E/CN.4/2004/76/Add.2 page 5 INTRODUCTION 1. From 15 to 27 September 2003 the Special Rapporteur visited Spain following the open invitation of the Spanish Government to all the thematic mechanisms of the Commission on Human Rights. 2. The Special Rapporteur would like to take the opportunity to express her thanks to the Government of Spain for allowing her to examine with transparency the human rights situation of migrants in Spain and for having facilitated her work by providing all necessary assistance. She would also like to express her gratitude to the persons whom she interviewed and who provided information and material, and to express particular thanks to the migrants for their valuable testimony.2 I. PROGRAMME OF THE VISIT 3. The Special Rapporteur visited the following places: Madrid, Barcelona, Cadiz, Tarifa, Algeciras, Ceuta, Melilla, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Fuerteventura. 4. During the first part of her visit, the Special Rapporteur stayed in Madrid. There she was able to meet with various senior officials dealing with the question of migration: the Minister of the Interior; the Minister for Foreign Affairs; the Head of the Foreigners and Immigration Office; the Secretary-General for Social Affairs, the Director-General for Social Action, Minors and the Family, the Director-General for the Organization of Migration, and the Director-General of the Migration and Social Services Institute within the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs; the Commissioner-General for Immigration and Documentation; the Director of the Unit to combat Immigration Networks and Documentary Fraud; the Director of the Central Unit for Frontiers, Assistance and Documentation of Foreigners; the Director of the United Nations Information Office in Spain; the Director-General for Consular Affairs; the Director-General of the Foreigners and Immigration Office; the Director of the Asylum and Refugee Office within the DirectorateGeneral for Foreigners and Migration; and the People’s Advocate. 5. During her visit she also met members of academia, official representatives of the various Autonomous Communities, Autonomous Cities and places she visited, representatives of the various State security forces, representatives of IOM and UNHCR, representatives of various NGOs and the Church, and also a number of migrants. 6. The Special Rapporteur visited, inter alia: La Verneda Foreigners Detention Centre (CIE) and the Casernes de Sant Andreu in Barcelona; the Isla de Las Palomas reception centre in Tarifa; the Integrated External Surveillance System Centre (SIVE) and CIE in Algeciras; the Operations Centre – Frontier Perimeter in Benzú and the Temporary Holding Centre for Immigrants (CETI) in Ceuta; the Beni-Enzar Frontier, Frontier Perimeter, La Purísima Juvenile Centre and CETI in Melilla; the Barranco Seco CIE in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria; El Matorral CIE in Fuerteventura; and other places such as the offices of migrants’ organizations and localities where there are large numbers of migrants. 2 Special thanks to ACSUR-Las Segovias, Franciscans International, Instituts de Drets Humans de Catalunya, Andalucia ACOGE, ELIN, Médecins sans Frontiers, PRODEIN and the Spanish Committee for Aid to Refugees (CEAR).