Spain Evicts Family with Disabled Child, Ignoring UN Plea

A Spanish family with three children, including a baby with Down syndrome, was evicted from their home in Madrid on Wednesday, defying a last-minute request from the United Nations to halt the action. The eviction, carried out by the Madrid Social Housing Agency, took place just one day after the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child urged local authorities to stop the process until alternative housing was found. The family had been granted a postponement until Sunday, but officials moved early. During the eviction, the father shouted at the eight police officers forming a cordon: “You have no conscience, no heart!” Activists and neighbors who tried to stop the eviction were held back. The article’s author argues that professionals involved in evictions should become “conscientious objectors,” similar to doctors who refuse to perform abortions. The author asks why these workers do not refuse to participate in removing highly vulnerable people from their homes. The housing agency reportedly offered the family of five a single room in a shared apartment or a shelter. The author calls this a form of homelessness, citing the European ETHOS classification, and argues it violates basic rights to privacy, dignity, and adequate housing. The author claims the eviction highlights a broader problem of discrimination against poor, Roma families and a failure to protect children’s rights. The article notes that a legal team and several neighborhood groups supported the family, calling the eviction an act of “violence and injustice” by a public institution meant to provide homes, not inflict pain.