The Committee of Experts of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages points out that shortcomings still exist in Spain’s language protection system

On 24 September 2024, the Council of Europe's Committee of Experts of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages published the sixth assessment report on Spain's implementation of the European Charter of Regional or Minority Languages.

The report points out that, while Spain has a well-advanced legal system to protect and promote minority and regional languages, there are still significant shortcomings in the areas of justice, the state administration, provision of public services and cross-border exchanges, which come under the jurisdiction of the State. The provisions of the Charter are often not fully applied in those areas, particularly as regards guaranteeing the right of citizens to use their regional or minority languages in legal proceedings, accessing health care services and communicating with the state institutions.

As regards the status of the Basque language in the Basque Country (the assessment considers the Basque language in Navarra separately), the report highlights improvements in fostering and facilitating the use of Basque in public and private life. However, the Committee yet again stresses problems relating to the use of Basque language in the judicial system; its recommendation to the Spanish State is therefore that the legal framework should ensure that administrative, civil and criminal proceedings can be conducted in Basque upon request of one of the parties, and that it takes measures to guarantee that this is being enforced. Indeed, apart from the considerations regarding the legislation, the report points out the problem relating the knowledge of Basque language among the justice system staff, since - even though 45% of those contracted by the Basque Autonomous Community (BAC) have a good level of the Basque language - only 7% of judges and 2.5% of the public prosecution's employees have the necessary level. It is the same when it comes to State civil servants in the Basque Country; the Committee's recommendation to the Spanish State is to take the necessary measures so that Basque speakers can communicate with the local offices of the State Administration in Basque.

Furthermore, the Committee addresses the Basque authorities when it recommends the adoption of measures to guarantee the use of the Basque Language in social and health care centres (as per Article 10.2.a of the Charter), as it highlights that some public services continue to show shortcomings regarding the Basque language, in particular the police and the Basque health service.

The Ararteko took part in this assessment process, invited by the Committee of Experts to the meeting held in Pamplona in January 2024, to discuss, along with the Ombudsman of Navarra, the latest developments regarding the protection of the Basque Language in light of the work carried out by both Ombuds institutions. Accordingly, the Council of Europe's report coincides with the Ararteko by stressing the areas where the Basque language lacks protection, areas that the latter had raised with the Committee of Experts - such as the justice system or the Spanish State Administration in the Basque Autonomous Region; this year, the Ararteko was able to express this concern in person to representatives of the justice system and the Spanish State Administration.

European Ombudsman closes the Ararteko's consultation on the closure of the cross-border bridge between Irun and Hendaye

On 12 February 2024, the European Ombudsman informed the Ararteko of its decision to close the query brought to the European Commission in August, regarding the French authorities' closure of the cross-border pedestrian bridge between Irun and Hendaye.

As this institution reported in July 2023, the Ararteko took a series of steps with the French Ombudsman and the European Ombudsman, to call on the French authorities to re-open the pedestrian bridge between Irun and Hendaye, given the serious consequences that the closure was having for the residents of the border towns. After it gave leave for the Ararteko's consultation to proceed, the European Ombudsman lodged an information request with the European Commission, as the authority in charge of overseeing those border closures that are exceptions to the ordinary rules of the Schengen Agreement.

In its response from 19 September 2023, the Commission explained that it was up to the Member States to decide the scope of the reintroduced controls based on their experience and risk assessment, which can imply the restriction of certain order points along an internal border; it pointed out that the Member States are better placed to determine the existence of risks and the measures needed to deal with them. However, the Commission concluded that it was aware of the impact of border closures on cross-border regions; it is therefore finalising an amendment of the Schengen Borders Code, so that the decision to reintroduce controls along the internal borders also includes an assessment of its impact on the cross-border regions.

The Ararteko informed the European Ombudsman that the latter’s intervention and the explanations provided by the European Commission were an adequate response to the consultation; the Ararteko also expressed its satisfaction as the cross-border bridge had indeed re-opened at the end of October 2023 (in other words, after the intervention by the European Ombudsman with the European Commission). Therefore, in February 2024, the European Ombudsman decided to end its intervention and duly informed the Ararteko.

The Ararteko very much welcomed the outcome of the consultation process with the European Ombudsman, that substantiated its intervention with the European Commission in this regard, by the practical impact of the opening of the border bridge in October 2023.

The Ararteko meets with the Independent Committee of Experts on the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages

On 18 January 2024, the Ararteko-Ombudsman of the Basque Country and the Ombudsman of Navarre appeared jointly before the Committee of Experts of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages at the Palace of Navarre in Pamplona, in the framework of the sixth periodic report on the application of the Charter by Spain.

The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, ratified by Spain in 2001, is the European Convention to protect and promote regional and minority languages, as well as to enable speakers to use them both in public and private life. The implementation of the Charter is monitored by a committee of independent experts.

The Ararteko shared with the Committee a summary of actions carried out by the institution in the field of linguistic rights over the last three years, such as institutional declarations, involvement in awareness-raising initiatives and participation in international networks for minority languages. All these interventions are guided by the institution's firm and public commitment to the right of Basque speakers to access public services in Basque. Regarding complaints, whereby the institution serves as a secondary channel to the primary services offered by Elebide or Behatokia, the Ararteko explained that most of the cases refer to the rights derived from the co-officiality of Basque and Spanish, particularly from people who allege infringements of their right to access certain public services in Basque.

Following the proposal of the Ararteko to the coordinator of the Committee of Experts, this is the first time that the Committee of Experts has met with the ombuds institutions. After thanking the Ombudspersons of the Basque Country and of Navarre for the information provided, and having previously met with the Ombudsperson of Catalonia in Barcelona, members of the Committee confirmed that meeting with the ombuds institutions is a good practice that they will seek to maintain in the future. Following this visit, the Committee will draw up its evaluation report on the implementation of the Language Charter in Spain containing specific findings and recommendations for follow-up. The report is expected to be published in 2024.

The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights reports that people of African descent are facing ever more racism in the EU

On 25 October 2023, the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) published its second “Being Black in the EU” report, which compiles the experiences of people of African descent in Europe. The first report in 2018 highlighted the deep-rooted and widespread racism in Europe against people of African descent. This second FRA report provides new data that reveals increasing discrimination and violence experienced by migrants and descendants of migrants of African descent (Sub-Saharan Africa) residing in 13 countries of the EU, including Spain.

The report stresses that the 5 years that separate this research and the first edition have been marked by the Black Lives Matter movement and the global mobilisation to tackle racism and promote racial justice. Furthermore, progress has been made at institutional level with the European Commission adopting its first EU Anti-Racism Action Plan 2020-2025. However, to quote the FRA Director Michael O’Flaherty, “it is shocking to see no improvement. Instead, people of African descent face ever more discrimination just because of the colour of their skin." The main conclusions are as follows:

Racial discrimination – 45% of respondents say they experienced racial discrimination in the 5 years before the survey, up on the 39% in the previous study. Moreover, discrimination remains invisible as only 9% of the victims report those incidents and very few reports are filed with an equality body. In Spain, only 4% of the people surveyed had reported or filed a complaint after having suffered a racist incident. Furthermore, the lack of knowledge of the equality bodies or specialised support organisations is noteworthy.
Racist harassment – 30% say they experienced racist harassment, and most victims of racist violence suffer from psychological after-effects and fear they will be attacked again. Spain stands out for being among the countries with the lowest percentage of people concerned about the likelihood of suffering racist harassment or violence in public.
Use of racial or ethnic profiling by the police - Over half of the people of African descent believe that their most recent police stop was a result of racial profiling. Spain, after Italy, is the country with the highest rates of racial profiling by the police.
Employment - Many people of African descent have low-skilled jobs, and one out of every three have a temporary contract and lack job security. Spain has the lowest paid employment rates for people of African descent; particularly noteworthy is the pay gap between women and men (25 points); and for being the country with the highest percentage of temporary contracts (45%). Furthermore, Spain and Sweden stand out for the poorest data regarding the number of young people (16-24 years old) surveyed who do not work, or study, or are in education; and the rate is nearly double the one for the general population.
Rising inflation and cost of living have put more people of African descent at higher risk of poverty, compared to the general population. A third find it had to make ends meet. In Spain, nearly half the people surveyed struggled to make ends meet.

The Agency makes a series of recommendations in the report, which are aimed at EU countries in order to help to combat racism and discrimination effectively. Special mention should be made of the following.

Properly enforce anti-discrimination legislation as well as effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions.
Identify and record hate crimes, and consider bias motivation as an aggravating circumstance when determining penalties.
Collect equality data, including on ‘ethnic or racial origin’ to assess the situation and monitor progress.
Ensure that equality bodies have the necessary mandates and resources to tackle discrimination and support victims.
Adopt measures to prevent and eradicate discriminatory institutional practices and culture in policing, drawing on the FRA's Guide on Preventing Unlawful Profiling (2018).
Develop specific policies to address racism and racial discrimination in education, employment, housing and healthcare.

This year, the Ararteko has published its “Discrimination and Anti-discrimination Public Policies in the Basque Autonomous Community” study, in order to highlight the need for public policies to combat discrimination and racism in the Basque Country. The Ararteko study concurs with the FRA report, as it stresses the difficulties to access housing for groups that experience discrimination and are at risk of residential segregation. Moreover, the recommendations of both studies stress the desirability of prioritising, among other matters, measures to prevent, protect and remedy discriminatory behaviour, and additionally administrative complaints or reporting incidents with judicial authorities; the need for information, advice and mentoring for people likely to experience discrimination and for victims of discriminatory or racist incidents; the importance of preparing specific measures for people to identify people; and, finally, of highlighting the need for analyses to design public policies and compiling desegregated data on equality.

International Restorative Encounters Return to the Basque Country

On 21 and 22 November, the three Basque capitals will host international restorative encounters as part of the “Encounter of the Encounters” initiative, organised by the University of the Basque Country and the Basque Criminology Institute, and in collaboration with the Ararteko and different European and international organisations. This event takes place as part of the International Restorative Justice Week, promoted by the European Forum for Restorative Justice.

The “Encounter of the Encounters” initiative consists of facilitating cross-border restorative dialogues with a group of people who have experienced similar "radical" and "extreme" life events in contexts of political violence and violent extremism. Since the first edition took place in Donostia/San Sebastian in 2019, the following five encounters have brought together people from the Basque Country, Belgium, Germany, Israel and Palestine, Italy, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Ukraine. The dialogues bring together participants with overlapping roles in those post-violence contexts: actual witnesses (victims, survivors and perpetrators, sometimes with their family members, such as partners and children); young people representing the future generations) and other interested citizens; restorative justice facilitators; and guarantors with different experience in restorative justice and criminal justice.

The latest "Encounter of the Encounters" is returning to the Basque Country to continue expanding and intensifying international restorative experiences. After an initial day dedicated to confidential encounters, the event, under the title "Intergenerational Restorative Justice: Expanding the Dialogue of the Encounter of Restorative Encounters", will visit the three capitals of the Basque Country to open up restorative dialogues to all citizens: on 21 November in Donostia/San Sebastián (Carlos Santamaría Centre, Antonio Beristain Auditorium), and on 22 November in Vitoria (Main Auditorium on Araba Campus) and in Bilbao (Bilbao Bizkaia Aretoa, Baroja Hall). For those interested in participating, deadline for inscriptions is November 17.

The Ararteko, as an organiser and facilitator of this initiative right from its start, calls on the citizens of the Basque Country to take part in these restorative dialogues.

Landmark UN Ratification of Children's Right to a Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment

In August 2023, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child published its General Comment No. 26 on children's rights and the environment with a special focus on climate change (child-friendly version). The landmark text, driven by the children's movements worldwide to draw attention to the environmental crises, explicitly addresses the impact of climate emergency, the collapse of biodiversity and the pervasive pollution on the life perspectives of children; confirms children's right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment; and clarifies States' obligations regarding environmental harm and climate change.

The process to prepare General Comment No. 26 was broadly participatory. In addition to the usual contributions from subject matter experts and States, children played a key role in the participation process. Right from its start in the 2016 general discussion by the Committee of the Rights of the Child on children's rights and the environment, and up to its publication in 2023, the Committee deployed an extensive consultation process, by means of surveys, focal groups and in-person meetings, to gather the contributions of 16,331 children from 121 countries.

The legal importance and far-reaching scope of General Comment No. 26 is undeniable. The document specifies that States are responsible not only for protecting children's rights from immediate environmental harm, but also for violations of their rights in the future due to States' acts or failure to act today. Furthermore, the Committee includes a series of legislative and administrative recommendations that States should urgently apply given the adverse effects of the triple planetary crisis (climate emergency, collapse of biodiversity and pervasive pollution), to guarantee a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, while also focusing on preserving it for future generations.

The Committee is thus expressing awareness of the obstacles facing children to access their environmental rights. In particular, it stresses the legal barriers due to children's lack of legal standing. Consequently, it calls on the States to provide the appropriate and accessible mechanisms for children to be regularly consulted and in all the phases of the environmental decision-making processes regarding legislation, policies and projects that could affect them. Furthermore, States should provide access to justice pathways for children, whether in judicial, quasi-judicial and non-judicial mechanisms, that are gender-responsive and disability-inclusive. The Committee here stresses the importance of children being able to file complaints with national human rights institutions.

The Ararteko, as reported in the 2022 Annual Report of the Children and Young People's Rights Department of the Ombudsman of the Basque Country-Ararteko to the Basque Parliament, has closely followed the process to prepare General Comment No. 26. In that regard, special mention should be made of its participation at the progress meetings, as well as in the dissemination of calls to participate in the consultation period, and its contribution with content using the appropriate pathways. Regarding the consultations and contributions, mention should also be made of the participation in meetings of civil society, such as the one organised by the Platform of Childhood Organisations on “Childhood and Climate Crisis”.

Furthermore, in 2022, the Ararteko’s Children and Young People’s Rights Department coordinated the ENYA (European Network of Young Advisors) FORUM in Bilbao, led by 34 adolescents from 17 European regions as part of the reflection process of the European Network of Ombudspersons for Children ENOC on children’s rights and climate justice. The FORUM culminated in a series of recommendations address to public authorities, which were incorporated into ENOC’s institutional statement, and further forwarded to the Committee on the Rights of the Child. Taking stock of this work, the Ararteko produced a documentary on children’s rights and climate justice called COLOUR:EARTH, where we gathered reflections on the climate crisis from an intergenerational perspective and from children’s approach.

Future Generations as Subjects of Human Rights

On July 2023, the Maastricht Principles on the Human Rights of Future Generations were published; this soft law instrument establishes that Human Rights are not subject to time limits and, therefore, are applicable in their entirety to future generations.

The Maastricht Principles are the outcome of a process of nearly six years of research, dialogue and collective brainstorming. After being adopted by a group of experts and committed individuals, these principles have already been endorsed by professionals from the field of human rights in all regions of the world, including representatives of international human rights treaty bodies, regional human rights bodies and Special Rapporteurs of the United Nations Human Rights Council.

The Maastricht Principles seek to clarify the current state of international law as it applies to the human rights of future generations, as “those that do not yet exist but will exist and who will inherit the Earth”. They provide guidance for decision-makers on how the rights of future generations can be effectively incorporated in legislation and policies, in the framework of a continuously evolving human rights law. The ultimate aims of the Principles is for the decision-makers to consider and ensure both justice and sustainability across an array of timescales including the present, near term and distant future.

Special mention should be given to the central importance of intergenerational justice in the development of these principles, which stresses intergenerational obligations, duties and trusteeship. Along with the recognition of the unique position that children and young people hold, as they are closest in time to the generations still to come. The right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment is rightly a core aspect of the protection of the Human Rights of future generations, as argued in the recent UN General Comment No. 26 on Children's Rights (see note of the Ararteko).

This initiative builds on expert legal opinions adopted in Maastricht, which have contributed to the transforming of the international legal framework, including the Limburg Principles on the Implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1986); the Maastricht Guidelines on Violations of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1997); and the Maastricht Principles on Extraterritorial Obligations of States in the Area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (2011) and the accompanying commentary.

The Ararteko presents its institutional experience on restorative practices at the 12th International Seminar on Restorative Justice

The Ararteko has attended the 12th International Seminar on Restorative Justice, organised by the European Forum for Restorative Justice, in collaboration with the Department of Justice of the Government of Navarre, in Pamplona on 22-23 June. The title of the seminar, “Policy Matters in Restorative Justice: Mapping a Field in its Process of Growth and Innovation”, is a play on words that aims to highlight the importance of developing public policies in the field of restorative justice, as well as the challenges that they pose to the legislator and to those responsible for their implementation. The event gathered more than 140 professionals from the judiciary, mediation, academia and policymakers from up to 29 different countries.

On this occasion, the Ararteko’s adviser on Justice matters, Roberto Moreno, presented the experience of the Ararteko in the international initiative of restorative justice “The Encounter of the Encounters”, as representative of the community (see note published by the Ararteko). The presentation reflected on the participation in restorative practices of public bodies and official institutions, such as Ombuds institutions. On the one hand, it was highlighted the humanising value and closeness to citizens that restorative justice can bring to public administration, when its representatives participate in restorative practices on behalf of the community. On the other hand, it was noted the opportunity that restorative justice offers for the administration to accompany victims and perpetrators in their process of reintegration into the community.

This seminar has served for the Ararteko to continue forging its path in the field of restorative justice, in this case, by disseminating the experiences accumulated so far and intensifying the exchange of international good practices.

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The Committee of Experts of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages points out that shortcomings still exist in Spain’s language protection system

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