On 18 July, the United Nations published its report on the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in Spain, following the review sessions to which the State was submitted on 2 and 3 July.
In its 7th periodic report on Spain, the United Nations Human Rights Committee has issued a series of assessments and recommendations regarding compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. This document is published following the examination to which the Spanish State was subjected on 2 and 3 July in Geneva, within the framework of the periodic review sessions that the Committee carries out on the States parties to the Covenant.
Last June, together with other civil society organisations, we drew up a alternative report addressed to the Committee, in which some key concerns about the human rights situation in the Spanish State were raised. Some of these contributions have been considered and recommended by the Committee during the review of Spain.
Prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (I)
The Committee urges Spain to reform its legislation to bring the definition of torture into line with international law. It also calls for mandatory recording of all interrogations and the creation of an independent body to investigate complaints against police forces.
Furthermore, it regrets that none of the more than 5,000 documented testimonies of people who allegedly suffered torture and ill-treatment between 1960 and 2014 in the Basque Country and Navarre have yet been investigated.
Freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association, and protection of human rights defenders (II)
The Committee warns that surveillance of women human rights defenders and civil society may limit freedom of expression and assembly. It is also concerned about the use of spyware such as Pegasus and the infiltration of social movements by agents. It urges that all allegations of unlawful surveillance be thoroughly and impartially investigated, and that victims have access to effective remedies.
Treatment of persons deprived of their liberty and compliance with the UN Standard Minimum Rules (III)
The Committee warns of serious deficiencies in detention centres. It points to problems in the facilities, shortages of medical and psychiatric staff, and lack of adequate resources for women deprived of their liberty. The body urges a reduction in the use of solitary confinement, mechanical restraint and isolation, with the aim of moving towards their abolition or at least substantially limiting their duration.
Deportations and non-refoulement (IV)
Urges Spain to put an end to hot returns and to ensure compliance with international law, including the principle of non-refoulement. It calls for prompt, independent and transparent investigations into allegations of border violence, and for accountability to be ensured in the cases of Tarajal (2014) and Melilla-Nador (2022).
It also deplores the reported abuses and discriminatory treatment of unaccompanied children in shelters, as well as the lack of effective separation from adults.
Combating impunity and past human rights violations (V)
While appreciating advances such as the Law of Democratic Memory and the creation of new institutions, the Committee regrets that the 1977 Amnesty Law is still in force and that the proceedings opened since 2010 for crimes committed under Francoism have not made effective criminal progress.
It also expresses concern about so-called autonomous «laws of concord», which omit human rights violations and deny the right to truth, justice and reparation.
It calls for progress on the “stolen babies” bill and to ensure that neither amnesty nor statutes of limitation apply to gross human rights violations committed during the Civil War and dictatorship.