(English) September 15, 2012
Amnesty International has recently released a report called “On the Edge” which urges Italy to change its laws, policies and practices that marginalize the Roma people, also known as Gypsies.
An estimated 200,000 Roma people live in Italy today, the majority of them in encampments on the outskirts of cities such as Rome, Milan and Naples. Some of the camps are unofficial and badly rundown.
Many Italians are openly hostile to the Roma people, accusing them of avoiding work in favor of theft and other crimes.
In 2008 the Berlusconi-led center right government declared a state of emergency in relation to the settlements of nomad communities in some regions of Italy introducing new measures to facilitate the expulsion and repatriation of Roma people, even if they were European community citizens.
This legislation led to a widespread discrimination against and violations of the rights of the Roma people across the country. However in November 2011, Italy’s highest administrative court ruled the legislation unlawful.
According to Amnesty International Italy’s Roma people are still segregated and without prospects for integration. The Italian government is not fulfilling its international obligations and commitments to the EU, the human rights watchdog said in its report.
In its report, Amnesty International recommends that the European Commission start an infringement procedure under the Race Equality Directive for Italy’s discriminatory treatment of the Roma people in relation to their right to adequate housing.
Hundreds of Roma people have been forcibly evicted in Rome and Milan and left homeless in past months while ethnic segregation in camps is perpetuated and Gypsies remain largely excluded from social housing, the report said.
Source: Press TV
To read the Amnesty report, click here.
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