The protection and promotion of human rights is one of the basic priorities of Spanish foreign policy, as confirmed by the Foreign Action Strategy published in 2015. Human rights issues are on the agenda in all bilateral contacts with governments of all the regions of the world. The Human Rights Office (odh@maec.es) is the body of the Directorate-General of the United Nations and Directorate-General for Human Rights of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation that is responsible for coordinating Spanish foreign policy in the area of protecting and promoting human rights and the drafting, proposal and application of this policy in international bodies.
El 1 de enero de 2018 España ha iniciado su mandato como miembro del Consejo de Derechos Humanos para el periodo 2018-2020, tras haber sido elegida por la Asamblea General de las Naciones Unidas en la reunión que tuvo lugar en Nueva York el pasado 16 de octubre. Es la segunda vez que España forma parte de este Consejo, tras un primer mandato entre los años 2011 y 2013.