13/03/2017
FSG International
As for Spain, the report (click for full report) highlights as a problem with Human Rights the denial of asylum access as well as forced returns of asylum seekers by police, systemic corruption by government officials, and violence against women and children.
As for the Roma population, the report include data from the FSG, in which it recognizes the improvement of the situation of the Roma people in Spain in terms of education. In fact, it indicates the high rates of schooling of Roma children, with 96% completing Primary Education. However, it points to the challenge faced by Roma youth in Spain by having a dropout rate before the end of the High School of approximately 65%, more than double the national average.
The report also uses FSG´s data to denounce that the Roma population continues to suffer discrimination in Spain, live in a greater average poverty than the majority and face more difficulties in accessing the labor market. Regarding health care Roma receive a less consistency service. It also mentions the FSG 2015 Discrimination Report, which reported 154 cases in 2015.
Regarding the Romanian Roma population, the report includes them within the group in which cases of forced marriages can happen.
It also echoes the report of the United Nations Committee on Human Rights that criticizes police identifications based on racial or ethnic criteria and how Roma are one of the groups that suffer this type of discrimination in Spain.
The report mentions efforts to address problems affecting the Romani community included tougher penalties for hate crimes, specialized prosecutors, a network to assist victims, and a council designed to eliminate racial and ethnic discrimination.
