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Rights of the Child in Italy . Rights of the Child in Italy The aim of OMCT country reports are to prevent torture In its reports on children’s rights, OMCT aims to analyse national law in terms of the international commitments that a government has made. For example, in some co untries families are not informed when their child is detained and this removes a precious safeguard against abuse. The absence of such safeguards facilitates situations where the torture of children can and does oc- cur. In other words, the reports aim to point out where, often unknowingly, legislation facilitates grave abuses against children. The legal analysis is supported, where possible, by urgent appeals on the torture of children documented by OMCT. These urgent appeals (OMCT intervenes almost daily on such cases) are the foundation of all our work. The reports are not legal semantics for their own sake, but represent, in addition to the urgent actions, another side of our strategy to end torture. The reports include meaningful and feasi- ble recommendations for legal reform aimed at reducing the incidence of child torture. The reports are presented to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child who use them to analyse how well a country is fulfilling its international commitments with regards to children. Their recommendations on the issue of torture, drawing from OMCT’s reports, send a strong message from the international community on the need for action to end the torture of children. ISBN 2-88477-044-5 Contents I. Introduction ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7 II. Definition of the child ......................................................................................................................................................................... 9 III. Discrimination ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 11 3.1 Legal framework .................................................................................................................................................................................... 11 3.2 Situation .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 13 IV. Protection against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment .......................................................................................................................................... 18 4.1 Legal framework .................................................................................................................................................................................... 18 4.2 Ill-treatment by Police and other Public officials ................................................................................................... 20 V. Legal protection from other forms of violence ........................................................................................................... 26 VI. Child labour and exploitation ....................................................................................................................................................... 29 VII. Unaccompanied migrant children and child trafficking ...................................................................................... 34 7.1 Legal framework .................................................................................................................................................................................... 35 7.2 Situation .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 40 VIII. Children in conflict with the law ............................................................................................................................................. 43 8.1 Age of criminal responsibility ........................................................................................................................................................ 43 8.2 The juvenile justice system in Italy ............................................................................................................................................. 43 8.3 Arrest and pre-trial detention ...................................................................................................................................................... 45 8.4 Measures of diversion from the penal system .................................................................................................................... 45 8.5 Mediation and restorative justice ............................................................................................................................................... 47 8.6 Detention and alternatives to detention .............................................................................................................................. 48 8.7 Training of personnel .......................................................................................................................................................................... 49 8.8 Practice .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 49 8.9 The new proposed bills reforming some principles and elements of the current juvenile justice system ................................................................................................... 53 8.10 Recommendations regarding children in conflict with the law ......................................................................... 54 IX. Conclusions and Recommendations ............................................................................................................................................ 57 Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child .......................................................... 63 5 6 COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD 32nd Session - Geneva, 13-31 January 2003 Report on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by Italy Researched and written by Roberta Cecchetti and Anne-Léonore Boffi Co-ordinated and edited by Roberta Cecchetti and Sylvain Vité Director of the publication : Eric Sottas 8 I. Introduction The Italian Government has ratified the cusing especially on the need to improve the Convention on the Rights of the Child (here- coordination between the various govern- after the Convention) on 5 September 1991 mental entities, as well as between national, and it came into force on 5 October of the regional and municipal levels, and to adopt same year. Both optional protocols to the a more comprehensive dimension of the Convention were also recently ratified in problem, including fighting against structural May 2002. Italy is also a party to other in- causes leading to violations of children’s ternational instruments related to human rights. Adoption of law n° 451/1997 has rights, in particular to the International led to the setting up of various institutions Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and and mechanisms for the protection and the Convention against Torture and Other monitoring of the rights of the child in Italy, Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or including in particular the National Punishment. At a regional level, Italy has Documentation and Analysis Centre for ratified the European Convention for the Children and Adolescents; the Protection of Human Rights and Parliamentary Commission on Children, Fundamental Freedoms and the European which approves a National Plan of Action; Convention for the Prevention of Torture and and the National Observatory on Children Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or within the Department of Social Affairs. Punishment. Nevertheless, despite positive developments, OMCT welcomes the first periodic report OMCT notes with concern that several submitted by the State of Italy to the suggestions and recommendations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (here- Committee linked to Italy’s initial report after the Committee). In particular, OMCT remain pertinent. In particular, Italian leg- notes with satisfaction the intention of the islative provisions concerning the protection Italian Government to develop a national against torture and other cruel, inhuman strategy to protect the rights of the child fo- or degrading treatment or punishment are 9 insufficient and do not contain a specific def- tics show a pattern of discrimination relat- inition of torture. Ill-treatment by police ing to foreign children in the administration and other public officials against children of juvenile justice with more foreign than in detention have been reported as well Italian children sent to custodial facilities as excessive use of force and denial of rather than benefiting from alternatives fundamental rights against demonstrators in to detention. Recently, the Italian the street or subsequently in custody. Government has endorsed a very restrictive Physical and verbal abuse against Romani approach on immigration giving