The acting Ombudsman of Spain, Francisco Fernández Marugán, has appeared today in the Joint Committee on Relations with the Ombudsman Congress and Senate to report the position of the Institution before the arrival of migrants by boat to the Mediterranean arc, the situation of the Spanish prisoners abroad, and advertisements for prostitution in the media.
Francisco Fernández Marugán has called for an intervention protocol to improve the first reception and assistance of people arriving on Spanish coasts in an irregular situation. In his opinion, the response that Spain is giving is insufficient despite the more than 30 years since the first arrival of migrants by boat. “Spain must be prepared to be able to carry out, in decent conditions and with guarantees, the rescue, reception and when it is possible, the return of these people,” he pointed out.
In 2017, the Institution verified the conditions in which the assistance and first reception of people who entered irregularly through Algeciras, Málaga, Motril, Almería, Cartagena and Murcia took place and concluded that these dependencies are inadequate.
For the Ombudsman it is inadmissible that in 2017 you can witness, among other things, mothers with babies in dungeons, unaccompanied minors locked in cells, men sleeping on the floor, or places where there is no heating while being 20 meters from the sea.
For this reason, Fernández Marugán has proposed some ideas in the Commission to design a new system of first reception. Thereupon, he considers it important to establish an intervention protocol that includes appropriate infrastructures, specialized human resources, and collaboration as well as coordination criteria between administrations, international organizations, and civil society.
In addition, he considers it essential to have a catalog of nearby infrastructures that can be activated immediately regardless of the point at which the entry of people in an irregular situation takes place, instead of fixed installations in each place.
As this is a changing reality, Fernández Marugán is committed to having mobile multidisciplinary teams with the capacity to deploy, instead of having permanent groups on the ground to identify people in a situation of special vulnerability (unaccompanied minors, victims of trafficking or applicants for asylum, and international protection). To carry out a social and legal triage with guarantees, these teams should collaborate forces and security forces, personnel dependent on the General Secretariat of Immigration, the Office of Asylum and Refuge and the regional and local administrations, in collaboration with international organizations, social organizations and bar associations.
The Prision of Málaga II (Archidona) acting as a temporary Foreign Detention Center (CIE)
During his appearance, Fernández Marugán also referred to the Institution’s performance after the internment of a group of more than 500 men of Algerian origin in the Prison of Málaga II (Archidona) acting as a temporary Foreign Detention Center that arrived irregularly to the coasts of Murcia.
The Ombudsman made an exhaustive follow-up since its use was known. These facilities were visited twice by personnel of the Institution in their double condition of High Commissioner of the General Courts and National Mechanism of Prevention of the Torture (MNP). In addition, technicians of the Institution witnessed the return of a group of these people by sea to Oran (Algeria).
After the first visit in which they detected numerous shortcomings, the Ombudsman made ten suggestions and a reminder of legal duties to the General Directorate of the Police so that the people placed there could enjoy the same rights and guarantees as in a Foreign Detention Center.
Fernández Marugán has also referred to the death of inmate Mohamed Bouderbala at the Archidona facility. Consequently, he has questioned the manner in which the isolation of this Algerian citizen was carried out and has assured that a Foreign Detention Center can not be a place where the inmates self-manage the occupation and distribution of the cells, without the police officers accessing the galleries for the nights, something that happened in Archidona.
In this regard, he has announced that he has asked the General Commissariat of Foreigners and Borders for the results of the administrative investigation regarding the death of the inmate, regardless of the criminal proceedings initiated by the Court of First Instance and Instruction of Archidona.
Spanish Prisoners Abroad
Spanish prisoners abroad are a group to which the Institution has historically paid special attention. Fernández Marugán explained that the Ombudsman works so that they receive the appropriate consular attention and are repatriated to Spain to comply with sentences close to their family environment and in prisons with better conditions.
In 2015, the Institution presented the study of the situation of Spanish prisoners abroad with numerous recommendations to improve the situation of these people. The Ombudsman has highlighted the recommendation made to the Ministry of the Interior to take advantage of flights of repatriation of foreigners that Spain makes to collect Spanish prisoners who have been granted to serve the rest of their sentence in Spain.
Fernández Marugán pointed out that, in addition, these flights have also brought back Spaniards in situations of extreme poverty.
Advertisements of Prostitution
The Ombudsman has referred to the State Pact against Gender Violence to remember that it specifically points out the advertising of the business of prostitution in the written media which advocates its prohibition. For the Institution, the prohibition of these advertisements is a necessary measure that will contribute to the fight against the exploitation of women.
Fernández Marugán is also in favor of pursuing the advertising of prostitution in social networks and the anonymous pamphlets that are distributed in the streets of many cities. In his opinion, it is necessary to intensify the surveillance of sexist, denigrating, or discriminatory contents.
The Ombudsman has shown his commitment in the fight against all forms of violence against women and has ensured that the Institution will follow up on the State Pact.
