During the review of Spain, five countries raised the question of impunity, particularly in regard to crimes, such as "disappearances," committed during the Franco dictatorship. Mexico, for instance, recommended that Spain "investigate, punish and provide reparations for the crime of enforced disappearances, regardless of the passage of time."

Canary Islands government’s decision to keep more than 250 unaccompanied migrant children in unregulated emergency shelters puts the children at risk and threatens their well-being.

On Saturday, 60,000 people marched through the streets of Madrid- as many others did in cities around Spain and the world-to call for justice for Franco-era atrocities and for a halt to criminal proceedings against Judge Baltasar Garzón, who had been trying to investigate those abuses.

The president of the European Union Council, Herman van Rompuy, and EU member states should express their concern over the prosecution and the potential suspension of Judge Baltasar Garzón of Spain for investigating Franco-era abuses.

Thirty-five years after the death of General Francisco Franco, Spain is finally prosecuting someone in connection with the crimes of his dictatorship, and of the Spanish civil war which came before it. Unfortunately, the defendant in the case is Baltasar Garzon, the judge who sought to investigate those crimes.

Spanish authorities should abide by the United Nations call for an end to its 1977 amnesty law rather than prosecuting a judge seeking accountability for past abuses, Human Rights Watch said today.

The Canary Islands' treatment of its boat children is a disgrace.

It is now almost four years since 30,000 migrants arrived in the Canary Islands, the first EU landfall for boats from West Africa. Since then Spain has repatriated most of them or transferred them to the mainland, and the number of new immigrants has fallen. However, some 500 unaccompanied children remain – children who, under Spanish and international law, are entitled to special protection from the state.

Madrid needs to stand up for the forgotten children of Tenerife
By Simone Troller
18.03.2010 / 05:14 CET
The Canary Islands' treatment of its boat children is a disgrace.

It is now almost four years since 30,000 migrants arrived in the Canary Islands, the first EU landfall for boats from West Africa. Since then Spain has repatriated most of them or transferred them to the mainland, and the number of new immigrants has fallen. However, some 500 unaccompanied children remain – children who, under Spanish and international law, are entitled to special protection from the state.