standards. The abortion reform prepared by the Ministry of Justice is being criticized for violating different rights contained in the Covenant, such as the rights to privacy and equality of women. The right to a fair trial is also being infringed by different legal reforms: the Law on Judicial Taxes and the Project of Legal Aid Bill both impose economic obstacles in the access to justice; the Law on the Judicial Power undermines the independence of the judiciary; and the recent reform to universal justice curtails the rights of victims of serious human rights violations to seek justice. The reforms to the Criminal Code and the Public Safety Law are condemned for criminalizing peaceful protest and the rights of freedom of expression and assembly, as stated by the UN special rapporteur on Freedom of Assembly.
While carrying out these reforms, the right to take part in the conduct of public affairs is also being violated. The government is preventing civil society from intervening in reform processes by using legislative proceedings reserved for urgent or extraordinary circumstances, introducing reforms to laws that are seemingly unrelated to the original content and denying access to draft legislation, thus impeding the ability of civil society to analyze these laws and provide opinion and recommendations.
RIS will continue to follow the different stages of the country's periodic review by the UN Human Rights Committee, hoping that Spain will finally comply with its international obligations.
