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Summary: This report extracts mentions of children's rights issues in the reports of the UN Special Procedures. This does not include reports of child specific Special Procedures, such as the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, which are available as separate reports.
Scroll to: ___________________________________ Working Group on Arbitrary Detention A/HRC/10/21/Add.5 Date of visit: 3 to 14 November 2008 Juvenile Justice System: In the juvenile justice system, the difference in treatment between Italians and foreigners is so marked that some observers speak of a "two tier justice system" - focussed on education and rehabilitation in the case of delinquent Italian minors and on social defence and repression (and thus, incarceration) in the case of foreign minors. Statistics show that while foreign minors constitute about one quarter of the minors reported to the prosecution service, they are more than half the population of juvenile prisons. (para. 66) A very high percentage of the minors imprisoned are Roma and Sinti. The situation is particularly dramatic among the female juvenile population: as of 31 December 2007, there were only five Italian girls detained in juvenile prisons, but 55 foreign girls. The Working Group observed during its visits to juvenile prisons that many, if not most, of the girls detained were Roma. (para. 67) Only a very small part of the minors reported for offences end up in juvenile prisons. In 2005, of the 40,364 minors reported to the juvenile prosecutors' offices only 1,489 entered a juvenile prison (either on remand or as convicts), while 1,926 were referred to homes for children in contact with the law. 13,901 were under one form of supervision by the social services or the other. (para. 90) Although pro bono work by civil society organizations plays an important role, the financial costs of a juvenile justice system such as Italy's are significant. Some persons the Working Group spoke to are concerned that the juvenile justice system will suffer deep budgetary cuts in the coming years. These cuts, it is feared, would undermine the current model and force a sharp reduction of the activities aimed at the rehabilitation of the detainees, as well as of the possibility to effectively offer alternatives to imprisonment for children in conflict with the law. (para. 92) A further concern with regard to the juvenile justice system is that foreign minors benefit from the ideas underlying the law (and the principles enshrined in Article 40 (3) and (4) CRC) to a much lesser extent than Italians. The department for juvenile justice in the Ministry of Justice is aware of this problem, but has not yet been able to identify the means (ideas, programs and financial means) to overcome the challenge posed by foreign juvenile offenders, some of them unaccompanied minors, who are not rooted in any community, do not attend any school or vocational training, and might even have no family at all in Italy. (para. 93) ___________________________________ UN Special Rapporteur on Racism A/HRC/4/19/Add.4 Date of visit: 9 to 13 October 2006 New draft law on citizenship: A new draft Law on Citizenship is being examined by Parliament. The draft law introduces major changes. Regarding the acquisition of citizenship by minors, the law introduces the principle of jus soli, in addition to the principle of jus sanguinis as foreseen in the 1992 law in force. Children born in Italy to foreign parents will no longer need to reside continuously in Italy from birth to the age of 18 years to obtain Italian citizenship if one of their parents was either born in Italy or legally resident for at least five years at the time of birth. In both cases, parents of minors are required to have a minimum annual income. Regarding foreign minors not born in Italy, the draft law foresees three requirements for the acquisition of citizenship: (i) an application by the natural or legal parents (if one of them was born in Italy or had legally resided there for five years) or an application of the minor on turning 18 years; (ii) uninterrupted legal residence of the minor for at least five years; and (iii) completion by the minor of a school cycle or vocational training or one year's work. (para. 30) Regarding the citizenship law, the Government should consider eliminating the economic requirements for the naturalization and acquisition of citizenship and making the obtaining of citizenship by minors dependent on the legal and economic situation of their parents, which may be against the best interests of the child. (para. 71) Combating racism in sport: In the field of sports, civil society highlighted the fact that some internal regulations of various sport federations had not been yet harmonized with LD 286/98. As a consequence non-EU children are not allowed to join official competitions at the amateur and pre-professional levels (from 13 to 17 years old). The Government should undertake a review of the regulations of the various federations to harmonize them with the provisions of article 2 of LD 286/98 in order to eliminate discrimination against legally resident non-EU children in sports. (para. 33) Living conditions for Romani and Sinti communities: During his visit, the Special Rapporteur visited a Romani community located in a temporary camp near Rome.The Romani community was composed of around 250 Romanian Roma, 60 per cent of them children. They had been living for the past two years in an unoccupied building till they were evicted in September 2006. The community expressed their discontent about poor living conditions and the lack of assistance from the authorities. The Special Rapporteur witnessed their lack of access to drinking water and electricity as well as the inadequate conditions of their improvised 'houses' made with plastic, aluminium sheets and wood, with earth floors. Roma representatives complained that the consequences of living under difficult hygienic conditions nurtured the already existing prejudices against them. They explained that the children were being rejected in nearby schools, allegedly because of too many foreign children. The Special Rapporteur was informed that negotiations to solve this problem were ongoing with the Ministry of Education. (para. 36) The Sinti community was composed of 40-50 members of whom 8 were children regularly attending school. All members of this community had been born in Italy, had Italian nationality, spoke Italian and described themselves as being integrated with their non-Sinti neighbours, who, unlike the Italian Sinti, lived in regular buildings surrounding their caravan camp. The representatives explained that they had received an eviction order without an alternative location and expressed their strong opposition to the announced measure, in particular as it would lead to the disruption of their children's school attendance. Despite their legal status, they identified unemployment as the major problem, particularly due to their difficulties in accessing jobs outside the recreational sector, which was in crisis. (para. 37) Education conditions for Roma and Sinti children: Roma and Sinti are the ethnic group facing the heaviest discrimination in housing, education and health as well as employment and suffer from racist violence. Regarding their access to education, Roma children, like all other children, have the right and duty to attend compulsory education irrespective of their legal status. Reports have highlighted the difficulties concerning the integration of Roma children at school and the occurrence of incidents of bias and discrimination. In the view of the NGOs working in this field, authorities need to systematically address the high dropout rate of Roma children, particularly girls forced into early marriage and domestic work at home, by replacing the current ad hoc projects with comprehensive long-term programmes involving the families, schools, police and local authorities. Italy should recognise the Roma and Sinti as national minorities, and protect and promote their language and culture. (para. 40) The Government should adopt a comprehensive national policy towards these communities, in particular to address their poor housing conditions, lack of documents, high dropouts of their children and their difficulties in accessing employment. (para. 79) Prostitution: Various NGOs been highlighted that migrant women constitute the highest percentage of those engaged in prostitution and the sex industry, reaching 90 per cent of street prostitutes in some cities. Around 7 per cent of them (1,292-1,629) are said to be minors and a minimum number of 11,920 and a maximum of 15,425 are said to be women migrants engaged in indoor, as opposed to street prostitution. (para. 51) Discrimination in education for religious minorities: One of the questions perceived as a discriminatory practice concerned the additional difficulties faced in the opening of private schools of Muslim countries, for example the case of the Egyptian School in Milan. Muslim organizations and parents have advocated that religious education in Islam should also be introduced into the curricula of public schools, but so far these calls have not yielded any concrete results. (para. 55) ____________________________________ UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression E/CN.4/2005/64/Add.1 Date of visit: 20-29th October 2004 No mentions of children's rights ____________________________________ UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of migrant workers (E/CN.4/2005/85/Add.3) Date of visit: 7- 18 June 2004 Integration Policies: Health: CNEL (Consiglio Nazionale dell'Economia e del Lavoro – The National Council on the Economy and Employment) considered that the most delicate health policies were those in which least progress had been made - care for women and children and policy in the event of death. The Council informed the Special Rapporteur there was a high rate of abortions among immigrant women. (para. 41) The right of undocumented immigrants to health care with no kind of discretionary latitude must be effectively implemented. A trans-cultural approach that takes account of the social and cultural roots of immigrant patients seeking primary care, particularly paediatric and reproductive health services, should be introduced. Measures should be considered for reducing abortion rates and the incidence of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. (para. 131) Education: Foreign children are entitled to attend compulsory education and applications to enrol them in school can be made throughout the school year. The law details measures for the integration of foreign children and for intercultural education, notably through action by local and regional authorities. CNEL reported that school drop-out among foreign primary pupils appeared to be 25 per cent higher than among Italians, and 10 per cent higher in secondary education. The cultural mediation available in schools is, in its view, inadequate. According to the Consolidated Text, amended by Act No. 189/2002, non-resident (quota system) and resident aliens can attend university: (a) if they hold a residence card or residence permit for contractual employment or self-employment, for family or religious reasons or political or humanitarian asylum; (b) if they have been legal residents for at least one year and hold a higher certificate obtained in Italy; (c) whether they are residents or not, if they hold a leaving certificate from an Italian school abroad or an international school in Italy. Some immigrants interviewed considered it unfair that they should be required to have had three years of secondary education in Italy to be able to attend university. (para. 42) Family reunification: All aliens holding residence cards or permits linked to employment, education, religion, political asylum or humanitarian protection and valid for one year or more may apply for family reunification. Application may concern: (a) a spouse, with the exception of separated or divorced couples; (b) children under 18; (c) children over 18 who are unable to earn their own income because of total disability; and (d) parents and grandparents when the applicant is responsible for them because there are not other children in the country of origin or because such children as there are cannot take responsibility for them on clearly-documented health grounds. (para. 46) Reception centers for Asylum Seekers: In Milan, the Special Rapporteur visited two reception centres operated under the National Asylum Plan, one for men and the other for women and children. The managers commented that it was usual for a father to be separated from the rest of the family and frequently not to find a place in another centre. They also mentioned the difficulties such people encountered in finding accommodation when required to leave the centre after six months there, which often left the National Commission for the Right of Asylum (Commissione nazionale per il diritto di asilo) unable to locate them. (para. 72) Rights of Unaccompanied Minors: Unaccompanied foreign minors are acknowledged to have all basic rights, subject to the same conditions as abandoned Italian children. They are under the protection of the Juvenile Court and are assisted by the local authorities if they cannot return home. An unaccompanied minor who goes to the authorities receives a temporary residence permit and can remain in Italy until the Foreign Minors' Committee can ensure the best possible conditions, in the child's best interest, for his repatriation. If return is not possible, Act No. 189/2002 allows study or work permits to be issued to unaccompanied young people who attain their majority and, with the Commission's approval, have remained in Italy for three years, being part of an integration project for at least two. The provision is not often applied, since the majority of unaccompanied minors are said to be over 15 when they enter Italy. For this reason, the Lombardy Region is said to have suggested that the Central Government should include such minors in the annual quotas of non-EU foreign workers. (para. 76) The President of the Committee reported that most such minors are Romanians, Moroccans and, to a lesser extent, Albanians. In his opinion an excellent level of collaboration with the countries of origin was required. He acknowledged that there had been difficulties in identifying 1,929 minors. (para. 77) Refusal of asylum demand of unaccompanied minors: The Special Rapporteur observed with concern the situation of unaccompanied minors from Central Africa who had been refused asylum, as in the case of the teenaged girls in Stazione Tiburtina. She also received detailed reports about unaccompanied minors from Morocco, Republic of Moldova and Romania being forced by criminal organizations or private persons to beg, sell drugs or prostitute themselves. These minors had no protection, were not in school and lived in shacks or abandoned buildings in extremely unsanitary conditions. (para. 78) ____________________________________ UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of judges and lawyers Date of visit: 11-14 March 2002 No mentions of children's rights
Report published: 26 January 2009
Report published: 15 February 2007
Report published: 29 March 2005
Report published: 15 November 2004