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Summary: The violations highlighted are those issues raised with the State by more than one international mechanism. This is done with the intention of identifying children's rights which have been repeatedly violated, as well as gaps in the issues covered by NGOs in their alternative reports to the various human rights monitoring bodies. These violations are listed in no particular order.
Discrimination against Roma and Sinti children (particularly in health, education and housing) UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (Concluding Observations, October 2011) The Committee is seriously concerned at policies, laws and practices that discriminate against children in vulnerable situations in the State party. In particular, the Committee is concerned at the following: UN Special Rapporteur on Racism Date of visit: 9 to 13 October 2006 Report published: 15 February 2007 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 (paragraph 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 (paragraph 79). 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 (paragraph 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 (paragraph 37). Universal Periodic Review (February 2010) A - 57. To strengthen efforts to integrate Roma and Sinti communities through positive action in the areas of education, employment, housing and social services (Australia); to continue contribute to the integration of the Roma and the Sinti into local communities, and to give them access to housing, work, education and professional training (Russian Federation); to continue efforts to tackle discrimination against Roma people in all sectors of society (Finland); to seek to ensure the effective participation of Roma people in the process of assuring their equal and non-discriminatory treatment (Finland); to ensure equal rights for members of the Roma and Sinti minorities, to ensure that all Roma and Sinti children are enrolled in school, and to make efforts to encourage regular school attendance by these children (Sweden); to adopt a comprehensive anti-discrimination law to ensure that the Roma enjoy equal access to employment, education and health care (United States); (accepted) High drop-out rates and unequal access to education, particularly among children from families in socio-economic difficulty and children from immigrant families UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (Concluding Observations, October 2011) While recognising efforts made to implement its previous recommendations, the Committee reiterates some of its concerns, in particular: UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrant Workers Date of visit: 7 and 8 June 2004 Report published: 15 November 2004 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 (paragraph 42). Universal Periodic Review (February 2010) A - 41. To take necessary measures, including administrative measures, to facilitate access to education to children who are not of Italian origin (Uruguay); (accepted) Discrimination in the juvenile justice system UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (Concluding Observations, October 2010) The Committee expresses deep concern over reports that foreign children have been placed in juvenile correctional institutions and reception centres solely because they lack documents. The increase in the number of foreign and Roma children stopped by judicial authorities during the reporting period is a further matter of concern, as is the observation that such children, as compared to Italian children, benefit to a much lesser extent from diversion and other alternative measures provided for by the law (paragraph 77). Working Group on Arbitrary Detention Date of visit: 3-14 November 2008 Report published: 26 January 2009 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
. 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 (paragraphs 66 and 67). Treatment of children seeking asylum UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (Concluding Observations, October 2011) [The Committee] notes with concern ... that children of foreign origin can be expelled from the country for reasons of public order and State security and that the State party, in implementing the 2009 interception policy of migrants ("push-back" policy), has returned children, including unaccompanied children, without examining the individual circumstances of each child or providing each child with a possibility to request asylum. The Committee is deeply concerned that some of the migrants pushed back have been identified as requiring international protection, in violation of the State party's non-refoulement obligations. It is further of serious concern to the Committee that the State party has detained children with their families when forcibly returning migrants, without the possibility to seek asylum (paragraph 63). UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrant Workers Date of visit: 7-18 June 2004 Report published: 15 November 2004 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 organisations 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 (paragraph 78). Universal Periodic Review (February 2010) A - 44. To adopt special procedures to ensure the effective protection of the rights of unaccompanied children in their access to asylum procedures (Czech Republic); (accepted) Poor conditions in and provision of asylum reception centres UIN Committee on the Rights of the Child (Concluding Observations, October 2011) The Committee is concerned at the limited capacity and availability, overcrowding, and very poor conditions of reception centres for children, resulting in the placement of children in reception centres not intended for persons under 18. It notes with particular concern reports of sub-standard reception and living conditions for migrants, especially children, arriving in Lampedusa and other locations during the spring and summer of 2011 (paragraph 63). UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of migrant workers Date of visit: 7-18 June 2004 Report published: 15 November 2004 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 (paragraph 72). Sexual exploitation of children UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (Concluding Observations, October 2011) The Committee is further concerned at the limited number of programmes aimed at the prevention of sexual abuse and exploitation of particularly vulnerable groups of children, and at difficulties in the identification of victims of child pornography and child prostitution (paragraph 74). UN Special Rapporteur on Racism Date of visit: 9-13 October 2006 Report published: 15 February 2007 Various NGOs [have] 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 (paragraph 51). Universal Periodic Review (February 2010) A - 86. To extend outreach and identification efforts to women and children in prostitution, to ensure that trafficking victims are identified, given care and not penalised for crimes committed as a direct result of being trafficked; to identify proactively potential trafficking victims among its undocumented immigrants; to continue to investigate and prosecute allegations of trafficking-related complicity; and to expand public awareness campaigns aimed at reducing domestic demand for commercial sex acts (United States); (accepted) UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (Concluding Observations, October 2011) The Committee is further concerned at the situation of de facto stateless children, including reports of a few hundred stateless Roma children. The Committee ... recommends that the State Party: UN Special Rapporteur on Racism Date of visit: 9 to 13 October 2006 Report published: 15 February 2007 Regarding the citizenship law, the Government should consider eliminating the economic requirements for the naturalisation 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 (paragraph 71). Insufficient healthcare for undocumented immigrants UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (Concluding Observations, October 2011) The Committee is further concerned at the higher rates of stillbirths and perinatal mortality among foreign mothers, as well as at frequent treatment in emergency departments or hospitals than their Italian counterparts due, in part, to the fact that undocumented foreign mothers do not undergo the necessary obstetric treatment and tests prior and during pregnancy as a result of the criminalisation of undocumented foreigners (paragraph 47). UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrant Workers Date of visit: 7-18 June 2004 Report published 15 November 2004 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 (paragraph 131).