Some forty organisations from around Spain have this Tuesday denounced "the violation of human rights" in the country to the United Nations. Coinciding with the international day of human rights, the organisations have presented reports in Geneva in which they state that rights like those of protest, freedom of expression and political participation are threatened in Spain.
The majority of the complaints are focussed on those issues, but others criticise the prison policy for Basque inmates and the lack of true policies to tackle the legacy of Francoism and reparations for its victims. The information is being provided ahead of Spain's third Universal Periodic Review, a mechanism by which the UN examines the human rights performance of member states.
Among the forty organisations are bodies like Òmnium Cultural, ANC, Plataforma per la Llengua, International Trial Watch, PEN International and Associació Catalana de Professionals.
Most of the organisations denounce the "violation" of the rights to freedom of expression, political participation and peaceful assembly. In regards to the situation in Catalonia, some cite others, like digital rights. Similarly, other complaints include regret that "responsibilities" haven't been clarified over the police response to the 2017 Catalan referendum, criticism of the "rigidity" of the Constitution and the "discrimination against languages which aren't Spanish" in Spain.
Further criticism is directed at "violations" of the rights of disabled people, at the accusations of terrorism in the Altsasu case and the Law on Citizens' Safety.