Author
The Reception Decree contains a provision on the right to information, confirming the obligation to hand over the brochure, as stated above, and states that this information is to be provided in reception centres within 15 days from the presentation of the asylum application. This information should be provided through the assistance of an interpreter.[1]
In particular, the Reception Decree provides that Questure shall provide information related to reception conditions for asylum applicants and hand over information leaflets accordingly.[2] The brochures distributed also contain the contact details of UNHCR and refugee-assisting NGOs. However, the practice of distribution of these brochures by police authorities is quite rare. Moreover, although Italian legislation does not explicitly state that the information must also be provided orally, this happens in practice at the discretion of Questure but not in a systematic manner. Therefore, adequate information is not constantly and regularly ensured, mainly due to the insufficient number of police staff dealing with the number of asylum applications, as well as to the shortage of professional interpreters and linguistic mediators. According to the Reception Decree such information on reception rights is also provided at the accommodation centres within a maximum of 15 days from the making of the asylum application.[3]
Information provision on the asylum procedure and reception is included also among the activities to be conducted in the hotspot facilities.[4] However, ASGI’s requests for access and information have shown that this is also a critical aspect, as the Ministry has argued that the information provisioning activities are entrusted exclusively to UNHCR, which, however, has never confirmed or denied this attribution.[5] It has been proven that there is a clear link between authorities’ detention practices and information-giving practices carried out by intergovernmental organisations such as the UNHCR and the IOM, and the contribution of this relation to processes of migrant differential inclusion/exclusion.[6]
Upon arrival in the reception centres, asylum applicants should be properly informed on the benefits and level of material reception conditions. Depending on the type of centre and the rules adopted by the managers of the reception centres, asylum applicants may benefit from proper information of the asylum procedure, access to the labour market or any other information on their integration rights and opportunities.
[1] Article 3(3) Reception Decree and Article 10 Procedures Decree.
[2] Article 3 Reception Decree.
[3] Article 3 (3) Reception Decree.
[4] Article 10-ter (1, 3 and 4) Legislative Decree 286/1998. See also the Hotspot Standard Operating Procedures, available at: https://bit.ly/3M0vILX and the 6-bis attachment to Outline of contract documents for hotspots, see Specifiche tecniche integrative dello schema di capitolato di appalto relative all’erogazione dei servizi di accoglienza ed alla fornitura di beni – lotto unico per centri di cui all’art. 10-ter del d.lgs. 25 luglio 1998, n. 286, available at: https://bit.ly/41b1UAt.
[5] See ASGI, Il diritto all’informazione nell’hotspot di Lampedusa: le responsabilità di UNHCR, 27 March 2023, available at: https://bit.ly/3I0lEjl.
[6] See Calarco R., Managing Migration through Detention and Information-Giving Practices: The Case of the Italian Hotspot and Relocation System, in International Migration Institute working paper, volume 173/2022, available at: https://bit.ly/432EGxS. See also Vianelli L., The Implementation of the Hotspot Approach in Italy. CONDISOBS Policy Paper No. 2, January 2022, available at: https://bit.ly/3Id658j.