Concerned about the consequences of the Italian decree law on international protection, immigration and public security adopted in November 2018, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, wrote in late January to the Italian Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte, to seek clarification from the Italian government on the measures envisaged to ensure the continuity of essential services to asylum seekers and persons under humanitarian protection.
Access to reception services and services such as health care and education must be preserved, she insists in her letter made public on Thursday 7 February, regretting in particular the "apparent hastiness" with which people have been transferred following the closure of the Castelnuovo di Porto (Rome) reception centre.
The haste of the process, she notes, "could disrupt the commendable efforts put in place in the past years by the local services for the integration and rehabilitation of the residents, and particularly the special care provided to the most vulnerable".
The Commissioner also stresses the need to preserve the fundamental rights of people rescued at sea. She said she was "deeply concerned about some recent measures hampering and criminalising the work of NGOs who play a crucial role in saving lives at sea […] banning disembarkation in Italian ports".
Like her predecessors, Ms Mijatović will continue to put pressure on EU countries to ensure that Italy and other countries of arrival are not left alone to deal with the migration issue. But she urges Italy to ensure that the human rights of persons rescued at sea are never put at risk because of current disagreements between member states.
"Humanitarian considerations always take priority", she concludes. (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)