An appeal to the outside world to try and help us get it annulled.
To the
Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres, UN Human Rights Council, Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), International Labour Organization (ILO), OHCHR - Committee on the Rights of the Child, Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), European Court of Human Rights, International Criminal Court (ICC), African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR), Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, President of the European Parliament Jerzy Buzek, President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso, European Commissioner for Justice, Freedom & Security Jacques Barrot, European Commissioner for Health, Androulla Vassiliou, Council of Europe: Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT), President of the European Council Fredrik Reinfeldt, Commissioner for Human Rights at the Council of Europe Thomas Hammarberg, World Health Organization (WHO), Human Rights Organizations
Honourable Sirs,
please find enclosed an official report drawn up by EveryOne Group, the human rights organization, concerning Italian Law No. 94/2009 on public security, a law passed by the Italian Parliament and in force since August 8th, 2009.
Please do your utmost to help us get Law 94/2009 annulled as it violates the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and all the international agreements that protect ethnic groups, racial minorities and refugees.
Currently, because of this law, many immigrants in Italy are living like animals, hunted down, thrown into vans with bars on the windows, subjected to inhumane and degrading treatment, separated from relatives, deprived of civil rights and medical/social care, denounced by informers, ill-treated in the Centres of Identification and Expulsion (CIE), and assaulted by racists.
For EveryOne Group
Co-Presidents
Roberto Malini, Matteo Pegoraro, Dario Picciau
NOTICE OF COMPLAINT
The undersigned Matteo PEGORARO, born in Monselice (PD), Italy on 11/04/1986, Roberto MALINI, born in Milano, Italy on 27/05/1959 e Dario PICCIAU, born in Milano on 21/03/1975, in their positions as co-chairmen of the GRUPPO EVERYONE, international organisation for Human Rights, all electively domiciled at the headquarters of the aforesaid organisation, in Via dei Macci, 11, Florence, Italy,
whereas
On July 15th 2009 the President of the Italian Republic (Napolitano) enacted the Law N° 94 (GU n. 170 dated 24/07/2009) on public security previously approved by the House of Commons and the Senate of the Italian Republic.
The aforesaid law came into force on August 8th 2009.
The aforesaid law was initially presented in the form of Bill N° 733 to the Senate of the Republic by the Prime Minister (Berlusconi), the Home Minister (Maroni) and the Lord Chancellor (Alfano).
The law N° 94/2009 comprises amendments to the criminal code and to the special laws, to the Code of Criminal Procedure, to laws regarding preventive measures, imprisonment, immigration, the highway code and relating to the powers of the law enforcement agencies.
The law N° 94/2009 presents considerable amendments in matters concerning immigration; the most important amendment is the introduction of the new crime of “illegal entry and sojourn in the territory of the State” (Article 1, subparagraph 16), entrusted to the competence of the Justice of Peace, which punishes the behaviour of a foreigner who enters or remains in the State, infringing the regulations of the consolidating legislation on immigration and Law N° 68/2007 (regarding short-term stays) with a fine. The offence is accompanied by a series of additional sanctions: expulsion, discontinuance of the crime once the “irregular” foreigner is outside Italian territory, the possibility of expelling the “illegal immigrant” even when there is no authorisation for expulsion from the legal authorities.
For those who are forced to emigrate by desperate or at least difficult conditions, a violation – and indeed other sanctions – punished by a fine does not seem lawful – nor in keeping with the Italian Constitution, with the European Charter of Fundamental Rights and with international legislation concerning the safeguarding of fundamental individual rights. This treatment seems, in effect, to equate the non-communitary migrants fleeing from poverty, famine, war and persecution with delinquents to be pursued and expelled, rather than protected.
The writers believe that it is necessary to report the serious and inevitably negative incidence of the new crime with regard to access to essential public services relating to fundamental rights safeguarded by the Italian Constitution, by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and by the international agreements on fundamental rights (for example, the right to good health) by the immigrants who do not hold (or who no longer hold) a valid residence permit. In accordance with Article 331 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, in fact, all public officials and public service agents are obliged to notify the situation because it is a crime punished ex officio. One of the effective risks of this law is that alternative, illegal circuits may be created to offer services that can no longer be obtained from the public structures (including health, bureaucratic and administrative procedures).
The writers, with regard to the concerns expressed above, denounce that in numerous Italian cities there have already been, without any the State Authorities taking any position on the matter, serious episodes, causing severe harm to individual rights and dignity, involving immigrants without a residence permit who, although in serious physical condition, have refused access to pharmacological or health care, motivated by the fear that they would be reported by public officials or subsequently expelled from Italy – or divided from their families – on the basis of the crime set out in Law N° 94/2009. Fear that is more than justified, considering that Article 331 of the Code of Criminal Procedure obliges Italian citizens employed by the public services (and therefore also the local health authorities) to report the illegal immigrants.
Failure to report, pursuant to Articles 361 and 362 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, would become a crime punishable by a fine or by imprisonment up to one year. It must also be considered that illegal immigrants who are the subject of xenophobic threats, abuse or physical and psychological violence from intolerant persons and organised groups of racists – often “safety patrols” authorised by the law N° 94/2009 – will be obliged, in order to avoid being reported and subjected to criminal proceedings to take refuge – going into hiding – in unhealthy conditions, far from civilisation, worsening their conditions, while the violence of the patrols will not be reported to the Italian authorities and the parties guilty of these crimes will remain unpunished and even free to continue perpetrating such crimes.
There are already reports of mothers and children who have died because they were seriously ill and were unable to attend hospitals or clinics, or were frightened to do so. In particular, we must report the case of a Ukrainian carer aged 39, without a residence permit, who on June 10th 2009 bled to death in the apartment where she worked at Torre a Mare, in the province of Bari, following a miscarriage. After a long search she had finally found work. Suddenly she began to bleed, but did not call for help: the fear of losing her job and of being reported as an illegal immigrant prevented her from doing so.
On June 14th a Chinese woman aged 33, fearing that she would be reported as an illegal immigrant, fled from the Sacco Hospital in Milano, taking with her newborn son, who had just been operated on for a very serious malformation of the heart. Recent research by the EveryOne in the main hospitals of Rome (San Gallicano, Policlinico Umberto I, San Camillo Forlanini, Policlinico Tor Vergata, Ospedale Grassi di Ostia) and Milan (Niguarda, Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, San Paolo, San Carlo Borromeo) has shown a reduction of almost 35% in the immigrants seeking treatment at A & E departments, following the news of the imminent approval of the Italian legislation N° 733B on public safety. Professor Francesco Chiarelli, consultant paediatrician at the World Health Organisation recently stated that “a birth without medical assistance and outside a context of absolute safety, is transformed into a serious and unjustifiable risk for the mother and for the newborn child” and therefore “the alienation of the woman and the lack of access to the health services make the figures regarding the infant mortality rate dramatic.”
With regard to Article 331 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the writers believe that the serious risk of the spread of epidemics to which the Law N° 94/2009 subjects both migrants, Italian and European citizens and the entire world population is more than justified. The condition of total social exclusion into which the foreigners without a residence permit are forced, following the introduction of the “crime of clandestinity” – forced to live in hiding, in tragic hygienic conditions – makes it impossible, should an epidemic arise to enact any form of prevention, quarantine or other health procedure. Without medical care, without vaccination or adequate treatment, an atypical influenza will be sufficient to cause many victims and give rise to possible, serious mutations. Not to mention the danger of leprosy, a disease recently reported in Milan and Genoa, or of TBC, which has already claimed victims amongst the immigrants of some Italian cities.
Immediate treatment, anti-epidemic procedures and quarantine have so far avoided the spread of leprosy, once the Law N° 94/2009 comes into force this will no longer be possible. Two cases of suspected leprosy have not been treated due to fear of being reported to the Italian authorities, once again in Milan. We dare not think what would happen in the presence of a terrible disease such as Ebola, an event which is anything but improbable, considering that the persecuted and the refugees often come from countries where this virus represents a serious health risk. The danger of epidemics, an emergency in the modern-day globalised world, necessarily demands trust in the health authorities by all social categories.
Article 1, subparagraph 20, letter f of the Law N° 94/2009, if applied, would require, for the purposes of the declaration of the birth of a child – even when legitimate – (like all documents of civil status, including recognition of an illegitimate child) the presentation of a residence permit before the state official registering the birth. The aforesaid Article 1 in fact states that “[…] for procedures regarding access to health services pursuant to Article 35 and for those concerning compulsory schooling, the documents relating to the residence as at Article 5, subparagraph 8, must be shown at the offices of the public administration, for the purpose of issuing licences, authorisations, enrolments and other measures concerning the foreigner […]” This, as reported in a note dated April 30th 2009 by the “Associazione magistrati per i minorenni e la famiglia” (association of magistrates for juveniles and the family) is in contrast with the right of juveniles to a personal identity and to citizenship to be recognised at the time of birth (Article 7 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child approved in New York on November 20th 1989 and ratified in Italy with the Law N° 176 dated May 1991”, “determining an iniquitous condition of the child of foreign parents illegally resident in our territory”, with the consequence that the child not only “will be deprived of his identity but will also be more easily exposed to false recognition by third parties, for illegal purposes and in violation of the law on adoption.”
It must be said that the United Nations have proclaimed “that childhood is entitled to special care and assistance, convinced that the family, as the fundamental group of society and the natural environment for the growth and well-being of all its members and particularly children, should be afforded the necessary protection and assistance so that it can fully assume its responsibilities within the community, recognizing that the child, for the full and harmonious development of his or her personality, should grow up in a family environment, in an atmosphere of happiness, love and understanding,”. All this “considering that the child should be fully prepared to live an individual life in society, and brought up in the spirit of the ideals proclaimed in the Charter of the United Nations, and in particular in the spirit of peace, dignity, tolerance, freedom, equality and solidarity”.
It must be considered that the need to offer special protection to children was announced in the Geneva Declaration of 1924 on the rights of the child and in the Declaration of the Rights of the Child adopted by the General Assembly on November 20th 1959 and recognised in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in the international pact relating to civil and political rights – in particular in Articles 23 and 24 – in the international pact relating to the economic, social and cultural rights – in particular Article 10 – and in the statutes and documents of the specialist institutions and the international organisations that deal with the well-being of the child. This, considering that, as indicated by the Declaration of Human Rights, the child, due to his lack of physical and intellectual maturity requires particular protection and care, including appropriate legal protection, both prior to and following birth.
It must be noted that Italy, in adopting the measures as at Article 1, subparagraph 20, letter f of the Law N° 94/2009, would commit an evident violation of the Convention on Children’s Rights, and in particular articles 2, 5, 7, 8, 16, 22, 24, 27 and 30. At article 2 there is clear reference to the prohibition of discrimination against the child and his parents or legal representatives, whatever their condition: “State parties shall respect and ensure the rights set forth in the present Convention to each child within their jurisdiction without discrimination of any kind, irrespective of the child's or his or her parent's or legal guardian's race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, property, disability, birth or other status. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that the child is protected against all forms of discrimination or punishment on the basis of the status, activities, expressed opinions, or beliefs of the child's parents, legal guardians, or family members”.
It is clear that preventing the registration of a newborn child by a “clandestine” parent is in fact in contrast with the international laws against discrimination, and above all places the child in an extremely unequal condition with respect to the fundamental rights of newborn Italian citizens. This condition in fact profoundly violates Article 5 of the Convention, which foresees that States party to the convention must: “respect the responsibilities, rights and duties of parents [...], to provide, in a manner consistent with the evolving capacities of the child, appropriate direction and guidance in the exercise by the child of the rights recognized in the present Convention”. On this matter, the contrast between the Law 94/2009 and Article 7 of the Convention is even more evident: “The child shall be registered immediately after birth and shall have the right from birth to a name, the right to acquire a nationality and. as far as possible, the right to know and be cared for by his or her parents” and in particular “States Parties shall ensure the implementation of these rights in accordance with their national law and their obligations under the relevant international instruments in this field, in particular where the child would otherwise be stateless”.
Concerning Article 9, which requires the States party to the Convention to ensure “that a child shall not be separated from his or her parents against their will, except when competent authorities subject to judicial review determine, in accordance with applicable law and procedures, that such separation is necessary for the best interests of the child”, it is necessary to emphasise that it is in the interests of the child to grow up with his family, in this case with his biological parents who conceived him and who have the right and duty to raise him, providing they preserve his identity and respect his right to freedom, bringing him up in a serene family environment. Moreover, according to the Convention on Human Rights: “No child shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his or her privacy, family, or correspondence, nor to unlawful attacks on his or her honour and reputation” (Article 16). The writers wonder whether preventing a family from registering the birth of a newborn child is not an arbitrary or unlawful interference in the light of international legislation which safeguards the fundamental rights of the individual, but above all safeguards the basic interests of the child.
In Article 22, moreover, reference is made to a child who is seeking refugee status or who is considered a refugee in accordance with applicable international or domestic law and procedures. We wonder how a child who does not enjoy legitimate registration of his or her birth can obtain the status of refugee, when his parents, who are hypothetically on Italian territory having fled from war, persecution or from inhuman and degrading treatment suffered in their country of origin, are considered to all intents and purposes criminals to be pursued, arrested and subsequently expelled because they do not hold a regular entrance visa.
At Article 24 of the aforementioned Convention reference is made, at letter d), to the duty of each State party to the Convention to “ensure appropriate pre-natal and post-natal health care for mothers”. According to regulation 331 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which also came into force on August 8th 2009 and requires, as we already stated, public officials and public service operators to report illegal immigrants to the competent authorities, and on the basis of research carried out by Gruppo EveryOne – and the facts set out above regarding the death of an Ukrainian woman some weeks ago – it can be seen that illegal immigrant mothers will not be able to benefit adequately from such treatment as required by the aforesaid Article 24 of the Convention, since they would immediately be reported to the authorities, subsequently arrested, taken to a Centro di Identificazione ed Espulsione (Centre for Identification and Expulsion) and finally deported to their country of origin.
The whole procedure preventing the possibility of registering the birth of their child and consequently seeing him or her removed by the social services and subsequently entrusted to a community by a sentence from the Juvenile Court. To conclude, the States party to the Convention, according to Article 27 of the Convention, recognizes the right of every child to a standard of living adequate for the child's physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development. “The parent(s) or others responsible for the child have the primary responsibility to secure, within their abilities and financial capacities, the conditions of living necessary for the child's development”. It is then specified that “States Parties [...] shall take appropriate measures to assist parents and others responsible for the child to implement this right and shall in case of need provide material assistance and support programmes, particularly with regard to nutrition, clothing and housing”.
In Italy at present all this is denied, and on the contrary every form of subsidiary protection is denied from the very start to an immigrant residing on national territory without a valid residence permit applied for and often impossible to obtain, due to the limits imposed by Law N° 189/2002 (known as the “decreto flussi” – the incoming flow decree), which still paralyses the regularisation of thousands of immigrant workers. Since they in fact entered the country illegally, the “clandestine immigrants” cannot enter the official labour market. Therefore, once they arrive at their destination, they are often exploited by their unscrupulous employers who use them as low-cost manpower, ignoring all the health and safety in the workplace regulations, taking advantage of the fact that they can easily be blackmailed due to their illegal position. It must be said that in some cases, on the contrary, the employers, for humanitarian reasons and solidarity, allow the migrants to work despite their illegal situation, preventing them from falling into the hands of the mafia or falling prey to a more dramatic fate due to poverty and apartheid.
In such cases, fortunately not rare, the employer is running a considerable risk, and if found in flagrante delicto is severely punished by the law. Moreover, the recent refoulement from Italian waters towards Libya on July 1st (89 refugees, including 9 women and 3 children) and on July 5th (47 refugees) and on 29 July (14 refugees, including 2 women and 1 child) – made known by the press – show, in evident violation of the Geneva Convention on the right to political asylum and to humanitarian and subsidiary protection, the intention of the Italian institutions and authorities to relentlessly pursue the refugees, treating them like criminals to be deported and delivered once again into the hands of totalitarian and repressive States. Article 30 of the Convention on Children’s Rights specifically states that: “In those States in which ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities or persons of indigenous origin exist, a child belonging to such a minority or who is indigenous shall not be denied the right, in community with other members of his or her group, to enjoy his or her own culture, to profess and practise his or her own religion, or to use his or her own language”.
We must ask ourselves how a child who belongs to a minority – like all illegal immigrants, commonly known as “clandestini” in Italian – can, together with the members of his group, enjoy the rights that are part of his identity, when his only prospect in Italy is to be returned to the country from which he has fled with his family or separation from his legitimate parents, with his consequent internment in a community, in which he will be inculcated with a new Italian identity (cultural, religious and social) for the sole purpose of enforced integration. All in view of future adoption.
Apart from the violations expressed in the previous points of this document, there is another in the Law N° 176 dated May 27th 1991 (Gazzetta Ufficiale N° 135 dated 11/06/1991), issued by the President of the Italian Republic, in particular with respect to Articles 2 and 3, which ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child conferring full and entire execution, specifying that everyone must compulsorily observe it and cause it to be observed as a law of the Italian State.
According to an article in the daily newspaper Il Tirreno dated July 29th 2009 and written in Prato, entitled “Clandestina? Non puoi essere madre” (illegal immigrant, you can’t become a mother), in just the first months of 2009 412 children were born to parents without a residence permit.
The person launching the alarm regarding the impossibility for parents without a residence permit to register the birth of their children is Giovanni Daveti, the official at the Prefecture in Prato responsible for matters concerning the local Chinese community. “In the security bill,” said Daveti, “there is a regulation that requires the illegal immigrants to show their residence permit when registering civil status.” At present we have not received a circular that explains how we are to behave in detail: since August 8th, when the law came into force, therefore we have newborn children who cannot be recognised by their parents, if they are both illegal immigrants. The only possible solution seems to be entrusting them to the social services. In the first six months of 2009 alone, 412 children were born in Prato in this condition.”
According to an article published in the daily newspaper La Repubblica – local edition of Genoa dated July 29th 2009, entitled “Decreto sicurezza, quei figli delle immigrate separati dalle madri” (“Security decree, children of immigrants separated from their mothers”) – illegal immigrant mothers who give birth in hospital risk seeing their children removed from their care and destined for adoption: in the absence of any form of regularisation of the parents – also because the so-called residence permit for pregnancy is not at all to be taken for granted – the child will in fact be declared to be ‘abandoned’ and initially entrusted to the social services. “The paradox is that the newborn child, since it has been abandoned by its parents, immediately acquires Italian citizenship. […] According to an estimate by Genoese doctors, the number of pregnant immigrants in the city and the province who will give birth by the end of the year is equal to some hundreds: what will happen to their babies?” asks the article.
In a recent parliamentary debate, Alfredo Mantovano, undersecretary at the Italian Home Ministry, stated that foreign mothers can receive a residence permit for pregnancy and that this would safeguard the babies. He was referring to Article 19 of the consolidating legislation on immigration “Prohibition of expulsion and refoulement”, which foresees residence permits for maternity, that is permits granted to illegal immigrant women who, being pregnant, need medical treatment and examination.
This residence permit “for medical treatment”, pursuant to Article 28 of D.P.R. 394/1999, covers the entire period of pregnancy and the first six months of the child’s life, it does not allow the person to work and cannot be renewed or converted. Therefore, when the residence permit expires the mother once again becomes “irregular”, together with the child who, however, has the right to go to school and receive medical treatment. It is agreed that the irregular mother can register the birth of a child only if she holds one of these temporary, six-month residence permits, which however, are only granted if she holds a valid passport or an equivalent document (Art. 9 del D.P.R. 394/1999), ultrasound scans certifying to the pregnancy and medical documents issued by the local health authority.
It is an evident contradiction that this residence permit is issued only to women holding a valid passport: in fact, any mother fleeing from wars, torture, persecution and other inhuman and degrading treatment and therefore lacking valid documents that attest her nationality and which allow her to travel abroad would be denied this partial right. Secondly, it must be noted that this special permit is granted exclusively to the mother of the child and not to the father (see ruling of the Constitutional Court N° 192/2006, which declared legitimate the exclusion of the biological father from this benefit, which, if he were also in the condition of illegal immigrant, would prevent him from recognising his biological child in any way (except if he cohabited with the woman during the pregnancy or during the six months following the birth of the child, pursuant to ruling N° 376/2000 of the Constitutional Court): A third contradiction, no less important than the previous ones, to be set before Your Honour, is that a “clandestine” woman who does not give birth in hospital, and who does not undergo the necessary medical checks prior to the birth – for the reasons set out in the previous points – cannot benefit from the aforementioned temporary residence permit since she does not hold the medical documents concerning the pregnancy.
On this matter, Giovanni Daveti, the aforementioned official responsible for matters concerning the Chinese community at the police headquarters in Prato, stated on July 28th that, “[…] up to now the woman went to the doctor, who made out a certificate stating that the woman was pregnant. This allowed her to obtain a residence permit, in general for six months. Now, since the doctors can report illegal immigrants, this practice has become extremely difficult. It is too great a risk for the women”, precisely confirming the facts set out by the writers.
Finally, it must be considered that the majority of the Italian Police headquarters do not issue this residence permit if the applicant has no documents certifying the legitimate availability of a fixed address.
In view of points 13, 15, 16 and 17 of this complaint, it seems to the writers that the Italian institutions and authorities converge in the serious offence of preventing the exercise of fundamental rights to a specific category of individuals. In particular, the writers note the incompatibility with international regulations concerning the fundamental human rights of the behaviour which – also in consideration of the declarations of the official of the Police Headquarters in Prato – the Public Prosecutor’s Offices and the Police Headquarters in the Italian cities will probably encounter, that is to order the removal of children born to illegal immigrants, and their delivery to the social services. It seems clear that this decision might be necessary, in accordance with international legislation, (including Article 9 of the Convention on Children’s Rights), only in specific cases; for example, when the parents abuse or neglect the child.
It seems to the writers an abuse of the dignity and the fundamental rights of the individual to remove a child from its legitimate parents for reasons linked to its social and/or personal condition, whatever that may be. It is, moreover, clearly unconstitutional (Articles 2, 3 and 14 of the Italian Constitution). On this matter we must note that the Italian Constitution foresees that the Republic has the duty to protect maternity, infancy and youth, supporting the institutions necessary for this purpose (Article 31, subparagraph 2 of the Italian Constitution) and foresees the constitutional right-duty of the parents to maintain, instruct and educate their children, even if they are illegitimate (Article 30, subparagraph 1 of the Italian Constitution). Moreover, the Italian Constitution prohibits the deprivation of legal competency and of the name for political reasons (Article 22 of the Italian Constitution) and it is known that the doctrine refers to deprivation for any reason relating to the political interests of the State.
In the Universal Declaration of the Rights of the Peoples (Algeri, July 4th 1976) we read that: “Any group of persons who have a common reference to a culture and their own historical tradition, developed with a determinate geographical territory or other environments, constitute a people. Any people has the right to identify itself as such. No other instance can substitute for defining it. Any people has the right to set itself up as a nation”.
We could ask ourselves whether the illegal immigrants in Italy, united by the common reference of being irregular in view of the law and of a historical tradition that led them to flee from wars, epidemics, famine and persecution towards more wealthy countries, constitute the right of a people. In this case, it would be necessary to consider in particular Article 4 of the “Right to Exist”, of the aforementioned Declaration, which specifies: “None shall be subjected, because of his national or cultural identity, to massacre, torture, persecution, deportation, expulsion or living conditions such as may compromise the identity or integrity of the people to which belongs.” The writers emphasise that since the Italian Law 94/2009 came into force the boundary between restrictive regulations to encourage public security and the denial of fundamental rights through inhuman and degrading treatment mentioned in article 4 of the Declaration is increasingly vague and risks seriously compromising the role of the Republic as guarantor of fundamental rights.
More than significant, for the purposes of this complaint, is the reference to Articles 20 and 21 (Rights of Minorities) of the aforementioned Universal Declaration of the Rights of Peoples. According to Article 20, “The members of a minority shall enjoy without discrimination the same rights as the other citizens of the State and shall participate on an equal footing with them in public life”. This principle is violated by the regulations on public security contained in Law N° 94/2009 approved by the Italian parliament and in force since August 8th 2009. Moreover, according to Article 21, “These rights shall be exercised with due respect for the legitimate interests of the community as a whole and cannot authorise impairing the territorial integrity and political unity of State, provided the State acts in accordance with all the principles set forth in this Declaration”.
When a minority is safeguarded – as the migrant appears to all intents and purposes to be – the writers do not see any violation of the legitimate interests of the community seen as a whole. The same can be said for the compromising of the political unity of the State, and the harming of the territorial integrity, which do not occur in any way when the rights of an individual are guaranteed – moreover an individual socially and politically disadvantaged with respect to his equals – his right to life, to freedom and to the full realisation of his person. On the contrary, we can say that exercising these rights strengthens both the role of the public administration and the local authorities in the ordinary administration of the res publica, applying the principles of internal legislation.
With regard to political unity, the writers fail to see how a legally constituted state that guarantees fundamental rights could possibly harm its political unity, which would rather be considerably strengthened.
Given the facts set out in the previous points of this document, it should be evident that, in accordance with Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of the Collective Rights of the Peoples, all the unequal pacts, agreements or contracts, approved in defiance of the fundamental rights of the peoples should be void and that therefore the law N° 94/2009 approved by the Italian parliament and in force since August 8th 2009 should be considered to all intents and purposes inapplicable to the internal laws of the Italian State.
On the other hand, pursuant to Article 30 of the aforementioned Declaration, it is the duty of all members of the international community to re-establish the fundamental rights of a people, when these are seriously unacknowledged. This duty motivates the present complaint addressed to the international institutions and authorities, with the objective that they should intervene in the shortest time possible to express a binding opinion with respect to the fundamental rights guaranteed by the international charters on the matter and the commitments assumed by the Italian State at international level.
With regard to the above facts, the law N° 94/2009 approved by the Italian parliament and in force since August 8th 2009, and the practices linked to it, being evidently illegal and arbitrary, the undersigned
ASK
that your Honour conduct suitable preliminary inquires to determine whether the facts reported and the examination of the regulations contained in Italian Law N° 94/2009 set out above amount to a crime and a violation of the international obligations on matters of human and civil rights.
In particular they ask that Your Honour:
verify with the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Prefecture of Prato the fate of the 412 children born since the month of January 2009 to parents without a residence permit, and with the Public Prosecutor’s Offices and Prefectures of every Italian administrative centre the action taken in similar situations regarding the registration of the births and the recognition of legitimate and illegitimate children of illegal immigrants;
evaluate whether the Law N° 94/2009 approved by the Italian parliament constitutes a serious violation of the fundamental human rights, in contempt of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention on Children’s Rights, the International pact on economic, social and cultural rights, the Geneva Convention, the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, the Italian Constitution and all international texts safeguarding human and civil rights;
evaluate whether the application of the aforesaid law approved by the Italian parliament causes the social minorities of the “irregular” migrants to suffer oppression or inhuman or degrading treatment;
evaluate whether an offence has been committed should cases be ascertained of epidemic, death, disappearance, removal of minors from the care of their parents or of legitimate family members, or other seriously harmful events even casually linked to the application of the rules of the Italian Law N° 94/2009;
evaluate, in any case, whether the practice of considering immigrants who do not hold a valid residence permit criminals, obliging all public officials and all public service operators to report to the Italian authorities the “clandestine” state of the immigrants themselves, represents a violation of individual freedom, and of the right to health, the right to democratic participation in social life, the principles of non-discrimination, of equality for all citizens before the law and equal social dignity of the individual;
evaluate whether the battle against “clandestine” immigration in the sense of the Italian Law N° 94/2009 – carried out using the methods set out in the recitals – considering the fact that many immigrants who entered the country by irregular means are fleeing from persecution, war, famine, etc. and are therefore potential applicants for political asylum, supplements the presumed offence and violations of international obligations to respect human and civil rights;
may your Honour transmit – should the necessary conditions exist – this complaint, with the relative requests to the competent Tribunal and/ or Commission, in order that the necessary preliminary inquiries be carried out to ascertain the facts set out in this document, in order to determine the existence of presumed offences and violations committed in exercising their parliamentary functions by the Italian government, in particular by the Home Minister (Maroni), by the Minister of Health (Sacconi), by the Minister of Justice (Alfano), by the Minster of Equal Opportunities (Carfagna), by the Prime Minister (Berlusconi) or by other members of the Italian Government and the Italian parliament and all other procedures foreseen by international legislation.
***** *** *****
The undersigned deponents, reserve the right to integrate the oral and documentary proof. The writers ask to be informed of any interruption to proceedings in accordance with the Law.
Rome, Italy: October 14th 2009
Matteo PEGORARO
Roberto MALINI
Dario PICCIAU
Gruppo EveryOne
Tel: (+ 39) 334-8429527 (+ 39) 331-3585406
