translate some of the articles of the recent European Commission's Memorandum on the treatment of migrants and Roma by the Italian authorities (issued on 29/07/2008), drafted by Commissioner Thomas Hammarberg. A mirror of who we are today.
29. After the visit the Commissioner is concerned at the proposal of the Minister of Interior to fingerprint the Roma people of all ages. In particular, opposed the discriminatory nature of this measure, especially against children.
31. The Commissioner notes with concern that Roma and Sinti were excluded from the Law 482/1999 on the protection minornze of historical linguistic, based on the fact that they have no link with a specific geographic area. In Italy it seems to be widely and wrongly , taken for true that Roma are "nomads" who prefer to live in camps.
32. The Commission is following closely and is deeply concerned by the anti-Roma events in Italy, which were occasionally very violent, resulting in the fire of Roma camps, without effective protection by the Police fact that violent raids carried out in fields. Of particular concern is the support that was provided to these events, directly or indirectly, by some local and national political forces and by some mass media. There were no reports of investigations on these facts.
37. The Commissioner is particularly concerned about the fate of children living in poor living conditions in camps similar to the one he visited. Although formally have access to education, it is doubtful that they can effectively exercise their right to education in such living conditions
42. The Commission expresses its concern at the recent adoption of the "Security Package" which takes a particular target in the EU and Roma immigrants to declare state of emergency in some regions and the consequent expansion of power of the prefects.
43. The adoption of a common emergency legislation and other measures to be a member of the Council of Europe is indicative of a serious weakness the mechanism of the state, which appears unable to deal effectively with social problems are not new by ordinary legislation or other measures.
44. The Commissioner notes that the vast majority of Roma and Sinti has an urgent need for effective protection of their human rights, especially social rights, such as the right to a home and education by local authorities, regional and national. Adopt a state of emergency and give more powers to the "Special Commissioners" and the police is not the best option to meet the needs of Roma and Sinti.
50. Based on numerous reports of mistreatment at Roma, particularly of Romanian origin, by police during raids on Roma camps , the Commissioner brings to the attention the ECRI General Policy Raccomandation (06/29/2007). The Commissioner urges the authorities to ensure in particular that all members of the police to be trained systematically and steadily on the protection of human rights in the context of a joint enterprise, and that investigations are carried out on cases of illegal use of violence by Police.
67. The Commissioner noted with grave concern that Italy has taken the practice of forcibly returning immigrants, on the basis of bilateral agreements with some states (of transit or origin), such as Tunisia and Egypt, engaged in a long time and so tried the torture.
71. The Commissioner also notes that, despite the opposite direction taken by Italy, international law has clearly established the principle that outsiders whose only crime is the violation of immigration law should not be treated by the countries of destination or transit as criminals or potential criminals
72. The Commissioner is particularly concerned by the amendment the criminal law by the Decree Law according to which illegal residence is considered an aggravating circumstance that leads to an increase in punishment. This measure raises serious doubts about the proportionality and discrimination based on migrant status.
83. Since the adoption of anti-terrorism law, the authorities have used this legislation in order to arrest, interrogate and deport alleged terrorist connections with external, but in respect of which there has been no evidence found criminal.
The full version of the Memorandum can be downloaded here: http://download.repubblica.it/pdf/2008/comm_dirittiumani.pdf