The UN Human Rights Committee publishes its concluding observations on Spain's seventh periodic report [editar]

The UN Human Rights Committee publishes its concluding observations on Spain's seventh periodic report. This report includes recommendations directly related to the Roma population

On 18 July, the United Nations Human Rights Committee, the body responsible for monitoring and interpreting the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), published its concluding observations on Spain's seventh periodic report, following its review at the sessions held on 2 and 3 July 2025.

In its report, the Committee welcomes the fact that, during the period under review, eleven legislative and public policy measures aimed at protecting or guaranteeing various rights recognised in the ICCPR have been adopted.

At the same time, it highlights areas of concern and makes a total of 59 recommendations, some of which are directly related to the Roma population.

Among the positive aspects, the Committee recognises Spain's adoption of legislative measures such as the Comprehensive Act 15/2022 of 12 July on equal treatment and non-discrimination, and the establishment of the Independent Authority for Equality and Non-Discrimination, the Strategy for the Equality, Inclusion and Participation of the Roma (2021-2030) and the Strategic Framework for Citizenship and Inclusion against Racism and Xenophobia (2023-2027).

On the other hand, among the main causes for concern, the Committee highlights three issues affecting the Roma population:

• With regard to the fight against discrimination, the Committee regrets the slow pace of the process of adopting the proposed law against racism, racial discrimination and related forms of intolerance. The Committee also expresses concern about the persistence of discrimination against racial and ethnic minorities, in particular against Roma, people of African descent and migrants, as well as reports of systematic and widespread racial and ethnic profiling by law enforcement agencies. The Committee is also concerned that internal accountability mechanisms lack transparency and that data on disciplinary proceedings, including the types of offences and penalties imposed, are not publicly available (arts. 2, 20 and 26).
• With regard to hate speech and hate crimes, the Committee is concerned about reports, including from the Ombudsman, of an increase in complaints and the prevalence of hate speech, in particular neo-fascist hate speech, and hate crimes against Roma, Jewish and Muslims, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals, Catalan communities and people of African descent (arts. 2, 19, 20 and 26).
• With regard to violence against women, the Committee remains concerned about the high rates of femicide, the persistence of gender stereotypes in key sectors such as the judicial system, the barriers faced by women in filing complaints and the still insufficient response to all forms of violence against women. The Committee also notes with concern the need to strengthen the protection of victims in situations of particular vulnerability, including migrant women, women with disabilities, Roma women and women deprived of their liberty (arts. 2, 3, 6, 7, 14 and 26).

At Fundación Secretariado Gitano, we welcome the strength and firmness of this report by the Human Rights Committee, as it reaffirms the importance of continuing to work on improving these legislative measures, as well as the recommendations made in the areas of discrimination, hate crimes and violence against women, especially in relation to the Roma population. Furthermore, we insist that Spain must make progress in addressing the shortcomings identified, bearing in mind that the Roma in Spain continues to be the most discriminated ethnic group compared to other groups.