United Nations experts have called on Spain to ratify a long-pending bill addressing the systematic abduction of babies that began during its civil war. The proposed legislation, which has been under parliamentary consideration since 2020, would establish a national victim registry and provide legal and psychological assistance to affected families. It also aims to facilitate official investigations and grant victims access to relevant archives and DNA testing.
The experts noted that the absence of a comprehensive legal framework has prevented an effective state response to these historical crimes. The abductions, which spanned several decades under the military dictatorship of General Francisco Franco, were reportedly used as a tool of political repression. An estimated forty thousand children were taken from families deemed ideologically undesirable, often with the collusion of medical personnel who falsified birth records.
The draft law would categorize such systematic child removals as crimes against humanity. This push for accountability follows a 2018 trial of a gynecologist involved in a baby abduction, which resulted in a conviction but no sentence due to the statute of limitations.
The experts noted that the absence of a comprehensive legal framework has prevented an effective state response to these historical crimes. The abductions, which spanned several decades under the military dictatorship of General Francisco Franco, were reportedly used as a tool of political repression. An estimated forty thousand children were taken from families deemed ideologically undesirable, often with the collusion of medical personnel who falsified birth records.
The draft law would categorize such systematic child removals as crimes against humanity. This push for accountability follows a 2018 trial of a gynecologist involved in a baby abduction, which resulted in a conviction but no sentence due to the statute of limitations.
