The complaint was registered on 2 March 2022. It concerns Articles 31 (the right to housing), 16 (the right of the family to social, legal and economic protection), 17 (the right of children and young persons to social, legal and economic protection), 30 (the right to protection against poverty and social exclusion), 23 (the right of elderly persons to social protection), 11 (the right to protection of health), 15 (the right of persons with disabilities to independence, social integration and participation in the life of the community), 20 (the right to equal opportunities and equal treatment in matters of employment and occupation without discrimination on the grounds of sex), 27 (the right of workers with family responsibilities to equal opportunities and equal treatment) and to Article E (non-discrimination) in conjunction with each of the concerned provisions of the Revised European Social Charter.
The complaint relates to the power outage, which started in October 2020 and is still ongoing, in two Sectors of the shantytown of the Cañada Real Galiana in Madrid, Spain. The complainant organisations allege that State, in its capacity as regulator, has not taken any steps aimed at restoring the power or providing the persons concerned with alternative sources of electricity. The ongoing power outage has a serious impact on the lives of the 4,500 inhabitants, including about 1,800 are children, leading to serious medical problems and worsening pre-existing health conditions. Children and adolescents, women and girls, the elderly, persons with disabilities and persons belonging to vulnerable population groups – such as Roma – living in the concerned areas have been disproportionately affected by the electricity deprivation in breach of the aforementioned provisions of the Charter.
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www.coe.int/socialcharter
