A/HRC/43/47/Add.1 5. The Special Rapporteur thanks the Government of Spain for the constructive spirit and cooperation shown during the visit and its readiness to engage in an open dialogue to better understand and assess the human rights situation of minorities in the country. He also expresses his gratitude to the numerous national and international non-governmental organizations that provided information and met with him. 2 II. Visit objectives 6. The objectives of the visit were to identify, in a spirit of cooperation and constructive dialogue, good practices in, and possible obstacles to, the promotion and protection of the human rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities in Spain in conformity with the mandate. More specifically, the Special Rapporteur aimed at proposing possible ways of addressing existing gaps, identifying possible improvements to existing legislation, policies and practices and, in particular, identifying pathways for the effective implementation by Spain of its international obligations in relation to the human rights of minorities. 7. The overall aim was to examine existing legislation, policies and practices for the protection and promotion of the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities. The Special Rapporteur also wished to explore aspects pertaining to minorities in areas of particular significance, such as education, the use of minority languages, housing, employment, administrative and judicial services, access to health and other public services, the participation of minorities in the political process, and efforts to combat hate speech and other forms of intolerance directed at minorities, including islamophobia and anti-Gypsyism. He also wanted to get a better sense of the normative framework governing human rights in general, and particularly those of minorities, including the latest amendments to relevant legislation, acts and other mechanisms that have been established in that regard. These aspects are key to better understanding the barriers to inclusion experienced by some minority communities, and why some minorities may be distrustful of State public entities and mechanisms or have grievances in relation to what they perceive as the negation of their human rights or rejection, based on longstanding prejudices or bias. III. General context 8. With a population of over 46 million, Spain presents a rich tapestry of languages, cultures and religions. 9. The official national Spanish language (Castilian) is spoken by almost all Spaniards either as their first or second language. In 11 of the 17 autonomous communities, Castilian is the sole official language. In the remaining six autonomous communities (Catalonia, Balearic Islands, Galicia, Basque Country, Navarra and the Valencian Community), Castilian is a co-official language along with one or more of the following languages: Catalan, Basque, Valencian, Galician and Occitan (Aranese). The minority co-official languages are spoken by almost 30 per cent of the population of Spain. Furthermore, the linguistic diversity of Spain is further enriched by the array of languages spoken by the different immigrant communities, including Arabic, Romanian, English, German, French, Russian, Portuguese and Italian. While there are no reliable data on the precise number of users of sign languages (Spanish Sign Language and Catalan Sign Language) in the country, some estimate it to be between 100,000 and 150,000. 10. A clear majority of Spaniards consider themselves to be Catholics, although in a recent study 46.8 per cent of respondents self-identified as non-practising Catholics, as 2 While the draft report in English was shared in advance with the Government of Spain, the Special Rapporteur was not informed at the time that a Spanish translation was to be provided with his draft report. The Special Rapporteur would like to express his appreciation for the fact that despite these circumstances the Government of Spain shared its concerns and views in relation to the present report. These comments are contained in an addendum to the report. 3