ASPECTS OF AUTONOMOUS COMMUNITIES OF SPAIN AMONG ISSUES DISCUSSED BY HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE
Press Release
HR/CT/457
ASPECTS OF AUTONOMOUS COMMUNITIES OF SPAIN AMONG ISSUES DISCUSSED BY HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE
19960321 Juridical, administrative and security issues relating to the system of Autonomous Communities of Spain were among matters discussed this morning, as the Human Rights Committee continued consideration of that country's fourth periodic report.Responding to written and oral questions by Committee experts, the delegation of Spain referred to incidents of violence in the context of claims to independence in the Basque country, including activities of the organization known by its Basque acronym ETA, meaning "Basque Homeland and Liberty".
Asking additional questions, the expert from France, Christine Chanet, said the Basque problem was a major problem, adding that the largest recent demonstration in Spain was on that matter. The delegation had presented the autonomy charter as being very modern and capable of addressing all the problems which might arise, she continued. The report, however, said the situation was far from perfect, and that the special status had not been able to end "the reprehensible and bloody violence of the ETA", which had bred further forms of violence. The expert from Germany, Eckart Klein, asked whether the Basque population was assessed by the Government as a linguistic minority.
A member of the Spanish delegation said the Basque President had stated that the problem in the Basque country was one between the democrats and the people inclined to violence. The dividing line was not between Basques and Spaniards -- it was a line between those who used democratic means to resolve conflicts and those who used violence, death, extortion, blackmail and kidnapping as political tools.
Other issues discussed this morning included the question of non- discrimination. Spain's delegation stated that gypsies had the same access to the courts as any Spanish citizen or alien and were entitled to legal aid, if necessary. Also, Spanish law set forth that religious beliefs should not constitute grounds for discrimination or inequality before the law in any situation.
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Answering questions by experts this morning were Juan Luis Ibarra and Juan Borrego, of the Ministry of Justice and the Interior of Spain, and Juan Zurita, of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Committee will meet again at 3 p.m. today to continue consideration of the fourth periodic report of Spain.
Committee Work Programme
The Human Rights Committee met this morning to continue consideration of the fourth periodic report of Spain on measures taken to implement the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (document CCPR/C/95/Add.1). (For background information on the report, see Press Release HR/CT/456.)
Under article 40 of the Covenant, every State party has undertaken to submit reports to the Committee on the implementation of the Covenant. The report should take into account questions raised in the Committee on information supplied in the previous report, as well as the Committee's general comments. The report should also provide information on changes made or proposed in laws and practices relevant to the Covenant, and progress made since the Committee last considered the State party's implementation of the Covenant.
Reply by Spain
JUAN LUIS IBARRA, Director General for Codification and Cooperation and International Legal Cooperation of the Ministry for Justice and Interior of Spain, replying to questions concerning the State of Autonomies, including "the Basque problem", as referred to by one expert, said he would talk about violence in the context of claims to independence in the Basque country. The 1978 Constitution referred to nationalities in autonomous regions of Spain. Some regions had voted for autonomy. In exercising the right to self- government, regions could adopt an autonomous status, which had two juridical dimensions, including one related to juridical order. Certain issues were reserved to the competence of the State and others to the autonomous communities, which were 17 today in Spain, in addition to two autonomous cities. That decentralization, political in nature and also administrative, entailed a movement of resources, economic and human.
In political and juridical terms, he said, the major problem in "turf conflicts", were on areas of competence of the central State and of the autonomous communities. A number of those conflicts had come to the fore over time and had reached a peak during 1984 through 1989. Beginning in 1990 the number of such conflicts had declined. Those conflicts involved how to interpret the Constitution. The principle of juridical peace made it possible for the number of conflicts to decline.
The Basque country enjoyed a constitutional status, a nationality and a historical nationality, he said. The Constitution provided for the historical rights enjoyed by those regions. The autonomous community of the Basque country had acceded to the status of autonomy after a referendum. No vote had been cast in favour of self-government; of those eligible to vote, 3.3 per
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cent had voted against a status of autonomy and 39.8 per cent had abstained. That legitimization reflected three characteristics. First, the cultural dimension, including the Basque language. The second involved the way of managing things financially, including the right of collecting all taxes, a self-financial government that was unique in Europe. The third involved security, including its own police force, exclusively created for the Basque country and composed of police officers recruited by the autonomous community itself.
Since 1978, the violence of the terrorist organization which was known by the Basque acronym ETA, meaning "Basque Homeland and Liberty", had not ceased, he said. It had taken 1,800 lives, including the leader of the Socialist Party and of other senior officials. There was an armed organization based in the country practising terrorist violence aimed at independence of the Basque country from Spain. That was an objective that could be achieved only with a reform of the Constitution itself. The criminal dimension was more evident than the political dimension of the problem. The ETA was a declared enemy of democracy in Spain.
Turning to the independence of the judiciary, he said the selection of judges and magistrates should not be confused with the membership of the General Counsel of the Judiciary. Judicial power was exercised by the branch of government made up of judges and magistrates who served independently and for life. They were not selected by the Parliament, but were career members of a system to which they gained access on the basis of knowledge and merit, through competitive examinations. The General Counsel, on the other hand, was composed of 20 members who were elected by a qualified majority of the Parliament.
Article 154 of the Civil Code provided that parents might, in the exercise of their parental power, call upon the help of the authorities and might also reasonably and moderately discipline their children, he said. That principle had never provided protection for the physical mistreatment of minors, which was prosecutable under law.
Addressing the question of non-discrimination, JAVIER BORREGO, Government Counsel of Spain, said gypsies had the same access to the courts as any Spanish citizen or alien and were entitled to legal aid, if necessary. There was no problem of discrimination concerning religious minorities. Spanish law set forth that religious beliefs shall not constitute grounds for discrimination or inequality before the law in any situation. Specifically, one might not allege religious reasons for employment discrimination, in either the public or private sphere. With respect to a case involving the new religious sect, "The Family of God", the Government would present to the Special Rapporteur the decisions that were reached.
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In a number of territories, there were two official languages: Castilian, and the language of the autonomous community itself. With regard to racial discrimination, he distinguished between the pathological or abnormal behaviour by such groups as the skinheads and Hell's Angels -- groups which engaged in criminal activities and might need psychiatric help -- and the activities of apparently normal people. Spain had gone from being a country of emigration to a country of immigration. Was racial discrimination the problem, or was it one of economics? The Arab millionaires in Spain did not face problems of racial discrimination, but poor immigrants might.
According to the most recent statistics, there were some 500,000 registered resident aliens in Spain, he said. Each year, the number of foreign residents increased in terms of percentage, indicating that clandestine entry into Spain was a serious problem. Of the 500,000 resident aliens, 12,600 people had applied for asylum, and their applications had been granted or were pending. For the period 1986 to 1995, 3,098 million pesetas was provided for new housing for gypsies in the autonomous community of Madrid -- the community which received the most members of that minority.
Today in Europe, swastikas were being exhibited in central Europe by racist, violent youth, he said. Those swastikas were being produced in southern Europe. In northern Europe, video games were being produced in which one earned bonus points for the death of Jews in gas chambers. If action was not taken at the international level, it would be difficult to combat racism and xenophobia.
Mr. BORREGO, replying to questions on the domestic application of the Covenant and whether the Covenant was known by the lower courts and applied by them, answered in the positive. The average number of monthly calls asking his office questions concerning the Covenant was huge. Conflicts did not exist at the domestic level between the European Covenant and the Covenant itself. The Covenant had been ratified before the Constitution had been finalized and adopted, he added. The incorporation of international instruments in Spain's legislation had been beneficial.
As regard to a question on non-governmental organizations and the Covenant, he said the drafting of the report was a responsibility entirely of the Government, in order to avoid any confusion. If the opinions of non- governmental organizations were to be included in the report that might result in confusion.
He said the Universal Declaration on Human Rights was law in Spain. There was no discrimination against foreigners. The new Constitution had eliminated discrimination relating to matrimonial issues and parental authority. Parental authority was given to the individual with whom the child lived. In the case of separated married couples, a justice intervened if
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there was disagreement. Parents were duty-bound to watch over their children and make sure they were educated and fed.
Mr. IBARRA, of the Ministry of Justice and Interior of Spain, said women held 22 per cent of the seats in the legislative houses. That situation did not represent a legal norm but was a convention resulting from the practice of the political parties.
Further Questions by Experts
CHRISTINE CHANET, expert from France, asked whether the Covenant was relied upon in Spanish law. Was it taken as the legal basis for a legal decision? The problems of racism and xenophobia could not be combated in a single way. Spain had adopted new legislation, which was not always easy to implement. The Basque problem was a major problem, so it surprised her to hear there was no Basque problem. The largest recent demonstration in Spain was on that problem.
She said the delegation had presented the autonomy charter as being very modern and capable of addressing all the problems which might arise. The report, however, said the situation was far from perfect, and that the special status had not been able to end "the reprehensible and bloody violence of the ETA", which had bred further forms of violence.
ECKART KLEIN, expert from Germany, asked whether the Basque population was assessed by the Government as a linguistic minority.
Response by Spain
Mr. IBARRA, of the Ministry of Justice and Interior of Spain, said the Basque President had stated that the problem in the Basque country was one between the democrats and the people inclined to violence. The dividing line was not between Basques and Spaniards -- it was a line between those who used democratic means to resolve conflicts and those who used violence, death, extortion, blackmail and kidnapping as political tools.
The Basque people had decided to opt for self-government through the charter of autonomy, he said. By virtue of its autonomous status, the Basque country enjoyed unparalleled legislative and executive power.
The activities of the criminal, terrorist organization "Grupos Anti- terroristas de Liberación" (GAL) had been addressed in the Spanish courts, he said. A case was currently being heard which dealt with conditional wrongful detention by GAL of a French citizen in 1983. The case demonstrated the scope of Covenant guarantees in Spanish law, including that of equality before the law. Persons who once occupied high positions in the fight against organized
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crime were now being brought before the court. The GAL criminal organization was now a thing of the past.
There was a societal conviction that ETA's actions would never compel the Spanish Government to buckle under the pressure, he said. Another lesson was that the rule of law and international cooperation were sufficient to wage a penal effort against terrorism.
It was asked whether Basque-speaking people constituted a linguistic minority in terms of the Covenant, he said. They were not. The Basque territory was bilingual. Its Parliament functioned on a bilingual basis, and its official journal was published both in the Basque and Spanish languages.
Response by Spain on Life, Liberty; Treatment of Detainees; Fair Trial
Mr. IBARRA, of the Ministry of Justice and Interior of Spain, said the Constitution specified the maximum period for any preventive term in prison. The inviolability of the home was guaranteed, as was the privacy of communications. That precept had been further developed by the law on criminal sentencing. On steps taken to prevent acts of torture and ill- treatment, he said that, from the first moment of detention, an individual could be examined by a forensic physician if he so desired. Other measures included standardization of the register of detainees. There was a protocol for transfers between the detention centre and the penitentiary, based on the Convention against Torture.
Allegations had been made of ill-treatment and torture, he said. His delegation would be happy to present statistics on the workings of the Spanish judicial system to Committee members. An individual found guilty of torture would be punished with a prison term, for a duration to be based on the severity of the offence. He would also be removed from his position for a prescribed period.
JUAN ZURITA, of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Spain, said his country's prison system aimed at promoting the reintegration of individuals into society upon their release. Last year a detention centre had been opened in Madrid which was the first built according to a prototype contained in a government plan on the matter.
He said there was an attempt to reduce supply and demand of drugs through preventive measures, including detoxification. Intense regulatory activities were also under way in that regard, and he cited some of them, including one on the operation of dependent unions managed by non-governmental organizations. Those new regulations included innovations related to re- socialization and preparation of detainees for a life in freedom.
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Mr. BORREGO, Government Counsel of Spain, responding to a question on due process, said he noted that the number of litigations went hand in hand with progress in society. There was no possibility of litigation under the old system. There was a range of measures being taken now concerning breaches of due process. The number of courts and the number of personnel resources devoted to that issued had increased. A council was monitoring the day-to-day work of the courts. There was a need to maintain guarantees to the accused by making trials as speedy as possible.
Response of Spain on Freedom of Movement, Aliens, Privacy, Religion
Mr. IBARRA, of the Ministry of Justice and Interior of Spain, said the law addressed situations in which petitions of asylum were denied and the ruling appealed. The party would not be expelled except in certain specified conditions. On the laws regarding freedom of religion, he said conventions had been signed with both Muslim and evangelical groups, providing that they might designate instructors who might convey religious training at public institutions, consistent with the teachings of their respective religions. Their salaries would be paid by the State.
On differences between the position of the Catholic Church and other religions creeds, he said there were no differences which did not derive from the fact that Catholicism was the majority religion in Spain. However, there was absolute equality before the law among Catholics, Protestants, Jews and Muslims. There was no discrimination based on religion in Spain's legal system.
On the collection and use of personal data, he drew attention to the privacy law regulating automatic data processing. By its terms, automated data must be current and used only for the purposes designated. Sensitive data regarding ideology and beliefs were most protected. Medium protection was accorded to information on racial origin, health or sexual life, which might be revealed if required for public interest, with the consent of the person concerned.
He reviewed activities of Spain's data protection agency, which had conducted ex officio investigations on police and hospital files, with the aim of ensuring the protection of sensitive data. The agency had applied a number of very serious penalties and fines.
He then turned to a question regarding amendments to the law on freedom of expression following a ruling against Spain by the European Court of Human Rights in the Castells case. A fine of 3 million peseta had been paid within three months. The draft penal code had been changed. In the new Penal Code, there was an admission of the principle cited by the Court.
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