A/HRC/42/44/Add.1
Annex
Report of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of
slavery, including its causes and consequences, on her visit to
Italy
I. Introduction
1.
The Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and
consequences, Urmila Bhoola, visited Italy from 3 to 12 October 2018. The focus of her
visit was the labour exploitation of migrant workers in agriculture, owing to numerous
expressions of concern received previously in that regard.
2.
The Special Rapporteur met with officials from a broad range of government
departments, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the
Interministerial Committee for Human Rights, the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies,
the Ministry of Justice, the Department for Equal Opportunities of the Presidency of the
Council of Ministers, the Labour Inspectorate, the Ministry of Agricultural Affairs, the
Ministry of the Interior, including the Carabinieri Corps and the Guardia di Finanza, the
National Anti-Mafia Directorate, the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Italian
Republic. The Special Rapporteur also met with territorial government authorities in
Calabria and Apulia and visited a temporary reception centre for migrants.
3.
The Special Rapporteur also met with representatives of trade unions and with
private sector stakeholders Confindustria and Confagricoltura. She also held meetings with
national and international civil society organizations, such as Amnesty International,
Medici per i Diritti Umani, Incipit, Terra!, the Cooperativa Sociale Altereco and the
independent human rights defender Marco Omizzolo. She also met with representatives of
the European Commission, the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Office of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International
Organization for Migration (IOM). She visited Rome, Calabria, Apulia and Latina province
in Lazio, engaged directly with victims of labour exploitation and visited the informal
settlements of San Ferdinando (Calabria) and Borgo Mezzanone (Apulia).
4.
The present report was shared with the Government of Italy before its publication
and the response of the Government is being issued separately (A/HRC/42/44/Add.2). The
Special Rapporteur extends her appreciation to the Government of Italy for the invitation to
visit the country and to officials from the various State entities for engaging in a fruitful and
meaningful dialogue. She also thanks UNHCR, IOM and the United Nations Regional
Information Centre for their comprehensive assistance in the planning and conduct of her
visit and wishes to thank the United Nations University Centre for Policy Research for
undertaking the background research for the present report. She further expresses her
sincere gratitude to all civil society organizations, trade unions, business associations and
individuals who took the time to meet with her.
II. Background
Migrants in the agricultural sector
5.
When looking at the working age population (15–64 years) in Italy, the share of
European Union migrants of the active population (employed or unemployed) has doubled,
2
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