CAT/OP/ESP/1
(c)
Child asylum seekers, child refugees and foreign unaccompanied children
105. The Subcommittee takes note of the adoption of Act No. 12/2009 of 30 October on
the right to asylum and subsidiary protection, which contains provisions on the special
circumstances of unaccompanied children requiring international protection and the need to
provide them with differentiated treatment.
106. The Subcommittee recommends that the State party extend the scope of the
Asylum Act to bring it into line with international standards in order to ensure that
adequate protection is afforded to all children, irrespective of their nationality. The
Subcommittee also endorses the recommendations of the Office of the Ombudsman to
incorporate the directives that make up the common European asylum system into the
national legal order, to amend the law to make it possible to request international
protection at consular offices and to introduce a procedure to accelerate the extension
of asylum to an applicant’s family members if they are at risk.
VII. Repercussions of the visit
107. In accordance with article 15 of the Optional Protocol and the Subcommittee’s
policy on reprisals,4 the Subcommittee calls upon the Spanish authorities to ensure that no
reprisals are taken following its visit. The Subcommittee requests the State party to include
detailed information in its reply on what it has done to prevent reprisals from being taken
against anyone who met with or was visited by the Subcommittee or who provided
information to it during the course of its visit.
VIII. Conclusion
108. The Subcommittee hopes that its visit and the present report will mark the
beginning of a constructive dialogue with Spain that will focus on the State party’s
fulfilment of its obligations under the Optional Protocol and the achievement of the
common goal of preventing torture and ill-treatment.
109. The Subcommittee recommends that the State party make this report public
inasmuch as it believes that this in itself is a preventive measure. In addition, the
Subcommittee recommends that the State party distribute this report to all relevant
government departments and institutions.
4
GE.19-17184
CAT/OP/6/Rev.1.
17
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