VZCZCXRO3512
RR RUEHLA
DE RUEHMD #0780 2151600
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 031600Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY MADRID
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1046
INFO RUEHLA/AMCONSUL BARCELONA 4074

UNCLAS MADRID 000780 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR DRL/MLGA KRISTEN MCGEENY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM UN SP
SUBJECT: SPANISH ANTI-TORTURE INITIATIVES 
 
REF: a. STATE 70129 
 b. 08 MADRID 1337 
 
¶1. (U) In an effort to cement a seat on the 2010 UN Human Rights 
Council and in preparation for its January 2010 EU Presidency, the 
GOS is focused on the promotion of human rights.  In furtherance of 
this Zapatero Administration priority, Vice President Fernandez de 
la Vega unveiled Spain's National Human Rights Plan in December 2008 
(reftel b).  The plan includes international and domestic measures 
to protect human rights, including anti-torture initiatives, 
adapting Spain's legal system to international commitments. 
 
¶2. (U) The Spanish constitution and laws prohibit torture and other 
inhuman treatment or punishment, but allows terrorism suspects to be 
held incommunicado for up to 13 days.  This practice of 
incommunicado detention has come under fire, with several NGOs 
reporting that without effective access to an attorney or doctor of 
choice, some incommunicado detainees have been tortured or 
mistreated.  To address this domestic issue, the plan calls for the 
installation of cameras in police stations where detainees are held 
in incommunicado status. 
 
 
¶3. (U) Cameras are already in use in the Catalonian Regional Police 
(Mossos d'Esquadra) facilities.  And although the plan has not been 
implemented in full, the Ministry of Interior now operates cameras 
in the Central Headquarters of the Police and the Civil Guard, as 
well as in the National Court.  According to the Committee for the 
Prevention of Torture, as a result of the use of the cameras in 
detention facilities in Spain, the number of complaints of torture 
or mistreatment has declined significantly.  In Catalonia, for 
example, only 45 complaints were lodged in 2008, down from 128 in 
¶2007. 
 
¶4. (U) Domestically, the plan also calls for expansion of detainees' 
legal guarantees, to include reducing the number of hours a detainee 
can be held without access to counsel and prohibiting the 
incommunicado detention of minors.  On the international stage, the 
plan promises to promote human rights, working through the UN, EU, 
Council of Europe, OSCE, bilateral and multilateral relations, and 
International Criminal Court. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Given Spain's UNHRC aspirations for 2010 and the 
corresponding EU Presidency January-June 2010, it is primed to 
coordinate plans with bilateral partners on anti-torture 
initiatives.  However, finance will come into play as the GOS has 
not budgeted for any of the international initiatives as spelled out 
in its plan.  Coordination may be most effective through established 
institutions and possibly as an agenda item in the anticipated US-EU 
Summit in Madrid next spring. 
 
CHACON