A delegation of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) visited Spain from 21 to 25 October 2024 as the first step in the preparation of a monitoring report. The visit was preceded by online meetings on 8 and 9 October 2024. During the visit, ECRI’s delegation gathered information on effective equality and access to rights; hate speech and hate-motivated violence; and integration and inclusion.

The delegation held meetings with representatives of the national government, the Ombudsperson, public prosecutors, representatives of civil society organisations, media and groups of concern to ECRI. Moreover, members of the delegation went to Sevilla in Andalusia, where they met with representatives of the regional and local authorities, civil society and Roma community. They also visited a primary school, where they talked to education professionals. Discussions were also held in Barcelona in Catalonia, where in addition to meetings with regional and local authorities, members of the delegation visited the Barcelona Office for Non-Discrimination and a primary school in Santa Coloma de Gramenet.

Following this visit, ECRI will adopt a report in which it will make a new set of recommendations on measures to be taken by the authorities to address racism and intolerance in the country. The implementation of two priority recommendations will be reviewed in two years’ time after the publication of the report as part of ECRI’s interim follow-up procedure.

In its 2018 report on Spain, among other recommendations, ECRI recommended that the authorities take urgent steps to set up an independent equality body or to ensure that the Council for the Elimination of Racial and Ethnic Discrimination is fully independent and provided with the competences and powers outlined in ECRI’s General Policy Recommendations No. 2 on equality bodies to combat racism and intolerance at national level and No. 7 on national legislation to combat racism and racial discrimination.

It also recommended that the police services and the specialised hate crime prosecution services establish, intensify and institutionalise at local, regional and national levels frameworks for regular and sustainable dialogue and co-operation with vulnerable groups suffering from hate speech and civil society organisations working with them.

For more information on previous ECRI reports on Spain, please visit ECRI’s country monitoring page.