The UNPO and the ANC have submitted a report to the Human Rights Committee criticising Spain’s ongoing human rights violations against Catalans, as well as the selective implementation of the amnesty law and attacks on the Catalan language.
The Unrepresented Peoples and Nations Organisation –representing the Catalan National Assembly– has submitted to the Human Rights Committee for its 144th session a report on the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in Spain with a focus on the situation in Catalonia. The report critically examines the ongoing human rights violations in the region and highlights the Spanish authorities’ broader pattern of denial and lack of engagement with regards to these violations despite both national and international expressions of concern.
On the one hand, the right to fair trial and equality before the law has severely eroded for hundreds of Catalan pro-independence representatives due to a systemic lack of judicial independence and the politicization of the judiciary. In fact, the amnesty law which was approved by Spanish Congress in May 2024 and supposed to annul the sentences issued against hundreds of Catalan pro-independence activists and representatives that occurred between 2011 and 2023 is highly criticized for its selective implementation. While several requests of activists have been denied, 96 Spanish police officers have been granted amnesty for disproportionate police violence, despite the law excluding inhuman and degrading treatment.
On the other hand, the Spanish authorities extensive use of illegal espionage tools against the Catalan pro-independence movement has led to several cases of violations of the right to privacy. The use of the spyware Pegasus and Candiru in what is known as the Catalangate was revealed in April 2022. Despite international bodies’ expression of concern and demands for transparency to ensure external investigations on the matter, Spanish authorities’ secrecy on the matter remains and no redress has been provided to victims of unlawful surveillance. Additionally, several cases of police infiltration in social movements were revealed.
Freedom of opinion and expression are continuously encroached upon with the broadening of provisions on the ‘glorification of terrorism’ and other charges in the so-called ‘Gag Law’. The law has been used to target Catalan activists, pro-independence movements, artists, journalists and social media users posting content sympathizing with pro-independence movements.
Furthermore, the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of association are encroached upon as peaceful protests are being cracked down with reports of OC gas and activists are being prosecuted for unfounded terrorism charges or other fabricated violent offenses.
During the last decade, Spanish authorities have worked to undermine the democratic process in Catalonia, targeting institutions and elected representatives to obstruct their policy-making capacity. Constant threats of prosecution, fines and called-of elections have pressured the right to public participation in Catalonia. These violations of the right to public participation have led international bodies to react. The United Nations Human Right Commission for example highlighted that Spain violated the right of public participation of four Catalan parliament members while they were in pre-trial detention in 2018.
Lastly, the right to equality and freedom of discrimination and the right to language and culture are under pressure. A decision of the Spanish Supreme Court ruled that in addition to already existing Spanish subjects, at least 25% of all other subjects taught in Catalan schools must also be taught in Spanish, jeopardizes the immersion model in Catalan education which has always ensured the bilingual character of Catalan education.
Finally – despite significant national and international concern regarding the human rights violations discussed in the report, the Spanish government chose to deliberately omit any reference to the situation of the Catalan people in its 2025 United Nations Universal Periodic Review (UPR). This reflects a broader pattern of denial and lack of engagement with the underlying human rights concerns, and raises serious questions about Spain’s willingness to address systemic violations and ensure accountability and dialogue within its own borders.
For these reason, the UNPO has recommended Spain to bring the Penal code in line with international human rights law, consider ammending Article 2 of the constitution to exclude the reference to the ‘indissoluble unity’ of the state, drop unfunded criminal charges against civil society and protect the immersion model and Catalan language.