The Plenary of Congress will submit to a vote next Thursday the creation of a parliamentary subcommittee responsible for drafting a basic legal statute for missing persons without apparent cause, a proposal that has already received the support of the vast majority of the Interior Commission.
This new subcommittee will focus its work, among other aspects, on analyzing the regulatory framework that currently governs the situation of missing persons in Spain and identifying the legal reforms that are needed. It will also review previous initiatives and proposals and gather contributions from the Third Social Sector, the Security Forces and Corps, the National Center for the Disappeared (CNDES), public administrations, as well as from the Legal Profession and Psychology.
The main purpose will be to present a proposal for a basic legal statute for missing persons without apparent cause. To this end, the subcommittee will prepare a report with conclusions on the measures to be adopted, may summon appearances and request documentation, and will have a maximum period of six months from its start to send its conclusions to the Interior Commission.
The Interior Commission decided last July to elevate the constitution of this subcommittee to the Plenary. The initiative was approved with votes in favor from PP, PSOE, Sumar, Bildu, PNV, and UPN, while Vox, ERC, and Junts opted for abstention. Later, the Congress Table agreed to send the request to the Board of Spokespersons to be included in the agenda of a plenary session.
An unfinished state policy
In the statement of reasons for the PSOE initiative, it is emphasized that the disappearance of a person impacts not only the one who is missing but also their relatives and close environment, and it is highlighted that the problems that arise when a person disappears without apparent cause encompass psychological, legal, administrative, social, and economic areas.
The text recalls that in 2010 Congress unanimously approved declaring March 9 as the Day of Missing Persons without Apparent Cause and that, three years later, the Senate launched a Special Commission to analyze this reality, which concluded that it should be addressed comprehensively as a state policy.
It is also mentioned the subsequent incorporation of the National Center for Missing Persons (CNDES) to the Secretary of State for Security, along with the strategic plans developed in this area and the review of the police protocol of action in the face of disappearances.
However, the PSOE maintains that there are still relevant measures to be developed, among them establishing a specific legal status for direct and indirect victims of disappearances.