The Council of Ministers has approved the Royal Decree that establishes the procedure for the preparation of the catalogue of symbols and elements contrary to democratic memory and also creates the Technical Commission of symbols and elements contrary to democratic memory.

This Royal Decree complies with the legal mandate of article 36 of Law 20/2022, on Democratic Memory, which entrusts the General Administration of the State (AGE), in collaboration with all public administrations, with the preparation of a Catalogue that will incorporate the data provided by the autonomous communities and contain the list of symbols and elements that must be removed or eliminated, in accordance with the provisions of the aforementioned Law.

The Law mandates the public administrations, as a duty of democratic memory, to develop those measures aimed at preventing the human rights violations that occurred during the coup d’état, the Spanish War and the Franco dictatorship from being repeated. Among them, the elimination of symbols and elements contrary to it is contemplated, obliging the competent public administrations to adopt the appropriate measures for its withdrawal.

In short, all those buildings, shields, badges, plates, etc. Attached to public buildings or located on the public highway, as well as references in place or street, in which commemorative mentions are made in personal or collective exaltation of the military uprising and the dictatorship, of its leaders, participants in the repressive system or of the organizations that supported the dictatorship must be withdrawn.

With the aim of ensuring the full effectiveness of the legal mandate, objectivity and guarantees, and strengthening the coherence and coordination of public policies on democratic memory, the Technical Commission on symbols and elements contrary to democratic memory is created as an advisory body to the Ministry of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, which will have the objective of studying, monitoring, reporting and making proposals that are requested of it in matters relating to symbols and elements contrary to democratic memory, as well as to Places of Democratic Memory.

The AGE, since the entry into force of the Democratic Memory Act, has made progress in the removal of symbols and elements contrary to democratic memory within its sphere of competence. However, experience has shown the persistence of significant difficulties, both in public administrations as a whole and in privately owned property, which have prevented effective compliance with the rule. The elaboration of the Catalogue, which this Royal Decree establishes, will contribute to overcoming these obstacles, providing clarity and security to future actions and their fulfillment.