A/HRC/43/47/Add.1
compared to the 21.5 per cent of respondents who self-identified as practising Catholics. 3
Many people who are minorities in terms of religion or belief self-identify as atheist (12.5
per cent) or agnostic (7.3 per cent). Other religious minorities represent much smaller
proportions of the Spanish population. Recent waves of immigration have led to an
increasing number of Muslims and non-Catholic Christians, especially Protestants, with
Islam constituting the country’s second-largest religious grouping. It is suggested that
almost 2 million Muslims may be living in Spain, making up about 4 per cent of the
country’s total population. Many are immigrants from North African countries; almost half
are Spanish citizens. Jews in Spain comprise less than 0.2 per cent of the population, or
some 40,000 people.
IV. Legal and institutional framework
A.
International framework
11.
Spain is a party to all core international human rights treaties, with the exception of
the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and
Members of Their Families. It has a comprehensive legal framework for the protection of
human rights and a well-developed institutional architecture. Furthermore, Spain has been a
party to the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention for the Protection of National
Minorities since 1 September 1995.
12.
The Special Rapporteur notes that during the second cycle of the universal periodic
review, Spain accepted a number of recommendations with regard to measures combating
racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related informs of intolerance, ethnic and
racial profiling by law enforcement, and discrimination against minorities in all areas,
including in the field of employment, education and housing, as well as recommendations
on the human rights situation and social inclusion of Roma, on protection and promotion of
the rights of religious minorities, and on access to justice and to effective remedies by
persons belonging to minorities (see A/HRC/29/8 and Add.1).
B.
Constitutional and legislative framework
13.
Non-discrimination is enshrined in article 14 of the Constitution, which stipulates
that Spaniards are equal before the law and may not in any way be discriminated against on
account of birth, race, sex, religion, opinion or any other personal or social condition or
circumstance.
14.
Protection is guaranteed for a large number of human rights under Title I of the
Constitution, including freedom of religion or belief (art. 16), freedom of expression (art.
20), freedoms of assembly and of association (arts. 21–22), access to justice (art. 24), the
right to education (art. 27), the right to adequate housing (art. 47) and guarantees for the
rights of persons with disabilities (art. 49).
15.
Law No. 62/2003 of 30 December 2003 transposed into national law Directives No.
2000/43 and No. 2000/78 of the Council of the European Union on non-discrimination. It
covers all grounds of discrimination and includes definitions for both direct and indirect
discrimination, although in some cases one or more grounds are not specifically listed in an
individual provision.
16.
In Organic Law No. 4/2000 of 11 January 2000 on the rights and freedoms of aliens
in Spain and their social integration, discrimination is defined as any act against a foreigner
on the basis of race, colour, descent, national or ethnic origin or religious beliefs and
practices.
17.
While all of the above-mentioned laws may, when broadly interpreted, cover all
grounds of discrimination, they do not specifically include language – an omission that is
3
4
Centre for Sociological Research, “Macrobarómetro de octubre 2019. Preelectoral elecciones
generales 2019”, study No. 3263 (October 2019), p. 38.