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Country visit report
Spain: address housing and health inequalities, safeguard freedoms of expression and assembly and provide safe and legal access to the territory for people seeking asylum
Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović published today the report on her visit to Spain carried out in November 2022, with recommendations on social rights, in particular the right to housing and the right to health, the freedoms of expression and assembly and the human...
Country visit
Spain should advance social rights, better guarantee freedoms of expression and assembly and improve human rights of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants
“Spain has made significant efforts to advance the protection of social rights in recent years. Crucial legislative reforms, currently pending in Parliament, provide an opportunity to align Spanish legislation with international and European human rights standards, including in the field of the...
Letter
Commissioner calls on Spanish authorities to investigate the circumstances of the deaths and violence at Melilla border
In a letter addressed to the Spanish Minister of the Interior published today, Commissioner Mijatović urges the authorities to conduct an independent, full and effective investigation into the events leading to the deaths of more than 20 migrants who attempted to cross the fence between Nador,...
Letter
Spain: the review of the 2015 Law on Citizens' Safety should result in better protecting human rights
In a letter published today, the Commissioner calls on the Parliament of Spain to ensure that the review of the 2015 Law on Citizens’ Safety is used as an opportunity to bring it fully in line with European and international human rights standards, in particular as concerns the provisions...
Letter
Spanish authorities should amend the Criminal Code to strengthen existing safeguards of the right to freedom of expression
In a letter addressed to the Minister of Justice of Spain, made public today, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović invites the Spanish authorities to amend in a comprehensive manner the Criminal Code to strengthen existing safeguards of the right to freedom of...
Letter
Spain’s authorities must find alternatives to accommodating migrants, including asylum seekers, in substandard conditions in Melilla
In a letter addressed to the Ministers of Home Affairs and for Inclusion, Social Security and Migration of Spain, published today, the Commissioner raises concerns about the situation of the migrants, including asylum seekers, who are accommodated in the bullring of Melilla, following the...
Statement
Protection of the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly during last week's demonstrations in Catalonia
I am concerned at numerous reports of attacks against journalists covering demonstrations in Catalonia last week. The Council of Europe Platform for the safety of journalists has recorded 37 such instances. While some of these attacks have been carried out by demonstrators, several accredited...
Letter
Commissioner urges Spain to ensure that the Law on Citizens’ Safety upholds the rights to freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly
In a letter addressed to the Presidents of the Congress and the Senate of Spain published today, Commissioner Mijatović urges the Parliament to ensure that the review of the Law on Citizens’ Safety eliminates possibilities of disproportionate interference with the rights to freedom of expression...
Third party intervention
Commissioner Mijatović intervenes before the Strasbourg Court on the right to vote of persons with disabilities
“No one should be deprived of their right to vote because of their disabilities. Persons with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities are no exception”, said today Dunja Mijatović, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, while publishing her written observations submitted to the...
Third party intervention
The Commissioner intervenes before the European Court of Human Rights on cases concerning alleged pushbacks of migrants at Spain’s border
Today the Commissioner published updated written observations that he submitted to the European Court of Human Rights in two cases concerning returns of migrants from the Spanish city of Melilla to Morocco. The cases were referred to the Grand Chamber last January. The present new observations...
Letter
Commissioner calls on Spain to investigate allegations of disproportionate use of police force in Catalonia
Today the Commissioner published a letter sent on 4 October to Mr Juan Ignacio Zoido Álvarez, Minister of the Interior of Spain, in which he raises concerns regarding allegations of disproportionate use of force by law enforcement authorities in Catalonia on 1 October 2017. “The Spanish...
Letter
Spain: Commissioner Muižnieks calls for guidance to border police on how to handle migration flows in Ceuta and Melilla
In a letter to the Minister of Interior of Spain published today, Commissioner Muižnieks has urged the Spanish authorities to adopt a procedural framework to ensure that border police in Ceuta and Melilla have clear instructions on how to handle mixed migration flows in full compliance with human...
Third party intervention
Commissioner Muižnieks intervenes before the European Court of Human Rights on migration cases concerning Spain
Today, Commissioner Muižnieks has submitted written observations to the European Court of Human Rights in relation to two complaints concerning alleged pushbacks of migrants from the Spanish city of Melilla to Morocco. Basing his observations on his visit to Melilla in January 2015 as well as on...
Statement
Spain : Commissioner concerned about adoption of amendment to the Aliens Act
Yesterday’s adoption by the Senate of the amendment to Spain’s Aliens Act falls short of providing clear guarantees against refoulement and collective expulsions, and of establishing adequate safeguards for the right of every person to seek and enjoy asylum, irrespective of the way they reach...
Visit to Spain
Spain: Legislation and practice on immigration and asylum must adhere to human rights standards
“The proposed amendments to the Aliens Act aimed at legalising push-backs of migrants arriving in Ceuta and Melilla currently discussed in Spain are in clear breach of human rights law. The Spanish authorities should reconsider them and ensure that any future legislation fully abides by Spain's...
Spain cannot legalise what is illegal
Huffington Post Spain, 10/12/2014 The proposal to legalise automatic collective expulsions of migrants arriving in Ceuta and Melilla is wrong and unlawful under international law. Such a move would inevitably erode fundamental human-rights protections that the international community has fought...
Spain: Human rights need particular protection in times of economic crisis and austerity budgets
[07/06/2013 15:00] "All efforts should be made by the Spanish authorities to assess and limit the negative impact of budgetary cuts on the most vulnerable groups, in particular children and persons with disabilities" stated Nils Muižnieks, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights at...
Spain: Commissioner concerned about the pardon of police officers condemned for torture
[03/12/2012 10:00] In an interview with the Spanish news agency EFE, the Commissioner expressed his concerns about the decision of the Spanish Government to pardon 5 police officers who were condemned in 2008 for a case of torture. Stressing that torture and other forms of ill-treatment are...
Letter to the Minister of Health, Social Policy and Equality of Spain
Letter from the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights to Ms Leire Pajin, Minister of Health, Social Policy and Equality of Spain CommDH(2011)19 / 1 juin 2011 Reply of the Minister of Health, Social Policy and Equality of Spain, Ms Leire Pajin, to the letter of the Council of Europe...
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* On 16 March 2022, the Committee of Ministers adopted a decision by which the Russian Federation ceased to be a member of the Council of Europe, after 26 years of membership.
** All reference to Kosovo, whether to the territory, institutions or population, shall be understood in full compliance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999) and without prejudice to the status of Kosovo.