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ITALY PRESENTS REPORT ON SITUATION OF CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS TO HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE
17 July 1998
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HR/CT/98/12/Rev.1
17 July 1998
MORNING
The Committee on Human Rights this morning started its consideration of a report presented by the Government of Italy on how that country was complying with the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Mario Alessi, Ambassador at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and head of the Italian delegation, introduced the report and said the lengthy delays in hearing legal proceedings in Italian courts had prompted the Government to undertake new measures to reform its criminal procedures. He said the new reforms would permit a single judge to deal with crimes punishable by sentences of not more than 20 years imprisonment.
Committee experts raised issues such as preventive detention mechanisms; mechanisms to monitor the application of the equality of women; discrimination against refugees; keeping persons incommunicado; incidents of racial intolerance against Gypsies, Jews and persons from North Africa; the practice of torture and mistreatment in prisons; and an incident in Somalia involving Italian soldiers.
The Italian delegation is also made up of Luigi Citarell, Secretary General of the Inter-ministerial Committee on Human Rights; Roberta Barberini, Counsellor at the Court of Appeal, Ministry of Justice; Adelaide Antonelli from the Ministry of Labour and Massimo Pierangelini from the Ministry of the Interior.
As one of the 140 States parties to the Convention, Italy must submit periodic reports to the Committee on the measures undertaken to implement the provisions of the treaty.
When the Committee reconvenes at 3 p.m., it will continue its consideration of the Italian report.
Report of Italy
The fourth periodic report of Italy on efforts to implement the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Document CCPR/C/103/Add.4) reviews the status of the treaty on an article-by-article basis. The report states that the Government has created the Ministry of Equal Opportunities whose principal role is to foster equal opportunities between men and women in terms of their civil and political rights.
The report noted that the serious problem of prison overcrowding has continued to afflict the country's prisons, which is seriously jeopardizing the serving of sentences and makes it very difficult to treat and re-educate prisoners and provide them with prison work and health care. Overcrowding also raises health and hygiene problems due to the spread of the HIV and AIDS virus, the report says, indicating that on 30 June 1995, 2,500 prisoners were HIV-positive, among a total of 48,227.
The report says that one of the great concerns is the growing numbers of illegal aliens in Italy. The largest problems are caused by the fact that since there are so many illegal immigrants, those who are documented under the Italian and international law are unable to make full use of the services and assistance which are available to them.
According to the report, the National Anti-Mafia directorate has proven to be extremely useful in dealing with organized crime. Drug-trafficking has always constituted a major area of crime and this is one of the areas where organized crime is most active.
Presentation of Report
MARIO ALESSI, Ambassador at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Italy, introducing his country's fourth periodic report, said that a debate was going on in Italy on the ways and means of application of conscientious objection to military service. It was to be recalled that the President of the Republic had refused to sign the text of a law on that subject, believing that it did not fully respect the free choice of the individual between obligatory military or civil service. However, at present, a new draft law was under consideration in Parliament, he said.
The slowness in connection with the legal proceedings had prompted the Italian Government to undertake new measures in the reform of criminal procedures, Mr. Alessi went on to state. The new reforms would permit a single judge to deal with crimes punishable by sentences of not more than 20 years imprisonment.
Mr. Alessi said that the Government of Italy was concerned about the high number of detainees in prisons. The increase in the number of detainees was due to the augmentation of certain forms of criminality caused by illegal immigration and because of the extreme slowness in the definition of criminal procedures.
In order to combat the growing number of clandestine immigrants, the Government of Italy had taken legislative measures against the phenomenon, Mr. Alessi said. A new law had already been issued by Parliament on 6 March 1998 regarding severe control of illegal immigrants at border check points.
Discussion of Report
In response to written questions prepared by Committee experts in advance, the Italian delegation said that several legislative measures had been taken to drastically reduce the lengthy penal and civil proceedings which at times took a long time. The increase in civil proceedings and the serious growth of the number of criminal cases had also bottle necked the work of the courts. The attribution of certain criminal cases to single judges was thought to speed up court proceedings.
Mentally disordered offenders who were considered to be dangerous were subjected to compulsory detention in a psychiatric hospital by a competent judge and their situation was periodically checked to see if they still remained dangerous, the delegation said. With regard to juvenile offenders, there were 29 juvenile courts throughout the country and such offenders were kept in separate institutions. In 1997, out of the total 471 juveniles involved in criminal acts, 289 were Italian while the rest were foreigners living in the country.
Concerning the treatment of detainees, the delegation said that penitentiary police found guilty of mistreating detainees were subjected to severe disciplinary measures ranging from suspension to fines. Any other crime against prisoners was also punishable according to the law governing prisons. So far, criminal or disciplinary proceedings had been brought on several occasions against police officers for violence or other abuse against persons under arrest.
Although the Government of Italy had ratified the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, torture had not been made a specific criminal offence, the delegation said. The delegation recalled that the Constitutional Court had confirmed that prison authorities might impose limitations on the forms of imprisonment which did not exceed the personal sacrifice already imposed on the detainee.
To remedy the problem of prison overcrowding, a new law was enacted to provide alternative penalties to imprisonment for persons convicted even of serious crimes. This law extended the application of alternative measures to house arrest and enabled particular categories of convicted criminals to serve their sentence at home if it did not exceed three years, even if it was a residual part of a longer sentence, the officials said. There were presently 50,000 prisoners in Italy.
There were no new rules in Italy to separate prisoners infected with HIV/AIDS virus, the delegation said. However, an inter-ministerial commission was created to combat the virus in general. The separation of victims of the virus was considered to be a sign of segregation within the prisons. Experimental measures had also been undertaken in prisons in Napoli and Genoa by setting up new medical centres specialised in the treatment of detainees infected with the virus.
The Italian Government had taken measures to fight illegal immigration and new legislation was adopted in that connection, the delegation said. A strict control of the frontiers was
reinforced while the process of legal entry to Italy was double checked. However, because of the vast coastal boundaries, the total control of illegal immigration was a difficult task, said the delegation.
Following the responses by the Italian delegation, Committee experts raised issues such as prison overcrowding; preventive detention; mechanisms to monitor the application of the equality of women; discrimination against refugees; keeping persons incommunicado; incidents of racial intolerance against Gypsies, Jews and persons from North Africa; the non-categorization of torture as a crime; the practice of torture and mistreatment in prisons; and an incident in Somalia involving Italian soldiers.
17 July 1998
MORNING
The Committee on Human Rights this morning started its consideration of a report presented by the Government of Italy on how that country was complying with the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Mario Alessi, Ambassador at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and head of the Italian delegation, introduced the report and said the lengthy delays in hearing legal proceedings in Italian courts had prompted the Government to undertake new measures to reform its criminal procedures. He said the new reforms would permit a single judge to deal with crimes punishable by sentences of not more than 20 years imprisonment.
Committee experts raised issues such as preventive detention mechanisms; mechanisms to monitor the application of the equality of women; discrimination against refugees; keeping persons incommunicado; incidents of racial intolerance against Gypsies, Jews and persons from North Africa; the practice of torture and mistreatment in prisons; and an incident in Somalia involving Italian soldiers.
The Italian delegation is also made up of Luigi Citarell, Secretary General of the Inter-ministerial Committee on Human Rights; Roberta Barberini, Counsellor at the Court of Appeal, Ministry of Justice; Adelaide Antonelli from the Ministry of Labour and Massimo Pierangelini from the Ministry of the Interior.
As one of the 140 States parties to the Convention, Italy must submit periodic reports to the Committee on the measures undertaken to implement the provisions of the treaty.
When the Committee reconvenes at 3 p.m., it will continue its consideration of the Italian report.
Report of Italy
The fourth periodic report of Italy on efforts to implement the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Document CCPR/C/103/Add.4) reviews the status of the treaty on an article-by-article basis. The report states that the Government has created the Ministry of Equal Opportunities whose principal role is to foster equal opportunities between men and women in terms of their civil and political rights.
The report noted that the serious problem of prison overcrowding has continued to afflict the country's prisons, which is seriously jeopardizing the serving of sentences and makes it very difficult to treat and re-educate prisoners and provide them with prison work and health care. Overcrowding also raises health and hygiene problems due to the spread of the HIV and AIDS virus, the report says, indicating that on 30 June 1995, 2,500 prisoners were HIV-positive, among a total of 48,227.
The report says that one of the great concerns is the growing numbers of illegal aliens in Italy. The largest problems are caused by the fact that since there are so many illegal immigrants, those who are documented under the Italian and international law are unable to make full use of the services and assistance which are available to them.
According to the report, the National Anti-Mafia directorate has proven to be extremely useful in dealing with organized crime. Drug-trafficking has always constituted a major area of crime and this is one of the areas where organized crime is most active.
Presentation of Report
MARIO ALESSI, Ambassador at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Italy, introducing his country's fourth periodic report, said that a debate was going on in Italy on the ways and means of application of conscientious objection to military service. It was to be recalled that the President of the Republic had refused to sign the text of a law on that subject, believing that it did not fully respect the free choice of the individual between obligatory military or civil service. However, at present, a new draft law was under consideration in Parliament, he said.
The slowness in connection with the legal proceedings had prompted the Italian Government to undertake new measures in the reform of criminal procedures, Mr. Alessi went on to state. The new reforms would permit a single judge to deal with crimes punishable by sentences of not more than 20 years imprisonment.
Mr. Alessi said that the Government of Italy was concerned about the high number of detainees in prisons. The increase in the number of detainees was due to the augmentation of certain forms of criminality caused by illegal immigration and because of the extreme slowness in the definition of criminal procedures.
In order to combat the growing number of clandestine immigrants, the Government of Italy had taken legislative measures against the phenomenon, Mr. Alessi said. A new law had already been issued by Parliament on 6 March 1998 regarding severe control of illegal immigrants at border check points.
Discussion of Report
In response to written questions prepared by Committee experts in advance, the Italian delegation said that several legislative measures had been taken to drastically reduce the lengthy penal and civil proceedings which at times took a long time. The increase in civil proceedings and the serious growth of the number of criminal cases had also bottle necked the work of the courts. The attribution of certain criminal cases to single judges was thought to speed up court proceedings.
Mentally disordered offenders who were considered to be dangerous were subjected to compulsory detention in a psychiatric hospital by a competent judge and their situation was periodically checked to see if they still remained dangerous, the delegation said. With regard to juvenile offenders, there were 29 juvenile courts throughout the country and such offenders were kept in separate institutions. In 1997, out of the total 471 juveniles involved in criminal acts, 289 were Italian while the rest were foreigners living in the country.
Concerning the treatment of detainees, the delegation said that penitentiary police found guilty of mistreating detainees were subjected to severe disciplinary measures ranging from suspension to fines. Any other crime against prisoners was also punishable according to the law governing prisons. So far, criminal or disciplinary proceedings had been brought on several occasions against police officers for violence or other abuse against persons under arrest.
Although the Government of Italy had ratified the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, torture had not been made a specific criminal offence, the delegation said. The delegation recalled that the Constitutional Court had confirmed that prison authorities might impose limitations on the forms of imprisonment which did not exceed the personal sacrifice already imposed on the detainee.
To remedy the problem of prison overcrowding, a new law was enacted to provide alternative penalties to imprisonment for persons convicted even of serious crimes. This law extended the application of alternative measures to house arrest and enabled particular categories of convicted criminals to serve their sentence at home if it did not exceed three years, even if it was a residual part of a longer sentence, the officials said. There were presently 50,000 prisoners in Italy.
There were no new rules in Italy to separate prisoners infected with HIV/AIDS virus, the delegation said. However, an inter-ministerial commission was created to combat the virus in general. The separation of victims of the virus was considered to be a sign of segregation within the prisons. Experimental measures had also been undertaken in prisons in Napoli and Genoa by setting up new medical centres specialised in the treatment of detainees infected with the virus.
The Italian Government had taken measures to fight illegal immigration and new legislation was adopted in that connection, the delegation said. A strict control of the frontiers was
reinforced while the process of legal entry to Italy was double checked. However, because of the vast coastal boundaries, the total control of illegal immigration was a difficult task, said the delegation.
Following the responses by the Italian delegation, Committee experts raised issues such as prison overcrowding; preventive detention; mechanisms to monitor the application of the equality of women; discrimination against refugees; keeping persons incommunicado; incidents of racial intolerance against Gypsies, Jews and persons from North Africa; the non-categorization of torture as a crime; the practice of torture and mistreatment in prisons; and an incident in Somalia involving Italian soldiers.