The Special Rapporteur on freedom of assembly and association, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, the Special Rapporteur on the independence of magistrates and lawyers, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, and the Working Group on arbitrary detention sent a communication to the Spanish authorities as an answer to the information provided by the Secretary General of Esquerra Republicana denouncing the effects of the persistent repression against the political party and the Catalan pro-referendum movement. Sine Qua Non has supported and followed-up the whole process, on its role of supporting partners to send communications to Special Procedures on behalf of victim/s or civil society organisations.
United Nations express its preoccupation about “an improper use of criminal law and the supervisory power of the State to prosecute leaders and members of civil society who sympathize with Esquerra Republicana”. They fear that “these actions of criminalization of people exercising their civil and political rights become a systematic pattern” because they “could constitute a serious violation of freedom of association and peaceful assembly”.
The international body highlights that the State has to ensure all people “the possibility of peacefully expressing their opinions without fear”, as well as of “exercising their rights of freedom of association and assembly”, even when they are “dissident convictions or beliefs”. They denounce the incompatibility of some Spanish legislation that “criminalizes the legitimate thoughts and expressions of the actors of the civil society” with the rule of law and human rights obligations of the Spanish Government.
They also express their worries about cyber espionage, economic repression, and better prison conditions in exchange for a cessation of the exercise of certain rights or political positions, as well as about the reprisals and the number of people injured in the framework of public assemblies and demonstrations, which they consider “vital to the life of healthy societies”.
They ask for relevant information related to these issues, and they urge the Spanish government to take all necessary measures to protect the rights and freedoms of the victims and investigate, prosecute and impose sanctions appropriate to any person responsible for the alleged violations, and to take effective measures to prevent repetition of such events.
Know more
What are Special Procedures?
https://www.ohchr.org.en/special-procedures-human.rights-council
What are Communications?
https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures-human-rights-council/what-are-communications
UN report (in Spanish):
https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=27719
April 2023