Last week, the United Nations sounded the alarm over the escalation of hate speech and incitement to racial discrimination against ethnic minorities in Italian society, indicating its deep concern about the negative impact of the controversial legislation recently adopted by Parliament on the conditions of immigrants and refugees.
The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination expressed its concern at the use by Italian politicians and “high-ranking government officials” of hate speech and incitement to racial discrimination against ethnic minorities, especially Roma and Africans, in the media and the Internet.
According to the report, racist rhetoric has not only increased among politicians, but has also increased in sports fields, according to the “InfoMigrants” website.
The committee also expressed its concern about “racist behavior during sporting events, including physical and verbal attacks against athletes of African descent.”
It asked Italy to investigate all racist violations in sports, and to punish those responsible.
The United Nations Committee had issued a statement, Thursday, September 4, in Geneva, after its periodic review of the extent of the governments of the United Nations member states’ commitment to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
The Committee of Experts on Combating Racial Discrimination expressed its concern about recent legislation, especially the Immigration and Security Law, which was passed in 2018, and the “Cutro decree,” which was passed in 2023.
The adoption of these two decrees made migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees more vulnerable to human rights violations, especially with regard to the violation of their rights to life and a sense of security.
The statement of the Committee of Experts on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination also published the results of its investigations into Croatia, Italy, Namibia, Senegal, Turkmenistan and Uruguay.
La Repubblica newspaper said, “The United Nations Committee of Experts has put the reality of racial discrimination in Italy under a microscope.”
The committee’s experts, who met with an Italian delegation in early August, urged Italy to effectively implement its legislation to combat hate speech and incitement to racial discrimination, ensure effective investigations into all hate speech and racially motivated crimes, and punish those found guilty regardless of their official status.
Last year, the victory of a coalition of right-wing parties in Italy raised concerns, whether among refugees and migrants or in the corridors of European politics, especially since Giorgia Meloni, the potential candidate to lead the government, has ideas strongly hostile to the idea of receiving refugees and migrants.
