|Published on: 2nd October 2026|Categories: News|
- The government has suspended a planned royal decree-law aimed at facilitating the expulsion or return of people who have remained in Ceuta two months after the mass arrival at the end of July.
- A human rights NGO has reported that members of Spain’s armed forces have been involved in the abuse of undocumented people in Ceuta.
- A fire in an informal camp in Ceuta has destroyed dozens of makeshift shelters.
- A large demonstration about the situation in Ceuta has taken place in Madrid.
The government has suspended a planned royal decree-law aimed at facilitating the expulsion or return of the people who are still in Ceuta two months after the mass arrival at the end of July. Plans for the royal decree-law were reported on 26 September but cabinet approval was paused a few days later pending a “more thorough legal analysis in conjunction with the State Attorney’s Office, given serious legal concerns regarding its constitutionality and international standing”. In the meantime, European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner had told journalists in Brussels that the European Commission supported “everything the Spanish government does to return (…) the people who are in Ceuta illegally”. The proposal received a cooler welcome from Spanish NGOs. On 29 September, 11 organisations, including ECRE member organisations the Acoge Sur Federation, the Movement for Peace (MPDL), the Red Acoge Federation and the Spanish Commission for Refugee Aid (CEAR), issued a joint statement in which they highlighted the “potentially fatal consequences for the right to asylum and human rights in general of the Royal Decree-Law” and urged the government to “reverse its intention to present this proposal and keep its word to apply the Pact [on Migration and Asylum] in the least harmful way possible to the right of asylum, as it has committed to since the new European regulations were approved”.
A human rights NGO has reported that members of Spain’s armed forces have been involved in the abuse of undocumented people in Ceuta. Amnesty International (AI) has highlighted “beatings, humiliations, summary expulsions and racial profiling” in the enclave following an investigation in which it interviewed “more than 65 people”. The organisation cited 22 young people who “blame soldiers for beatings, harassment, humiliations, theft of money and the confiscation or destruction of mobile phones” and has called for a “prompt, impartial, independent and thorough” investigation into the allegations of abuse and for any soldiers allegedly involved in assaults to be temporarily removed from duty while the facts are clarified. The Ministry of Defence told the Euronews television news network that the allegations would be referred to the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Duty Court in Ceuta. “The Operations Command is urged to investigate and determine any potential individual liability, in order to uphold the professional conduct and reputation of the Armed Forces,” it said.
A fire in an informal camp in Ceuta has destroyed dozens of makeshift shelters. The fire, which occurred in Las Naves del Tarajal during the night of 11-12 September, destroyed more than 40 tents and shacks and forced a number of people to flee. Officials told the AFP news agency that the fire had broken out “accidentally”. A few days earlier (8 September), a group of people wearing hoods had reportedly thrown stones at the tents and even shot at them with a pellet gun, injuring a six-year-old boy. According to the injured boy’s mother, the attackers had shouted “We’re going to burn you” in Dariya (colloquial Arabic) at them. The incidents came less than two weeks after two shacks were burned on Trampolín beach while an NGO was distributing food to the people temporarily residing there.
A large demonstration about the situation in Ceuta has taken place in Madrid. On 26 September, “tens of thousands” of people marched towards the Moncloa Palace in the second “March for Dignity” organised by the “Spanish Civil Society” platform with the support of the opposition People’s Party and far-right Vox party. Demonstrators criticised the government’s handling of the situation in Ceuta and called for early elections.
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