A/HRC/43/47/Add.1 potentially inconsistent with a number of international treaty obligations for which this characteristic is fundamental. 18. Other important legislative developments include the adoption of Law No. 27/2007 of 23 October 2007, in which sign languages and speech aid systems were recognized, and Royal Legislative Decree No. 1/2013 of 29 November 2013, by which the general law on the rights of persons with disabilities and their social inclusion was adopted.4 C. Institutional framework 19. Law No. 62/2003, as amended by Law No. 15/2014 of 16 September of 2014 on the rationalization of the public sector and other measures of administrative reform, provided for the establishment of the Council for the Elimination of Racial or Ethnic Discrimination. The Council became operational on 28 October 2009.5 It is administratively attached to the Ministry of Presidency, Relations with the Cortes and Equality through the Institute for Women and Equal Opportunities, and is a collegiate body that includes representatives of national, regional and local administrations, social partners and a number of civil society organizations. Operating independently, it provides assistance to victims of discrimination, conducts research and publishes reports, offers mediation and files complaints with the Ombudsperson, public authorities, inspection services and consumer organizations. The Council helped in the establishment of a network to provide assistance for victims of racial or ethnic discrimination; support services are provided by eight specialized organizations with offices in different regions. 6 However, there are concerns about the Council’s ability to launch investigations in discrimination cases and to initiate and participate in court proceedings.7 20. There are specialized hate-crime units in provincial prosecutorial offices in the country, and an inter-institutional memorandum of understanding among national public administration institutions, including civil society organizations as observers. Furthermore, the Observatory on Racism and Xenophobia has developed and implemented training programmes for government officials, including law enforcement, and specific programmes on non-discrimination in areas such as health, education and the Internet. 21. The Office of the Ombudsperson was established through Organic Law No. 3/1981 of 6 April 1981, with the mandate to monitor the respect and promotion of human rights within the General State Administration (national State administrative services) and the regional and local administrations, and to launch investigations both ex officio and on the basis of received complaints. The ombudspersons of the autonomous communities also contribute to the human rights agenda at the regional and local levels. 22. Finally, with regard to the Roma associative movement, the State council of the Roma people was established in 2005 through Royal Decree No. 891/2005 of 22 July 2005,8 as an interministerial advisory body attached to the Ministry of Health, Consumer Affairs and Social Welfare, with the participation of a significant number of Roma organizations and associations. Its main goals are to develop and strengthen collaboration with the State administration, particularly in the area of social welfare policies, and to increase awareness of the human rights of Roma in Spain and strengthen the capacity for the protection and promotion of those rights. Similar advisory bodies were established at the regional level, for example in Catalonia, Basque Country and Extremadura. 4 5 6 7 8 European Commission, Country Report: Non-Discrimination – Spain 2019 (Luxembourg, European Union), p. 6. Available at www.equalitylaw.eu/downloads/4963-spain-country-report-nondiscrimination-2019-pdf-1-32-mb. Ibid., p. 9. See https://asistenciavictimasdiscriminacion.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/TRIPTICO-FolletoServicio-de-atencio%CC%81n-INGLES-web1.pdf. European Commission against Racism and Intolerance, “ECRI report on Spain (fifth monitoring cycle” (27 February 2018), p. 15. See www.mscbs.gob.es/ssi/familiasInfancia/PoblacionGitana/docs/tripticos/TripticoCastellano.pdf. 5