COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS REVIEWS FOURTH PERIODIC REPORT OF ITALY

16 November 2004

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights completed today its review of the fourth periodic report submitted by Italy on how that country implements the provisions of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

Introducing the report, Alessandro Fallavollita, Minister Plenipotential and Chairman of the Interministerial Committee on Human Rights of Italy, said his country firmly recognized all economic, social and cultural rights as fundamental human rights, and had always been a strong supporter of the role and the activities of the United Nations treaty bodies. The Government deployed every effort to improve the economic, social and cultural situation of its citizens, as well as of all persons living in the country.

Over the course of the discussion, Committee Experts queried the Italian delegation on issues pertaining to the establishment of a human rights institution; the equal enjoyment of men and women of the rights set forth in the Covenant; the situation of illegal immigrants and asylum seekers; and Italy’s contribution to international development assistance, among other things.

The Committee will issue its concluding observations and recommendations on the report of Italy at the end of its three-week session on 26 November.

Other members of the Italian delegation represented the Ministry of Equal Opportunities; the Ministry of Public Instruction; the Ministry of the Interior; the National Council for Economy and Labour; the Ministry of Welfare; the Ministry of Health; the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and the Permanent Mission of Italy in Geneva.

Italy, as one of the 150 States parties to the Covenant, is obligated to submit periodic reports to the Committee explaining how it is giving effect to the provisions of the treaty. The 15-member Italian delegation was on hand during three meetings to introduce the report and supply answers to questions put by Committee Experts.

When the Committee reconvenes at 3 p.m., it will take up the second periodic report of Azerbaijan (E/1990/6/Add.37). A press release will be issued at the end of the Committee’s public consideration of the report on Wednesday, 17 November.

Report of Italy

The fourth periodic report of Italy enumerates the various legislative measures put in place since the presentation of the third periodic report with the aim of implementing the provisions of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. It says that in Italy, the fight against poverty and social exclusion is considered as one of the key elements for economic progress and the development of employment. Inclusion policies start from the assumption that the conditions of social exclusion include forms of material deprivation and social fragility that go beyond material economic poverty or extreme disadvantage to encompass in terms of family and social bonds, housing systems, the networks of support and social integration services, training and employment and social marginalization.

Concerning the Romany and Sinte population, the report notes that great attention has been paid to their social integration and protection measures including the introduction of a school attendance programme for minors, health-care measures and the introduction of integration services. As part of the initiative put in place by the Ministry of Education, a document has been drawn up entitled “Transformations in education in a multicultural society”. Italian Romanies have been living in cities since the beginning of the 1960s in areas or “villages”. The number of Roma in Italy has increased due to the changes in Eastern European countries where many of them used to live.

The report further notes that Italy is one of the countries most affected by the ageing of the population. Between 1980 and 1999, life expectancy rose by about five years for both sexes, reaching 75.9 years for men and 82.3 years for women. Over this same period the average number of children born to each women fell from 1.68 to 1.20.

Presentation of Report

ALESSANDRO FALLAVOLLITA, Plenipotential Minister and Chairman of the Interministerial Committee of Human Rights of Italy, said his country firmly recognized all economic, social and cultural rights as fundamental human rights. It had always strongly supported the role and activities of the United Nations treaty bodies and had considered with maximum attention and engagement the previous recommendations of the Committee.

Italy believed that economic, social and cultural rights were an integral part of fundamental human rights, Mr. Fallavollita said. The Government had deployed every effort to improve the economic, social and cultural situation of its citizens, as well as of all the persons living in the country. With regard to justiciabilty of economic, social and cultural rights, Italy was fully aware of the importance of creating sound and solid grounds to guarantee that the rights provided for in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights were effectively implemented.

Mr. Fallavollita recalled that for the past four years, since the presentation of the third periodic report in April 2000, the situation in Italy had been particularly intense both in terms of the internal political life in Italy and in connection with the difficult international situation after the dramatic events of 11 September. Since the election of 13 May 2001, many initiatives had been taken by the Government in important fields, such as recovery of the economy, public administration, employment, health, environment, fight against poverty and social exclusion. Special attention had been given to economic, social and cultural rights.

Turning to discrimination against women, Mr. Fallavollita said Italy was strongly committed to pursuing the objectives of the Covenant, especially those related to the condition of women. The Government was convinced that the political, civil, social, economic and cultural advancement of the country required the full participation of women in all decision-making processes, policy-framing and education, acting on an equal footing with men. Women should be seen as precious elements in the human rights arena: active subjects and not only objects of concern in the field of human rights. The Government was firmly convinced that the participation of women in the decision-making process at all levels in the political and socio-economic fields was an asset for every society.

The Italian Government had designed a comprehensive strategy to address the dramatic issue of violence against women, Mr. Fallavollita said. The war against trafficking in persons also remained one of the main priorities of the Italian Government. A series of legislative acts had been put in place to fight violence against women and trafficking in persons. A new law also acknowledged the indications contained in the “Protocol of Palermo” of the United Nations Convention against organized transnational crime, depicting trafficking as a specific and independent crime.

Discussion

Questions Raised by Experts

Following the introduction of the report, Committee Experts raised a series of questions. An Expert asked why the Government had not yet set up an independent human rights institution in accordance with the Paris Principles. The relationship and level of cooperation which the Government had with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) either on setting up such an institution or on the drafting of the report was not up to the standard expected by the NGOs. At the international level, Italy’s contribution to international cooperation in development, which stood at 0.1 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP), was far from the United Nations target of 0.7 per cent of GDP.

Anther Expert reminded the delegation that this year was the last year of the Decade of Human Rights Education and asked if the teaching of human rights was carried out in faculties and other educational centres all over the country. Were there laws that protected migrants and asylum seekers? The process of renewing permits took up to six months: what happened during the first six months of any vulnerable person whose permit was to be renewed, and why did this process take such a long time before any decision was reached? He asked about the Government’s position with regard to the proposed optional protocol to the Covenant, and if the rights enshrined in the Covenant could be invoked before Italian courts.

Another Expert asked if the Italian Government was taking into consideration the provisions of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in decisions in which it was participating in international financial institutions in providing assistance to developing countries.

The centralized government system had transferred powers to regions and provisions in administrative and legislative matters under its power devolution plan, a Committee member said. He asked how the central Government monitored if the rules and regulations were rights-based in relation to the provisions of the Covenant.

Another Expert asked how persons living illegally in the country were protected. How was the process of social integration of the victims of trafficking carried out in Italy?

On gender equality, an Expert said there was a broad legal framework to protect women, which was an important aspect in the promotion of equality between men and women. What plan of action was taken to change some discriminatory in-depth stereotypes? What positive discriminatory measures had been taken to bring about equality between men and women in the society?

Another Expert asked about the measures taken to assist vulnerable persons who were not receiving any economic assistance, particularly workers with temporary work permits. He said they were living under very precarious conditions without any economic assistance. What was the position of Italy concerning the 1990 Convention on the Rights of Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families? Was it considering signing or ratifying the Convention?

Referring to the agreements reached between Italy, Libya and Tunisia with regard to asylum seekers, an Expert asked about the scope and the substance of the agreements. Did the agreements take into consideration the economic, social and cultural rights of asylum seekers?

Response by Delegation

In response to the questions, the members of the Italian delegation said efforts were being made to set up an independent human rights institution. Information alleging that Italy was the only European country which did not have a national human rights institution conforming to the Paris Principles was incorrect. In fact, out of the 25 European Union Member States, only 12 countries had human rights institutions which conformed to the Paris Principles and 12 others had national human rights institutions which did not really conform to the Principles. Parliament had before it a proposal to create an institution very similar to the institutions outlined by the Paris Principles.

Concerning the participation of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the preparation of the report, the delegation said that only sectoral consultations had been carried out. An informal consultation had been made with some of the NGOs. Since there was no umbrella NGO representing all organizations working in different fields, it was not possible to reach all of them.

The justiciabilty mechanism was a complex issue to apply in Italy, the delegation said. Certain economic, social and cultural rights could be immediately made justicible, for example concerning non-discrimination. But other rights, like those concerning health and housing, had budgetary implications for the State.

Italy planned to progressively increase its overseas development assistance to reach the United Nations target of 0.7 per cent of GDP, the delegation said. It envisaged reaching 0.38 per cent by the end of 2006.

A number of legal provisions had been taken to improve the situation of women in the society, the delegation said. Additional measures had also been taken against stereotype forms of discrimination against women. The Government had imposed a quota to be respected by political parties in presenting female candidates in their lists, which had produced positive results. During the recent election for European Union parliament, the number of female deputies had increased.

The fight against trafficking in persons was a main priority for the Government. It was led by the President of the Inter-ministerial Committee for Human Rights. Article 18 of law 286 of 1998 on measures concerning immigration and the situation of foreign citizens was one of the most effective instruments which Italy used to fight this terrible phenomena.

The children of illegal immigrants had equal opportunities in education and other social benefits like those accorded to Italian children, the delegation said. Social protection measures were also extended to all persons whether they were illegally or legally residing in the country. Women enjoyed wide access to social benefits for being part of a vulnerable group. A pregnant woman was not expelled from the country on the ground of violating the law on residence. Persons legally residing in the country could benefit from special status in accordance to the period of their stay. Those who resided legally for two years, for example, could have access to social housing.

Human rights teachings were carried out at all levels of the educational system, the delegation said. Inter-cultural education had been organized to include groups such as the Roma. The Ministry of Education had introduced a programme under the theme of “Education to citizens”, in connection with citizenship values and the cultural atmosphere of the society.

Questions by Experts

The Committee members continued to raise questions on a series of issues. An Expert asked if there were disparities among the regions of Italy with respect to unemployment. What was the situation of long-term unemployed persons, particulars those between 40 and 50 years of age who were affected by the new developments, in terms of working time and flexible schedules? What percentage of the workers received minimum wage. What measures were being taken to respect the equality of wages for equal work?

With regard to the problem of child labour, another delegation observed that the existing legal provisions were reportedly not strictly applied to children under 15 years of age who were working. What measures were being taken by the Government to implement the ILO convention on worst forms of child labour?

An Expert asked if the social security system covered all the regions of the country. She said that disparity among regions was evident in many aspects. Had the Government established a social pension system in the regions?

Another Committee members said that the informal economy accounted for 15 per cent of the country’s GDP. What measures were being taken to regulate the conditions of those who were working in the informal labour market? Turning to collective bargaining, he said minimum wages were fixed through collective bargaining which involved the trade unions. How did the Government apply the same minimum wage to non-union workers, given that the trade unions that negotiated represented only 40 per cent of the workers?

An Expert joined the previous speaker in raising the problem of informal workers. He said Italy, along with Greece, had the highest rate of informal labour in the European Union. The labour inspectors knew that a number of companies – an estimated 52,000 enterprises – recruited informal workers, thus evading social security payments. Italy had a problem with social security payments because of such evasions by companies.

Response by Delegation

On north and south economic disparities, the delegation said that thanks to reforms carried out in recent years, the economic gap between the two regions of Italy had been closing. At least 200,000 young people had been moved from the south to the centre and the north for the purpose of economic reinsertion. In addition, financial assistance had been provided to boost economic activities.

The Government recognized the strong commitment of its work inspectors, the delegation said. Measures were being taken with the aim of assisting informal labourers to come out of their informal situation. Recently, the Government had approved a law to regularize the situation of 700,000 workers in the informal sector. Those workers had been provided with the necessary work permits and had been integrated into the social security system.

Collective bargaining served for all workers whether they were part of the trade unions or not, the delegation said. There were 400 contracts agreed upon by a tripartite – Government, employer and trade union – committee.

The prohibition of child labour was strictly applied in all circumstances, the delegation said. Only children over 15 years were allowed to work. The new law on compulsory education had been reinforced recently by the State. The Government had reinforced its combat against child labour exploitation.

Responding to a question on the right to equal pay for work of equal value, the delegation said a number measures had been put in place to protect vulnerable workers from becoming victims of the violation of their rights. Legislation had been adopted to ensure that workers of all categories enjoyed equal rights. A 2003 decree prohibited discrimination against workers on the basis of religion or race.

Questions by Experts

An Expert said that he had received information in connection to prison conditions in Italy. According to this information, there were 10,000 prisoners infected by infectious diseases, and the prisons were overcrowded. What measures were being taken to improve this situation?

Another Expert said that the time taken to process the application of asylum seekers was long; and they were not allowed the right to family reunion. What measures were being taken to reconcile that situation?

Italy was facing a problem of ageing, an Expert said, suggesting that the State party should encourage childbirth by providing incentives to its citizens similar to measures taken by countries such as Canada.

A Committee member said that 12 per cent of Italy’s population was living in relative poverty, two-thirds of them living in the south. Although in recent years, a slight reduction in poverty was noted, there was still growing poverty in the south of the country. What measures were being taken to reverse the situation? With regard to the Roma immigrants, he said those living outside major cities were living in severe poverty and deplorable sanitary conditions. There were few programmes to integrate them into the society. What measures were being envisaged to resolve the problem?

On the issue of housing, an Expert said that immigrants and refugees faced problems in accessing housing facilities. Public agencies were reluctant to provide those categories of persons with adequate housing. In the Milan area, Roma families with regular residence permits were reportedly kept behind barbed wires and walls, away from facilities. The nearest school, which was seven kilometres away, reportedly said it was unable to accept the children of those Roma families because of a shortage of space. The delegation was requested to provide information on the issue.

Did the law against domestic violence provide for protection for the victims, another Expert asked, and what precautions were being taken to prevent such violence. The issue of pornography and paedophilia had become a problem because of the Internet; what measures were being taken to prevent their dissemination? What steps were being taken to avoid discrimination against children born out of wedlock, despite the existence of a law prohibiting discrimination against them?

An Expert said there was no explicit prohibition of parental corporal punishment. The legislation should reflect prohibition of corporal punishment domestically.

A study carried out in 2000 had put the number of homeless people at 17,000, but what was the situation today, asked another Expert. The phenomenon of homelessness was also a result of the spectacular increase in house rents. The unnecessary intervention of police in forced evictions without relocation had also contributed to homelessness.

Committee members also raised questions on issues pertaining to children with disabilities; the plan to increase compulsory education from eight to ten years; Italy’s position, as a member of the World Trade Organization, on exporting medicine at lower prices to developing countries; the high school dropout rate for girls; and the situation of traditional minority languages, among other things.

Response by Delegation

The Government had put in place a national action plan on HIV/AIDS to improve the health conditions of the victims, the delegation said. Work on monitoring and screening the disease had also been strengthened to combat the pandemic. A campaign had been launched against irresponsible sexual behaviour, which was among the causes of the spread of the disease.

The Italian authorities were unable to guarantee family reunification to asylum seekers whose situation was not yet stable, the delegation said. Family reunification could only be justified after the asylum seeker settled in the country. The Government had introduced measures that would substantially reduce the long processing period of asylum.

At present, regional commissions had been established to consider asylum cases in which representatives of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had a say in the decisions, the delegation said. Asylum seekers were held in centres while their requests were being processed. During their stay, their human rights were fully respected. The Government was envisaging adopting a law on immigration and asylum seekers following the directives of the European Union.

In order to resolve some of the problems relating to housing, the Government had been encouraging people to own their own houses, the delegation said. The majority of Italians owned their houses. Immigrants and refugees also had the possibility to have housing access through the intermediary intervention of trade unions and or other social organizations.

With respect to the Roma people, the delegation said there was a social policy towards that community. Keeping in mind their nomadic behaviour, the Government provided them with support in health and educational programmes in their temporary dwelling centres. The vast majority of Roma were Italian nationals, and 9,000 of their children were studying in public schools. However, the average annual school attendance by the Roma children was estimated to be 100 days.

The situation of the ageing population was a concern to the Italian Government, and it was also a common cause of concern for the European Union, the delegation said. The Government was fully engaged in reforming the pension system through liberalization of the retirement age.

Asked why Italy did not accede to ILO Convention no. 174 on major industrial accidents, the delegation said that the Government was presently examining the Convention. It noted that only 10 countries had ratified the Convention.

The delegation said children with disabilities were integrated into the educational system without any problem. In specialized teaching centres, there were 80,000 teachers for 160,000 children with disabilities. With regard to compulsory education, children were now admitted to school beginning at the age of five years and half. Concerning minority languages, people living near the Austrian border spoke German and Italian. In the Aosta region, they spoke French in addition to Italian. They were all bilingual.

There was no reliable figure on the number of homeless persons in Italy; however, it was estimated to be between 10,000 to 17,000, the delegation said. Since many of them did not seek assistance, it was difficult to identify them. The Government had laid down a social plan to assist homeless persons.