Media statement: Violation of the right of self-determination of the Catalan People
A matter of urgency: What follows is a
media statement I wrote on 20 September calling for calm and respect for
all human rights in Catalonia, for dialogue and an end to repressive
and undemocratic measures. The Office has thus far refused to issue my
statement. Is this censorship? Any person committed to human rights has
a duty to speak out, but many in Brussels and elsewhere seem to prefer
silence
Violation of the right of self-determination of the Catalan People
GENEVA (20 September 2017) – Since
2015 The UN Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and
equitable international order, Alfred de Zayas, has received
communications from representatives of civil society in Cataluña drawing
attention to a cluster of violations of human rights and the rule of
law by the Spanish government. These communications were duly
transmitted to the Spanish government without the desired effect.
On international day of Peace, the
Independent Expert recalls that the right of self-determination is ius
cogens and that no State can violate peremptory norms of international
law with impunity. The Spanish Constitution itself stipulates in its
articles 10 and 96 the supremacy of international law and in particular
international human rights law over of domestic law. The Venice
Commission has criticised the expansion of powers of the Spanish
Constitutional Court to go beyond interpretation of the constitution
with new executive competencies and the power to impose sanctions.
