Andorra 2024
A total ban on abortion remained in place. An activist who raised concerns about the ban was acquitted after a protracted judicial process. A bill to address concerns around affordable housing was welcomed but deemed insufficient.
Sexual and reproductive rights
A total ban on abortion remained in place, violating the right to safe abortion care. Those in need of an abortion had no alternative but to travel – if able – to other countries in search of essential healthcare.
Human rights defenders
In January, following a judicial process lasting more than four years, the trial of Vanessa Mendoza Cortés, president of the women’s rights organization Associació Stop Violències, ended in acquittal. She had been charged with “a crime against the prestige of the institutions” after speaking out about women’s rights and the harmful impact of Andorra’s abortion ban during a CEDAW Committee session in 2019.1
Right to housing
In March, a report published by the European Committee of Social Rights found Andorra in breach of the European Social Charter as its laws failed to prohibit evictions during winter or provide for compensation in the event of an illegal eviction.
In July, the government introduced a draft bill aimed at sustainable growth and protection of the right to housing. Although welcomed, the bill lacked concrete targets to increase social housing stock. At the end of the year, the bill had not been debated in parliament.
In October, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance recommended that Andorra review its five-year residency requirement for access to social housing, to ensure equitable access to housing for foreigners in vulnerable situations.
Freedom of expression
Defamation laws, including the criminalization of criticism of the authorities and Andorran institutions, remained in force, breaching international human rights law.