UN experts warn Spain migrant eviction violates housing and human rights.
Photo Credit: Mestral Oposicions
UN HUMAN RIGHTS experts have publicly condemned a series of evictions of more than 400 migrants from an informal settlement in Badalona, Catalonia, which took place on Wednesday, December 17. The settlement, a building known as Badalona 9, or B9, was the largest informal migrant settlement in the community of Catalonia and its migrants were evicted by the Mossos d’Esquadra, or Catalan police. The building, a former secondary school, will be demolished, as it is considered a source of “conflict and crime.”
Forced daylight eviction of more than 400 migrants
Shortly before 7:00am on the morning of December 17, a large number of police vans arrived at B9 and its surroundings, though they waited until daylight to begin the eviction, as the court order specified to wait until daylight hours. The eviction was carried out at the request of the Barcelona City Council, and the Administrative-Contentious Court No. 11 of Barcelona had ruled in favour of it on December 4. A total of 15 people were arrested under the Immigration Law during the operation carried out to evict the migrants at B9.
At its peak, B9 was host to between 400 and 500 migrants. Of these, only around 30 were considered very vulnerable and allowed to receive short-term emergency housing. Among the evictees, of whom the majority were from West and sub-Sahara African countries, were women, elderly people, and people with medical needs.
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Eviction during the middle of winter ‘a violation,’ ‘cruel,’ and ‘inhuman’
“The eviction is pushing hundreds of vulnerable individuals into homelessness in the middle of winter, without any adequate alternative housing offered by municipal authorities,” the experts said of the move. They stated that they regretted that Spain had proceeded with the large-scale eviction, despite appeals to postpone the move until the affected residents could be re-housed.
“With no alternative housing provided, the vast majority of those evicted has no choice but to seek again refuge in other informal settlements or to camp in the open,” the experts continued. “Human rights law is clear: Evicting a person in the middle of the winter into homelessness is a serious violation of the right to adequate housing and other human rights. Repeatedly evicting persons without providing any housing alternatives may amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, strictly prohibited by international human rights law.”
Human rights experts lash out at choice to evict, citing ‘structural failure’
The experts called the cycle of eviction and homelessness in Spain a “structural failure” and claimed that it needed an “urgent, rights-based response, certainly not more evictions.” They also stressed that the rhetoric surrounding the B9 migrants calling the criminals or a threat to Barcelona security was “unacceptable, discriminatory, and deeply harmful.”
“Migrants face compounded challenges when trying to access adequate housing,” said the experts at the UN. “Public authorities must strive to counter discrimination, not fuel it.”
Spain’s delicate migrant crisis, a topic of fierce debate
Spain’s migrant crisis has long been a point of contention and a sensitive topic of debate. In November, the European Commission designated several countries as being “under migratory pressure,” one of which being Spain. It, along with Italy, Greece, and Cyprus, faced a “disproportionate level” of migrants in 2024. Additionally, Eurostat and Bank of Spain figures showed that Spain welcomed around 24 immigrants per 1,000 residents in 2023, well above fellow migrant hotspot European countries France or Italy.
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