A/HRC/42/44/Add.1 those without a contract in a precarious situation, thus increasing their vulnerability. 10 In practice, seasonal workers are often tied to, and often at the mercy of, one employer or one temporary agency and are unable to get access to the social assistance system. 13. Until 2009, regular amnesties were issued for migrants, which allowed them to obtain regular status, better working conditions and opportunities for social inclusion. In that way, usually only the more recently-arrived migrants would work in the agricultural sector. The economic crisis of 2008, however, pushed many migrants into unemployment and, as a consequence, back to agricultural work. In addition, owing to the large numbers of migrants who arrived in Italy between 2015 and 2017, there has been a significant increase in the migrant workforce available in the agricultural sector. III. Normative and institutional framework A. International and regional legal framework 14. Italy has ratified or acceded to all the core human rights instruments and their optional protocols, with the exception of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. It is also a party to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children. 15. Italy has ratified the 1926 Slavery Convention and the 1956 Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery. It is also a party to all the International Labour Organization (ILO) fundamental conventions, including the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29); the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105); the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138); the Labour Inspection Conventions, 1947 (No. 81) and 1969 (No. 129); the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182); and the Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189). 16. As a member of the Council of Europe, Italy is a party to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which, in its article 4, prohibits slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labour. The compliance of States with the Convention is monitored by the European Court of Human Rights. To date, the Court has not delivered any judgment finding Italy in violation of article 4. Italy has ratified the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings. 17. As a member State of the European Union, Italy is bound to adhere to the Charter of Fundamental Rights, which, in its article 5, prohibits slavery, servitude, forced or compulsory labour and trafficking in human beings. A number of European Union directives related to social policies, freedom of movement, migration policies, criminal justice and the rights of victims of crime are also relevant to labour exploitation in European Union member States.11 B. National legal and institutional framework Legislation 18. Policies and laws issued both at the level of the European Union and at the national level in Italy are relevant with regard to labour exploitation and migration. For the purposes of the present report, the main focus will be on the relevant Italian legislation and institutional frameworks. 10 11 4 Open Society European Policy Institute, “Is Italian agriculture a ‘pull factor’ for irregular migration – and, if so, why?”. See European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, Severe Labour Exploitation: Workers Moving Within or Into the European Union (2015).