SPAIN - Immigration bill, a step backwards for the protection of immigrant human rights

On 26 June, the Spanish government sent the Immigration Bill to the Congress of Deputies, in which some improvements were made in relation to the first draft submitted for public scrutiny. For example, the new text includes a new procedure for female victims of gender-based violence through which they may be granted a temporary work permit. However, despite these modest steps forward, Médicos del Mundo (Médecins du Monde Spain) is convinced that the Immigration Bill, approved by the Council of Ministers, in no way improves the protection of human rights.

 

The bill continues to undermine the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Spanish Constitution, as it does not guarantee all the rights of immigrants living in Spain, in particular the right to health.

 

Furthermore, Médicos del Mundo has found that none of the reports on this bill published thus far (under the Forum on Immigration or the Consejo de Estado [State Council]), nor the assessments published by various social organisations, properly highlight the weaknesses of the bill as far as the right to health is concerned. Médicos del Mundo has thus decided to draft a thorough analysis of the bill suggesting possible modifications for the text which shall be sent to the various parliamentary groups over the coming days.

 

The Médicos del Mundo report highlights matters for concern within the bill, particularly with regard to the right to health, in line with international human rights standards. Médicos del Mundo would like to emphasise four particularly alarming aspects relating to:

  • Administrative barriers blocking access to health care;
  • Admission of illegal immigrants into detention centres (a situation which has been worsened by the extension of the 60-day period);
  • Lack of guarantees with regards to deporting minors and determining age on the basis of fairly ineffective methods;
  • Lack of effective and efficient protection for seriously ill people being deported who require specialised health care which is impossible to access in their country of origin.

 

Over the fifteen years in which Médicos del Mundo has been working with immigrant populations, they have observed various infringements of the right to health. These infringements are due to current legislation being ignored or to the inadequacy of the legal framework covering foreign nationals. Through this detailed analysis, our association has been led to conclude that access to the right to health is restricted - if not openly infringed – and that this will not be resolved if this bill is approved, in its current state, as submitted to the Congress of Deputies.

 

Médicos del Mundo shall send their report to the various parliamentary groups represented under the Labour and Immigration Committee, and push for meetings with deputies, in an attempt to influence parliamentary debate on the bill. Originally, the Spanish government wished to fast track the bill, but following some initial setbacks to the timetable, social organisations have been afforded some room for manoeuvre in their work with parliamentary groups.

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