UN committee alleges Spain infringed upon the political rights of past Catalan leaders
UN Committee Finds No Basis for Charges Against Catalan Leaders, but Stops Short of Ruling on Suspension
A United Nations (UN) independent rights committee has found that Spain violated the political rights of former Catalan leaders in connection with the 2017 secession attempt. However, the committee has not made an official ruling that the suspension of Catalan regional leaders before their conviction in relation to the 2017 independence referendum violated political rights.
The UN committee's decision, released in 2022, does not address the current status of the four imprisoned leaders (Oriol Junqueras, Raül Romeva, Josep Rull, and Jordi Turull) or the nine people who were convicted over the failed independence push and are still barred from holding office.
The committee's decision was based on the charge of "rebellion" against the four leaders being found not to be based on reasonable and objective grounds. The charge required a "violent uprising against the constitutional order," but the four leaders had urged Catalonia to "remain strictly peaceful."
The UN committee stated that the decision to suspend elected officials must be based on clear and predictable laws that establish reasonable and objective grounds for restricting political rights. However, the committee did not repeat its earlier findings about Spain violating the political rights of former Catalan leaders.
The UN committee's decision does not discuss the recent protests against the decision for more Spanish in schools in Catalonia, the Catalonia Pegasus spyware allegations, or the backlash over the comparison between Catalonia's former President and Ukraine's President by the EU High Representative Josep Borrell.
Carles Puigdemont, the former President of Catalonia, wrote on Twitter that the UN's findings were a "slap in the face" for Spain. Puigdemont fled to Belgium in 2017 to avoid prosecution for his role in the 2017 secession attempt.
The UN committee's decision was welcomed by the Republican Left and "Together For Catalonia," but it was criticised by Puigdemont who stated that an EU member state is violating political rights, posing a real threat to democracy in Europe. The committee's decision does not provide any new information about the Parliament of Catalonia or the Catalonia independence challenge.
Spain was urged to cease repressive policies and stop using the law and penal processes to confront the peaceful demand for the right to self-determination. The UN committee's decision does not mention any new investigation or action related to these concerns.
- The UN committee's decision, while not explicitly ruling on the suspension of Catalan leaders, emphasized the need for policy-and-legislation that establishes clear, predictable laws for the suspension of elected officials, in light of the charges against the former Catalan leaders being based on war-and-conflicts, which the committee found to be without reasonable and objective grounds.
- The UN committee's decision did not address the ongoing issues in Catalonia, such as recent protests, allegations of spying, backlash over comparisons, or the demand for more Spanish in schools, but it did call for Spain to cease repressive policies and stop using the law and penal processes to confront the peaceful demand for the right to self-determination, emphasizing the importance of politics and general-news in these matters.
