Third and Fourth Periodic Report

ITALY

Third and Fourth Periodic Report

to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child on the implementation

of the Convention on the Rights of the Child

and related Optional Protocols

December 2008

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

I. GENERAL MEASURES OF IMPLEMENTATION (ARTT. 4, 42 AND 44.6)

1.1 Legislation

1.2 Resources

1.3 Coordination

1.4 National Plan of Action

1.5 Independent Monitoring Structures

1.6 Data Collection

1.7 Training/Dissemination of the Convention

II. DEFINITION OF CHILD (ART. 1)

III. GENERAL PRINCIPLES (ARTT. 2, 3, 6 AND 12)

3.1 Non Discrimination

3.2 Best Interest of the Child

3.3 Life, Survival and Development

3.4 Respect for the Views of the Child

IV. CIVIL RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS (ARTT. 7, 8, 13-17 AND 37 (A))

4.1 The right of the child to a name, citizenship and to knowledge about their origins

4.2 The right of the child to preserve his/her own identity

4.3 The Right of the Child to Freedom of Expression

4.4 The Right of the Child to Freedom of Thought, Conscience and Religion

4.5 The Right of the Child to Freedom of Association and Peaceful Assembly

4.6 The Right of the Child to Protection from Arbitrary or Legal Interference

4.7 The Right of the Child to Access Appropriate Information

4.8 The Right of the Child not to be Subjected to Torture, Suffering or Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading Treatment

V. FAMILY ENVIRONMENT AND ALTERNATIVE CARE (ARTT. 5, 9-11, 18.1 AND 2; ARTT. 19-21, 25, 27.4 AND 39)

5.1 Parenthood Support

5.2 Parental Responsibilities

5.3 Separation of Parents

5.4 Family Reunification

5.5 Maintenance Costs for the Child

5.6 Children Deprived of a Family Environment

5.8 Illegal Transfers and Returns

5.9 Violence, Abuse and Neglect

VI. HEALTH AND ESSENTIAL SERVICES (ARTT. 6, 18, PARA. 3, 23, 24, 26, AND 27, PARA. 1-3)

6.1 Survival and Development

6.2 Children with Disabilities

6.3 Health and Health Care Services

6.4 Social Security, Child Care Services and Structures

6.5 Living Standards

VII. EDUCATIONAL, CULTURAL AND LEISURE ACTIVITIES (ARTT. 28, 29 AND 31)

7.1 Teaching and Vocational Training

7.2 Scope of Teaching, with Reference to the Quality of Teaching

7.3 Cultural, Artistic and Recreational Activities

VIII. SPECIAL PROTECTION MEASURES (ARTT. 22, 30, 32-36, 37 (B)-(D), 38, 39 AND 40)

8.1 Children in Emergency Situations

8.2 Children in the Legal System

8.3 Children in Situations of Exploitation, Including their Physical and Psychological Rehabilitation and their Social Re-integration

PROGRAMMATIC INDICATIONS AND PROSPECTS FOR REFORM

I. General Measures of Implementation (artt. 4, 42 and 44.6)

II. Definition of Child (art. 1)

V. Family Environment and Alternative Care (artt. 5, 9-11, 18.1 and 2; artt. 19-21, 25, 27.4 and 39)

VI. Health and Essential Services (artt. 6, 18, para. 3, 23, 24, 26, and 27, para. 1-3)

IX. OPTIONAL PROTOCOL TO THE CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD ON THE SALE OF CHILDREN, CHILD PROSTITUTION AND CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

a. General Measures of Implementation

b. Prevention of the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography

c. Prohibition of the Sale of Children, Child Pornography and Child Prostitution

d. Protection of the Rights of Child Victims

e. International Assistance and Cooperation

f. Follow-up and Dissemination

X. OPTIONAL PROTOCOL TO THE CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD ON THE INVOLVEMENT OF CHILDREN IN ARMED CONFLICTS

a. General Measures of Implementation

b. Measures Adopted with Regard to Disarmament, Demobilisation and Social Reintegration

c. International Assistance and Cooperation

d. Follow-up and Dissemination

STATISTICAL ANNEX

1

Note

Changes in the names of Ministries and Departments are caused by their different organization in the various terms that followed each other in the timeframe which is the object of this Report.

INTRODUCTION

As a State Party to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which it ratified through Law 176 of 27 May 1991, as well as to the two Optional Protocols to the Convention concerning the involvement of children in armed conflicts and measures to combat the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, implemented by Law 46 of 11 March 2002, Italy recognises the status of the child as entitled to rights as an individual and within the family and social community in which he lives, grows and matures.

Our country has therefore undertaken to ensure the full respect of the rights to which children are entitled. In accordance with articles 4 and 19 of the Convention, each State Party is required to adopt: “all appropriate legislative, administrative, and other measures for the implementation of the rights recognized in the […] Convention” and in particular “all appropriate legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to protect the child from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse, while in the care of parent(s), legal guardian(s) or any other person who has the care of the child. Such protective measures should, as appropriate, include effective procedures for the establishment of social programmes to provide necessary support for the child and for those who have the care of the child, as well as for other forms of prevention and for identification, reporting, referral, investigation, treatment and follow-up of instances of child maltreatment described heretofore, and, as appropriate, for judicial involvement”.

This undertaking has been reinforced through participation in other international legal instruments for the prevention and suppression of violence against children.

These include ILO Conventions 138 on the Minimum Age for Admission to Employment and 182 on Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour, ratified on 28 January 1981 and 7 June 2000 respectively.

Italy’s role in taking forward the drafting and signing, in Palermo on 12 December 2000, of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its Protocols regarding the trafficking of persons, especially women and children, and migrants, was particularly significant.

In this respect, the ratification through Law 77 of 20 March 2003 of the European Convention on the Exercise of Children’s Rights, signed by Italy on the day of its approval by the Council of Europe, is also worthy of mention. Furthermore Italy signed the Convention on Contact concerning Children and the Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse, respectively on May, 15th 2003 and November, 7th 2007.

This commitment was reiterated through Italy’s participation in the Special Session of the UN Assembly dedicated to children, which took place in New York in May 2002 and the implementation of the final Declaration and Programme of Action commitments by elaborating and introducing on March 2007 the “Plus 5” review Italian National Progress Report as international commitment assumed by our country at the end of the UN special session.

This Report will therefore examine the main legislative, administrative and judicial instruments through which our country has implemented the Protocol, the activities undertaken to provide information on and disseminate the content of the Convention as well as the two Optional Protocols, and the several bilateral and multilateral international cooperation initiatives undertaken by Italy in this context. Moreover, a specific attention is devoted to planning and on-going measures to be implemented in future years, while keeping clearly in view the need to give these information in accordance with the Guidelines provided by the Committee on the Rights of the Child.

For the compilation of the Italian Government’s Third and Fourth Consolidated Report on the Implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and related Optional Protocols, the Interministerial Committee of Human Rights (CIDU), which operates in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and whose remit is to draw up and present to the United Nations the Government’s reports on the implementation in Italy of the main Conventions on the protection of human rights, set up a special Working Group to coordinate the input from the following Departments: the Prime Minister’s Office – in particular the Department for Family Policies and for Equal Opportunities, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Policies, the Ministry of Education, the National Statistics Institute (ISTAT), the Carabinieri Corps, the Italian UNICEF Committee, and other Administrations.

According to art. 1 §6 of Presidential Decree 103 of May, 14th 2007, the National Observatory for Childhood and Adolescence, supported by the Italian National Childhood and Adolescence Documentation and Analysis Centre, drafted the report in conformity with art. 44 of the Convention. The draft report is transmitted and elaborated in its final version by the Government.

In this work the Italian National Childhood and Adolescence Documentation and Analysis Centre has vested a central role, collecting all the materials from central and local administration as a member of the National Observatory and the Interministerial Committee of Human Rights.

During the last three years, in particular in 2007 and 2008, the Working Group also promoted several meetings with representatives of the NGOs which work in this field, to promote and protect children rights at the national level.

I. GENERAL MEASURES OF IMPLEMENTATION
(ARTT. 4, 42 AND 44.6)

1.1 Legislation

Committee Recommendation No. 7 on the review of national and regional laws and their conformity with international human rights standards

The national context

At national level, the reform of the Title V of the Italian Constitution by Constitutional Law no. 3 of 18 October 2001 and its subsequent implementation regulations, amended art. 117 and radically renewed the system of competences and the division of functions between the Central Government and the autonomous Provinces/Regions.

In the implementation of this reform, three sectors of legislative power were identified:

–a first domain of exclusive State legislative power, in a mandatory series of matters, among which the one regarding the “determination of basic performance levels regarding civil and social rights that must be ensured throughout the nation” that will be described below.

–a second domain of so called “combined” legislation, in which the legislative power is assigned to the Regions, except for the determination of fundamental principles of national interest, reserved to State legislation;

–a third residual domain, in which Regions have exclusive power for all the matters which are not openly indicated among those that exclusively belong to the State or those which are part of the combined competence.

With respect to this new division, also the domains and the matters that concern childhood and adolescence appear to have been redefined, and have been assigned to the state and regional competence domains, respectively. With respect to this, it is particularly worth underlining:

–the simultaneous presence of matters that significantly concern childhood and adolescence which have been assigned exclusively to the Regions, among which the issue of social services for the underage, alongside others (health protection, education, school) which are assigned to the domains of combined competence;

–the central character of the guarantee, guidance and orientation function of the State which is expressed on the one hand in the exclusive function of the “determination of basic performance levels regarding civil and social rights that must be ensured throughout the nation”[1] and on the other hand in the definition of basic principles in matters of combined legislation assigned to the Regions; with respect to this, it is clear that the “determination of basic performance levels regarding civil and social rights that must be ensured throughout the nation”, assigned to the State, has fundamental significance with respect to, specifically, policies for childhood and adolescence. In order for these policies to really achieve the objectives posed by the UN Conventionon the Rights of the Child, they have to be, on the one hand, homogeneously implemented throughout the nation, and on the other hand supported by appropriate public funds and be consistent with levels and tools for general social protection. Based on all this, the reservation to the exclusive legislative power of the State becomes somehow a situation that cannot be cancelled, also considering that these are not “minimum levels” (a statement that might imply minimal levels, of mere survival) but rather “essential” levels, certainly higher than minimal levels and with respect to which only the State, and only within a general framework of social policies and in the light of the overall funds available and of the relevant priorities, can effectively issue laws. Essential levels defined (and funded) by the State can be further improved by the Regions and by the Local Authorities within the framework of their autonomy (also financial), and within the framework of their regulatory and planning powers;

–the full recognition of the concept of subsidiarity, both in its “vertical” meaning, according to which the ownership and the exercise of the administrative functions regarding services for the people are transferred to the institutional level closest to citizens, that is, local authorities (Municipalities), and in its “horizontal” meaning, enhances the participation and involvement of citizens, organizations and associations and private businesses in planning, implementing and carrying out actions and services.

For clarity of information it is necessary to specify that the State has not yet defined the essential levels for the provision of social services (LIVEAS) that would have to be established together with the Conference State-Regions, also including local bodies besides the competent Ministries. This situation has determined different programs, management of resources and competences, creating a diversification of regional policies for childhood and adolescence.

To complete the previous report, with the coming into force in 2000 of the Framework Law on social services (Law 328/2000), Law 285/1997 has become a structural element in social actions for the individuals. Law 328/2000 established the setting up of the National Fund for Social Policies, which includes the National Fund for Children (former Law 285/1997). This resulted in the creation of an “Undefined Fund” in which independent funds are envisaged for the so-called 15 Beneficiary Cities, exclusively earnmarked for services for children and adolescents.

In any case, Law 328/2000 provides that actions for children must aim both to support children in difficult situations and to promote the rights of childhood and adolescence (art. 22, paragraph 2, sub-para. c) in the framework of the system of essential levels for the provision of social services (liveas). Besides, it is envisaged that actions as per art. 22 para. 2, sub-para. c) must however be carried out in compliance with the aims defined by Law 285/1997 and therefore aimed to ensure the well-being of its recipients.

In conclusion, the combination of the reform of Title V of the Constitution (Constitutional Law 3/2001) and the adoption of Law 328/2000 has led to the introduction of the National Social Fund and to the adoption of concrete policies by means of the State-Regions consultation.

The new law regulations have therefore originated a rather articulate and complex landscape, which is still changing and has positive elements and criticalities[2].

Since the submission of the previous report (2001) and following the 2003 remarks of the UN Committee, the Italian Government has issued a significant system of regulatory provisions which on the one hand have revised and adapted previous provisions, and on the other hand have contributed to widening the current regulatory system to the benefit of children and adolescents.

The objective of this action was to complete the harmonization process of Italian legislation with the principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international standards, as was requested by the 2002-2004 National Plan of Action.

This process characterized the time from 2000 to 2007 and contributed to bringing national regulations closer to the situation and well-being of children and adolescents, assigning to the national regulatory system an increasingly child-centric character.

Some of the fields of childhood and adolescence policies where this growing attention can be noted are those regarding:

1.family, intra-family relations, children outside the family and de-institutionalization;

2.sexual abuse, online child pornography and related developments;

3.migrant foreign children;

4.juvenile justice.

Moreover greater awareness and ownership on the side of the Regions is noticed, with respect to this organizational and law-making autonomy. This is currently contributing to the development of regional regulations in line with national regulation (for an example of this see the regional legal annex).

In June 2006, according to an analysis carried out in Italy, thirteen Regions referred in their own Statute to the protection and/or promotion of the rights of children and adolescents, while the Latium Region openly mentioned the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Furthermore, at the end of 2007, according to a study carried out by the Italian National Childhood and Adolescence Documentation and Analysis Centre, fifteen regional administrations had approved a Regional Law which set up a Regional Observatory on childhood and adolescence policies or a similar facility, thus implementing what envisaged by Law 451/1997 (which was largely submitted in the 2000 report). The dissemination of Observatories dedicated to childhood and adolescence in Italy indicates an increase in the focus on children and adolescents, as does the proliferation of regional regulations on this matter.

1.2 Resources

Committee Recommendation No. 9 on the allocation of use of resources across the State party as well as for the activities carried out by the Foreign Ministry’s international development aid and cooperation.

In Italy, money is mainly spent for childhood and adolescence in three areas: welfare expenditure, health care expenditure, expenditure for education and training. In these three fields, the last data available date back to 2005.

The overall amount spent for children and families as measured by the Eurostat[3] Espross system, amounted to € 15 billion in 2005, 4.4% of the overall social expenditure which is now equal to 1.1 % of GDP.

Such amount, however, is not accurate enough to identify the commitment present in the Government budget for family responsibilities and the rights of children, since on the one hand it also includes expenditure items to the benefit of families and not necessarily specific for children (contributions by the Municipalities to start work, etc.) and, on the other hand, it does not take into consideration rather more significant items that regard families with children such as tax expenditures (deductions which, with respect to personal tax, are granted to taxpayers’ with children) and the expenditure for education, which is not mentioned by social protection Espross accounts.