Spain - Universal Periodic Review

UPR35, January 22, 2020
Recommendations by Canada

Background

According to UPR Info, a non-profit, non-governmental organization (NGO) that tracks the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process, in the first two cycles of the UPR, Spain has accepted 269 recommendations and noted 80, an acceptance rate of just over 77%. Canada has made a total of 7 recommendations to Spain, primarily concerning migrants, asylum seekers, refugees and human trafficking, with other recommendations focusing on women’s rights and detention conditions, including human rights violations by state agents.

Spain is a strong democracy, with human rights and fundamental freedoms firmly protected by the constitution of 1978. Spain has ratified a wide variety of international human rights treaties. Spain is presently in the process of implementing a second, updated National Human Rights Plan, which is expected to include the creation of a national coordinating and monitoring body for human rights, as well as a system of human rights indicators. Spain is also currently a member of the UN Human Rights Council, with a focus on the abolition of the death penalty, promoting civil, cultural, and democratic rights, and fighting against racism, xenophobia, and all forms of discrimination.

Spain addressed all recommendations it received during the Second Cycle of the UPR. However, progress and follow-up on these recommendations has been uneven.

An area of ongoing concern is the treatment of migrants and asylum-seekers, particularly in the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla (located on the Moroccan coast). Despite laws being passed guaranteeing the availability of legal aid, and significant personnel increases at the Spanish Asylum and Refugee Office, migrants to Spain face significant delays in processing of their applications for asylum and the continued practice of “pushbacks” across Ceuta and Melilla’s borders with Morocco.

Another area of concern is the protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression. Under the current Spanish criminal code, it is a criminal offence to publish, post, or publicly criticize the Spanish Royal Family and a wide variety of other public or government figures and institutions in an “injurious” manner.

Recommendations

Thank you, Madam President.

Canada welcomes the actions taken by Spain to strengthen its protection and enforcement of human rights and equality since its last UPR, and is pleased to see progress on a new human rights strategy.

Canada recommends that Spain:

1. Ensure that immigration procedures and procedural safeguards concerning irregular immigration, refugees, and asylum seekers, particularly in the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla, are consistent with its international human rights obligations.
2. Ensure that sufficient resources are deployed to support incoming migrants and asylum seekers in a manner consistent with international law and respecting the principle of non-refoulement.
3. Review the laws pertaining to criminal offences of insulting the Crown and offending religious feelings, and review Organic Law 9/1983 and the Organic Law on Citizen Security with the objective of protecting the rights of freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.