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Article 62-bis of the Aliens Act provides that civil society organisations defending migrants and international bodies can visit CIE under the conditions foreseen by way of regulation.
The seventh section of the CIE Regulation thus concerns participation and cooperation of NGOs. In particular, Article 58 foresees the possibility to contract NGOs for the provision of services of social assistance inside the centres. Following the adoption of the Regulation in 2014, a contract was signed in 2015 between the Spanish Red Cross and the Ministry of Interior. In 2023, the Spanish Red Cross continued to receive funding for the provision of assistance at the CIE.[1] In addition, Article 59 of the Regulation allows organisations working with migrants to receive a special accreditation to enter CIE and conduct monitoring of the detained persons. Detained migrants are also allowed to contact an organisation they want to receive support from. Before the agreement, the CIE had a stronger penitentiary character and social assistance to detainees was significantly more limited.
These provisions were welcomed by Spanish civil society organisations committed to migrants’ rights protection, as they enabled their regular access to the centres, which can make a significant difference in improving conditions of detention for third-country nationals. In particular, a better identification of the most vulnerable groups or persons with particular needs can be assured, as no specific mechanism with this aim has been established by the state.
In recent years, the Ombudsperson reiterated several recommendations aimed at improving social, legal and cultural assistance in CIEs, as well as the necessity for a deeper reform of such facilities. In its 2022 Annual Report, the Ombudsperson continued to express concerns on the health assistance provided to inmates at the CIEs.[2]
The Jesuit Migrant Service continued to denounce the same deficiencies, as well as the obstacles that inmates face in receiving visits by NGOs and family members.[3]
[1] Ministerio del Interior, ‘Orden INT/916/2023, de 25 de julio, por la que se concede una subvención directa a Cruz Roja Española, para el desarrollo de programas asistenciales en los Centros de Internamiento de Extranjeros en el ejercicio presupuestario 2023’, 2 August 2023, available in Spanish at: https://tinyurl.com/59nwybye.
[2] Defensor del Pueblo, Informe Anual 2022 – Volumen I, March 2023, available in Spanish at: https://bit.ly/3ZZLB9d.
[3] Servicio Jesuita a Migrantes, ‘Informe CIE 2022.Diferencias que generan desigualdad’, June 2023, available in Spanish at: https://tinyurl.com/yc6w5adx.