Assemblea and the Unrepresented Peoples and Nations Organization (UNPO) have sent a joint complaint addressed to several UN Special Rapporteurs, denouncing Spain’s ongoing repression and the use of anti-terrorism legislation against Catalonia’s self-determination movement.
The report –forwarded yesterday to the UN experts–, details numerous violations of civil and political rights relating to freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and association, the right to participate in public affairs, right to privacy, and right to dignity.
These human rights abuses are part of a pattern of systemic repression and judicial harassment of Catalan activists and representatives by Spanish authorities, which have intensified the criminalization of Catalonia’s self-determination movement, labelling it as violent and resorting to an extremely politicised judiciary to tackle and silence the struggle for self-determination, especially since the 2017 referendum.
The use of anti-terrorism mechanisms against political dissent and human rights defenders is extremely concerning, and aligns Spain with other increasingly authoritarian states, which are using the concepts of ‘national unity’ to justify repressing self-determination movements, national minorities and indigenous populations.
The UNPO is an international organisation dedicated to defending the right to self-determination for its more than forty members across the world, which include indigenous peoples, minorities, unrecognised states and occupied territories. Assemblea has been representing Catalonia at the UNPO since 2018 as part of its international strategy, and it currently holds the organization’s vice-presidency with Elisenda Paluzie, former Assemblea president.
The collaboration between both organisations has been very successful, and has led to the publication of the report Tools of Repression as well as the joint complaint to the UN Special Rapporteurs in 2022 concerning Spain’s use of Pegasus to target ANC members. The latter triggered a communication by the UN experts that denounced the Catalangate espionage scandal and demanded an “immediate, independent, transparent, impartial and effective investigation” as well as reparations from Spain.
Photo credit: Sung Shin via Unsplash
