Author
Article 17(1) of the Reception Decree establishes that reception is provided taking into account the special needs of the asylum seekers, in particular those of vulnerable persons such as children, unaccompanied children, disabled persons, elderly people, women, with priority given to the pregnant ones,[1] single parents with minor children, persons who have been subjected to torture, rape or other forms of psychological, physical or sexual violence, victims of trafficking and genital mutilation, as well as persons affected by serious illness or mental disorders (see Identification).
However, there are no legal provisions on how, when and by whom this assessment should be carried out. The Reception Decree provides that asylum applicants undergo a health check since they enter the first reception centres and in temporary reception structures to assess their health condition and special reception needs.[2] The Decree provides, in theory, that special services addressed to vulnerable people with special needs shall be ensured in first reception centres.[3]
However, in 2018, the reduction of funding and services provided in first reception centres under the 20 November 2018 tender specifications scheme (Capitolato) of the Ministry of Interior and the exclusion of psychologists’ services from eligible costs rendered the effective identification and protection of these categories of people even more precarious.
The reform provided to the accommodation system by Decree Law 130/2020 extended the protection afforded to asylum seekers in first reception facilities by extending the number of services to be provided.
However, as described above, DL. 20/2023 converted into L. 50/2023, marked a return to a similar situation as in 2018, cancelling important services such as psychological assistance which, according to the new tender schemes, can currently be provided on a discretionary basis. Therefore, even if DL 20/2023 provides for the possibility for vulnerable asylum seekers to access SAI,[4] it will be increasingly difficult to identify vulnerabilities that are not evident.
According to the law, special reception services should be provided in the reception centres for vulnerable asylum seekers with special needs, also ensured in collaboration with the competent health districts. These services should guarantee special care measures and adequate psychological support.[5]
These services should also guarantee an initial assessment and periodic verification by qualified personnel about the conditions of vulnerability.[6]
Where possible, adult vulnerable people are placed together with other adult family members already present in the reception centres.[7] The manager of reception centres shall inform the Prefecture on the presence of vulnerable applicants for the possible activation of procedural safeguards allowing the presence of supporting personnel during the personal interview.[8]
In short, it is not clear how these guarantees can be ensured at all.
Currently, only in case vulnerable people access the SAI system before they are granted a title of protection, they could enjoy some additional services allowed by the Decree 18 November 2019 for disabled persons and persons affected by serious illness or mental disorders.[9]
The access to Sai is only an eventuality: February 2023, SAI Central Service reported that there were only 41 projects specialised in the care of forced migrants with mental distress and disabilities, corresponding to 803 places. In August 2023,[10] the number of places for these applicants was 797 and in November 2023 659.[11]
The number of regions not provided with a dedicated place since 2020 are 9: Abruzzo, Basilicata, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Campania, Liguria, Molise, Sardinia, Trentino Alto Adige, Valle d’Aosta and Veneto.[12]
In the light of this data, it appears clear that the Italian reception system is in practice for the most part devoid of services and facilities dedicated, or at least adequate, to the reception of vulnerable people. The limited places available in the SAI network for people with special needs are completely insufficient to meet the needs of an entire national system. On the other hand, the prefectural reception circuit (which welcomes almost 70% of the total) does not have ad hoc facilities, there are no specific services envisioned, nor training requirements of operators, nor is there any provision for enhanced collaboration with the local social and health services. This does not mean that in Italy there are no prefectural reception centres able to take care of vulnerable migrants, but that positive experiences in this regard are very rare and that they have developed only from the good will of the managing entities, without adequate legal or economic support from the competent institutions. The ministerial Guidelines on assistance, rehabilitation and treatment of vulnerable migrants,[13] while constituting a high-quality document and an important reference point, have in fact remained largely not enforced in the reception context, both because no reference is made to them within the Prefectures’ tender specifications, and because, in adopting them, the Government has not provided any additional financial resources.
In Italy, the NGO “Doctors for Human Rights” published a study on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among refugees and asylum applicants. The study concluded that overcrowding, geographical isolation, prolonged stay, length of legal proceedings, as well as episodes of violence particularly in large reception centres, have detrimental effects on asylum seekers’ and refugees’ mental health. In a public appeal, 18 civil society organisations – including MEDU, ASGI, Action Aid, Oxfam, and Refugees Welcome Italia – called for a policy that avoids the use of large reception facilities.[14]
With respect to the accommodation for LGBTQI+ people, only a few places in dedicated public projects exist, led by Arcigay and Caleidos, in Modena, and by Quore Association (R.A.R.O. project) based in the Piedmont region.[15] Another relevant experience is that of the network Rise the difference in Bologna, which launched a pilot project for the creation and management of a reception facility – included among the 2017-2019 former Sprar- Siproimi – dedicated to LGBT asylum seekers and refugees.[16] In late 2022, the Municipality of Rome opened a call for tenders for a pilot SAI project dedicated to the reception of LGBT+ migrants.[17]
As pointed out by legal practitioners, reception workers and lawyers, although LGBTQI sexual orientation is a factor of persecution and can motivate the recognition of international protection, it is often hidden for a long time by asylum seekers who do not feel safe as they fear being discriminated against and attacked by other guests of the centres.[18]
Reception of families and children
The Reception Decree specifies that asylum seekers are accommodated in facilities which ensure the protection of family unity consisting of spouses and first-degree relatives.[19] The management body of the reception centres shall respect the family unity principle. Therefore, they cannot separate children from parents who live in the same wing of the facility. In practice, it may happen that a father is accommodated in a wing for single men and his wife and children in the wing for women. In general, dedicated wings are designed for single parents with children. It may also happen that parents are divided and placed in different centres, and usually the children are accommodated with their mother.
It may happen in first reception centres that families are divided in case the accommodation conditions are deemed not adequate and suitable for children. In these situations, mothers and children are hosted in a facility, and men in another.
Places dedicated to families are very few throughout Italy, both in CAS and within the SAI network. Some Italian regions almost entirely lack reception places suitable for families. This element of fragility of the reception system became even more evident in the 2021-2022 period, first with the arrival of the Afghan evacuees, among whom there were many large families (between 5 and 10 people per nucleus), and then with the people fleeing from Ukraine, among whom there were mainly single-parent households.
While within the SAI projects specific tools and services are in place for households hosted there, this is almost entirely absent in all other types of reception, in the sense that neither the law nor the regulatory provisions, nor do the specifications of services provide for the activation of activities or services dedicated to families as such. This means that any services are activated of their own free will by the NGOs managing the centres, but in the absence of guidelines, quality standards and potentially without the possibility to see the related expenses reimbursed by the Government.
On 3 April 2019, the Court of Cassation clarified that minors are considered accompanied only when they can be considered assisted by a present parent. In any case of family members other than parents, the Juvenile Court must activate the guardianship.[20] Following this decision, Juvenile Courts gave indications to authorities not to directly accommodate minors with relatives other than parents.
Based on NGOs’ experience, no specific or standardised mechanisms are put in place to prevent gender-based violence in reception centres. As a rule, permanent law enforcement personnel are present outside governmental centres with the task of preventing problems and maintaining public order. In practice, the management body of governmental centres divides each family from the others hosted in the centre. Women and men are always separated.
Reception of unaccompanied minors
The Reception Decree states that the best interest of the child has priority in the application of reception measures, in order to ensure living conditions suitable for a child with regard to protection, well-being and development, including social development, in accordance with Article 3 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.[21]
In order to evaluate the best interest of the child, the child shall be heard, taking into account their age, the extent of their maturity and personal development, also for the purpose of understanding their past experiences and to assess the risk of being a victim of trafficking, and the possibility of family reunion pursuant to Article 8(2) of the Dublin Regulation, as long as it corresponds to the best interest.[22]
In 2023, 17,319 unaccompanied minors disembarked in Italy[23] and, by December 2023, the total number of unaccompanied minors arrived in Italy was 27,476 (2,448 less than in 2022, marking an 8% decrease). The reduction is largely attributable to the decrease in the number of arrivals of minors from Ukraine, which went from 7,107 in 2022 to 207 in 2023. However, considering countries other than Ukraine, the number of minors reaching Italy in 2023 was higher than that in 2022, with 27,269 minors entering in 2023 compared to 22,818 in 2022. The main region of arrival for unaccompanied minors was Sicily: 13,671 unaccompanied minors, equal to 51% of the total entries into the country and these were mainly minors disembarked in the ports of Lampedusa (69%), Pantelleria (5.4%), Messina (5.3%) and Trapani (4.9%). The second Region for the number of arrivals of unaccompanied minors in 2023 was Friuli-Venezia Giulia, with 2,204 arrivals, equal to 8% of the total.[24]
The total number of unaccompanied minors present in Italy on 31 December 2023 was 23,226. Out of these, 23,121 were accommodated.[25]
In 2023, 24,375 unaccompanied foreign minors left the reception system, in almost half of the cases (48%) due to reaching the age of majority. In 41% of cases, however, the exit was motivated by the minor’s will.[26]
In 2023, unaccompanied foreign minors are predominantly male (88.44%). With reference to age, 46.05 % were 17, 27.29% 16, 11.2% 15 and 15.45 % under 15.
As of 31 December 2023, the main countries of origin of unaccompanied minors were Egypt (20.14%) Ukraine (17%), Tunisia (10.49%), Gambia (9.22%), Guinea (8.28%), Ivory Coast (5.43%), Albania (4.03%) and Pakistan (3.53%). Taken together, these five nationalities represent more than 70% of the total figure.
80% were accommodated in reception facilities out of which 27% in first reception facilities and 53% in second reception facilities while 20% were accommodated in private housing (with families). Most of the minors accommodated into families come from Ukraine (76%),
At the end of 2023, there were 3,509 reception facilities hosting unaccompanied children, of these, 421 are dedicated to the first reception and each receives an average of 15 minors, and 3,088 to the second reception, with an average of 4 minors each.
The majority of unaccompanied children accommodated in first reception centres were accommodated in Sicily, followed by Lombardy, Calabria Emilia-Romagna. The second reception facilities were more distributed throughout the territory, mainly around the cities of Milan, Rome and Bologna. The Regions with the greatest presence of these structures were Lombardy (18% of the national total), Lazio (13%), Emilia-Romagna (12%) and Sicily ( 11%) [27]
Since 2015, the management of the Fund for the reception of unaccompanied minors has been transferred from the Ministry of Labour to the Ministry of Interior.[28] Through the Fund, the Ministry provides, with its own decree, after hearing the Unified Conference, to cover the costs incurred by local authorities for the reception of unaccompanied foreign minors, within the limits of the resources allocated. DL 145/2023 created the Fund for the reception of migrants and minors with an endowment of €46,859 million for the year 2023[29] and the 2024 budget Law stated that the Fund is refinanced in the amount of 172,739,236 euros for the year 2024, of 269,179,697 euros for the year 2025 and of 185,000,000 euros for the year 2026.[30]
Meltingpot highlighted that the measure will move an amount equal to 45 million euros from funds for the reception of minors to the armed forces for the next 3 years.[31]
The interventions in favour of unaccompanied foreign minors are also funded by resources from the European Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) 2014-2020[32] and 2021-2027.
Dedicated facilities for unaccompanied children
Italian legislation provides that for unaccompanied foreign minors, as for unaccompanied minors of Italian citizenship, the main reception response should be the placement in family foster care, while placement in a community should be activated only to the extent that this is not possible.
On 6 October 2023, the Law Decree No. 133, which introduced significant changes related to the reception of unaccompanied foreign minors and age assessment, came into effect.
Worryingly the decree, providing a normative basis for what was already happening in practice, established that in case of unavailability of temporary accommodation facilities for minors, the Prefect may order the temporary reception of the minor aged no less than 16 years in a dedicated section in governmental first reception centres for adults or in extraordinary reception centres (so-called CAS) for adults.[33]
The Decree also extended the possible stay in first reception centres from 30 to 45 days and establishing minors are to be destined to SAI centres after an initial stay in “first phase” accommodation centres, thus making the SAI a second level reception system.[34]
Due to the reform, the reception system for unaccompanied foreign minors now includes two levels of reception.
The facilities reserved for first reception include:
- the government first reception facilities established pursuant to Article 19 (1) LD 142/2015 and financed with resources from the “Asylum, Migration Fund and integration 2014-2020” (AMIF);
- temporary accommodation facilities pursuant to art. 19 (3-bis) Reception Decree;
- temporary accommodation facilities activated by the Prefecture exclusively dedicated to UASC, with a maximum capacity of 50 places for each structure, where the services guaranteed for first reception facilities pursuant to article 19 (1), should be ensured. This category includes the Extraordinary Reception Centres for minors established by order of Prefect (so-called “CAS minors”);
- first reception facilities authorised by the Municipalities or Regions;
- first reception facilities for minors/adults established pursuant to art. 5 co.1 letter a of the LD 133/2023 converted with amendments by Law 176/2023 where minors over sixteen years of age could be accommodated in a specific section for a maximum period of 90 days, extendable by a maximum of a further 60 days;
- other emergency and temporary structures, not included in the previous categories such as hotels or other types of emergency reception solutions also managed by the Municipalities (Law no. 563/1995).
To the second level accommodation facilities belong:
- the SAI system facilities, financed with the National Fund for Asylum Policies and Services[35];
reception facilities financed with AMIF resources and intended as secondary level facilities, reception facilities authorised at regional or municipal level, whose reception is financed through a contribution to the Municipalities from the National Fund for the reception of UAMS.[36]
As pointed out by the Ministry of Labour in its report, by the end of 2023 70% of the structures had a municipal level authorization, 24% had authorizations at a regional level, the remaining 6% was represented by structures with authorization from the Ministry of the Interior.[37]
Before the reform introduced by Law 176/23, Article 19 of Legislative Decree 142/15 provided that minors who could not be placed in the governmental first reception centres or in the SAI, due to the lack of places, were placed in the Municipality facilities for minors outside SAI and only as a last resort in the CAS for minors. On the other hand, placing UAMs in adult facilities was not allowed by the law either. Law no. 176/23 has completely overturned the previous system, providing that UAMs who cannot be placed in the governmental first reception centres for minors or in the SAI must be placed in the CAS for minors or, in the absence of places and with reference to minors over the age of 16, in the CAS for adults or in the governmental first reception centres for adults, and only as a last resort in the Municipality facilities for minors outside SAI.
In its 2021 report to Parliament, the Children’s Ombudsman reported pointed out the need to ensure the uniformity of the quality of services provided, through the adoption of guidelines for the national tariff relating to the costs of the services offered by the reception facilities and that relating to the costs of reimbursements paid to the entrusted parties. The current address lines, in fact, only indicated macro-items (e.g. clothes or room rents) to which the regions must adhere, but do not contain any indication with respect to the quantification of the expenditure, not even in terms of average costs of reception.
Another important problem in the reception system has also been pointed out: the classification of residential structures for minors. The lack of a shared name, which makes it possible to clearly identify the organisational and structural peculiarities of residential services, inevitably affects the effectiveness of monitoring activities and the quality of interventions, given the difficulty of finding detailed information on the type of structure in which the minor is placed[38].
Given the recent significant increase of arrivals, whereas the capacity of the childcare system has increased only slightly in previous years, public authorities, especially in larger cities, have been struggling to find suitable places to accommodate minors and often lacking financial resources to fund these facilities. In an attempt to cope with this new emergency, the Government launched a number of interventions.
- The contribution paid by the Ministry of the Interior to Municipalities that host at their expense unaccompanied foreign minors (not within SAI projects) has been increased from a maximum of 45 euros per day to 60 euros per day, for each day of presence of the child. This quantity was also set as an auction basis for the activation of new first reception facilities.[39] This intervention was widely requested and shared with the associations of Municipalities, struggling with the high costs related to the reception of children in specialised communities. The National Association of Italian Municipalities (ANCI) had requested the funding of at least 4,000 additional SAI places for minors, deemed strongly necessary, but the proposal was rejected several times by both the Parliament and the Government.[40]
- On 4 August 2022, the Ministry of Interior published a public call for the submission of projects for the activation of temporary centres functioning as “regional hubs for unaccompanied foreign minors”, for a total of 1,000 new places to be financed through the AMIF fund, starting on 1 January 2023.[41] The list of the 15 projects to be financed was published only in May 2023. It is not yet clear where these centres will be located and which is going to be their capacity. The operating period for these projects has been redefined and will cover the timeframe between 1 July 2023 and 9 January 2026. The activation of regional hubs for unaccompanied minors is an initiative shared with ANCI, aimed at equipping local territories with facilities that can function as bearings that amortise the continuous arrival of minors, giving time to the municipalities to find definitive solutions of reception.[42]
- The 15 winners of the call approved in May 2023 started their project activities between July and October 2023. Of the 15 projects, 8 are operational in Sicily and 3 in Basilicata. In the regions of Abruzzo, Campania, Molise and Tuscany it has been approved one project for each region for a total of 750 places (250 places less than expected), of which almost 10% reserved for reception of female minors.
- On 2 November 2023, in relation to the need to cover the remaining 250 places, not covered by the notice of May 2023, a new notice was published by the Ministry of the Interior which provides the financing of reception projects for a total amount of just over 15 million and half euros
- Furthermore, with Decree prot. n 0004376 of 04 August 2023, the MOI has published the Notice for the presentation of projects to be financed by AMIF 2021-2027 with 6 million euros, above all to enhance and increase foster care family members of UASC as an alternative measure to community placement.[43]
- Lastly, the Government ordered that the communities authorised or accredited for the reception of unaccompanied minors under 14 can derogate from the parameters of capacity provided by local and national rules, in the maximum extent of 25% of the assigned places.[44]
SAI
As previously mentioned, DL 133/2023 modified the law which previously provided that accommodation of unaccompanied children primarily takes place in SAI facilities.
Article 19 (2) of the Reception Decree now provides that access to the SAI takes place at the end of the initial reception phase in the government structures referred to in the art. 19 (1), thus making the SAI a second level system.
Children reaching adulthood in SAI centres can remain there until a final decision on their asylum application.[45] Circulars issued by the Ministry of Interior of 27 December 2018 and 3 January 2019 specified that in case the unaccompanied child is granted international protection, he or she could stay in SAI for another 6 months. The same Circulars specified that unaccompanied children who obtained an administrative extension of their placement can remain in second-line reception for the entire duration of the extension. The former SIPROIMI (now SAI) Guidelines issued by the Ministry of Interior with decree of 18 November 2019 regulated the matter in the same way.[46] Decree Law 130/2020 finally authorised the access to SAI for unaccompanied minors who became adults obtaining an administrative extension of their placement.[47]
SAI Guidelines provide additional specific activities and services in favour of unaccompanied minors and in particular the activation of services aimed at promoting family foster care, supporting the paths of autonomy, also by promoting forms of support for housing autonomy in the transition to adulthood, encouraging the connection with the voluntary guardians. It also provides specialised services dedicated to minors with particular vulnerabilities.[48]
As of November 2023, 6,006 places for unaccompanied foreign minors were financed in SAI projects.[49] The number of places dedicated to unaccompanied children still falls short of current needs, given the over 6,240 unaccompanied children currently present in the first reception system.[50]
First reception centres and CAS for unaccompanied children
For immediate relief and protection purposes unaccompanied children may be accommodated in governmental first reception facilities. The system of first reception outlined by Law 47/2017 and Reception Decree remains substantially unrealized, constituting one of the parts of the legislation with respect to which the reality is further away from legal provisions. The decree of the Ministry of the Interior that should regulate the government structures of first reception for minors accompanied has not been issued so far. Practices regarding the placement of children in these structures is not based on a single system, but on a poorly coordinated set of different types of accommodation, with visible effects of management difficulties for the institutions and an undeniable impact on the predictability and linearity of Child protection and inclusion path.
In the absence of the first government reception centres, this phase is in fact covered by different types of structures: the most similar in standards to the regulatory provision, the centres financed by the Migration and Integration Asylum Fund (AMIF) and centrally managed by the Ministry of the Interior; the extraordinary reception centres set up by the Prefects (c.d. CAS minor) and managed by the Prefectures; family homes and socio-educational communities managed by individual Municipalities; It should be highlighted that these are separate reception levels, based on institutions of different scope. This causes a difficult and sometimes lacking coordination, as well as a substantial differences in respect for set rules depending on the centre. Moreover, the investment, although large, is not sufficient to accommodate all children. Looking at available data,[51] the percentage of minors that remain in first-reception facilities is too high, which in many cases effectively transforms them into long-term centres, with further problems in terms of planning, placement management and fast transfers of children arriving.
Regarding the quality of reception, alongside efficient reception centres, fruitful collaborations between institutions and non-profit organisations that put boys and girls at the centre, situations are found where minors are placed in an often-inappropriate way, also because of the non-compliance with the quality standards laid down by law. These include structures lacking these standards, with a strong impact on the well-being of minors, their future planning and their rights. In other situations, due to the lack of places in reception facilities, minors are put on a waiting list and remain completely without reception or in precarious accommodation with relatives or compatriots. The sharp increase in the number of unaccompanied minors arriving in Italy is not in fact matched by an adequate increase in the number of places available in facilities for minors, on the other hand there was a reduction in the number of places in AMIF centres.
Where implemented, stay in first reception centres cannot exceed 45 days and must last for the strictly necessary time for identification, which must be completed within 10 days. This serves to identify and assess the age of the child and to receive any information on the rights recognised to the child and on the modalities of exercise of such rights, including the right to apply for international protection. Throughout the time in which the child is accommodated in the first reception centre, one or more meetings with an age development psychologist are provided, where necessary, in presence of a cultural mediator, in order to understand the personal condition of the child, the reasons and circumstances of departure from his or her home country and his or her travel, as well as his or her future expectations.[52]
The Ministry of Interior Decree issued on 1 September 2016 has identified the structural requirements and the services ensured in such centres.[53] The Decree states that these centres are located in easily accessible places in order to ensure access to services and social life of the territory and that each structure can accommodate up to a maximum of 30 children.[54]
As reported by the Children’s Ombudsman, the frequent stay in these first reception centres well beyond the prescribed 30 days often creates feelings of despondency and abandonment among children. This can play an important role in encouraging children to leave the facilities where they are accommodated.[55] The Italian NGO Group for the Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC Group) reached the same conclusions and recalled, in its latest report, that “a system of “first reception” de facto so organised, in which the standards of health protection and needs related to minors are unclear, is (…) lacking in the ability to ensure an individualised approach to individual minors and therefore unable to identify and manage particularly vulnerable cases. This results in serious negative effects on the psycho-social health of the individual at a young age, a strong detachment and adherence to the rules both in current events and in the future projection, the increased risks of absconding and therefore the high risk of invisibility, because of the escape from the formal and protective reception systems”.[56]
If even first reception centres are saturated, reception must be temporarily assured by the public authority of the Municipality where the child is located, without prejudice to the possibility of transfer to another Municipality, in accordance with the best interests of the child.[57] According to Article 19(3-bis) of the Reception Decree, in case of mass arrivals of unaccompanied children and unavailability of the dedicated reception centres, the use of CAS to accommodate children is permitted.[58]
Similarly to temporary shelters for adults (see Types of Accommodation), these CAS are established by Prefectures and directly managed by civil society bodies. The law states that each structure may have a maximum capacity of 50 places and may ensure the same services as governmental first reception centres dedicated to children.[59] However, the law now states that, in cases of extreme urgency, the construction or expansion of Cas minors are permitted in derogation of the established capacity limit, up to double the number of places.[60] No maximum time limit for the period of stay in such centres is defined by the law; accommodation is limited to the time “strictly necessary” until the transfer to SAI facilities.[61]
In any event, these temporary centres cannot host children under the age of 14. The accommodation of children has to be communicated by the manager of the temporary structure to the municipality where the structure is located, for coordination with the services of the territory.[62]
In the report “The Frontier of Rights – Migrant and Refugee Minors and UNICEF’s Intervention in Italy” published in December 2023, UNICEF reports that “(..) these centres, which are often isolated, do not provide for the activation of a whole range of services essential to foster the protection and inclusion of children, girls and boys, from Italian courses to legal information, from mediation to specialised services. Under these conditions, teams on the ground often find important gaps in the effective identification and referral mechanisms of the most vulnerable cases, often also due to the fact that the number of minors is very high compared to the number of caseworkers present. In many of these settings, there is often a lack of access to basic goods (including hygiene kits and clean clothing) and services, including health, psychosocial and cultural mediation support for necessary information.”[63]
The reception of unaccompanied children not transferred to the governmental centres or SAI facilities remains under the responsibility of the city of arrival. The amended Reception Decree states that the interested Municipalities should not have any expenses in charge.[64]
The Ministry of Interior, together with the EUAA, has developed guidelines for the accommodation of unaccompanied minors in first reception centres, with practical information on the procedures to be followed for daily work.[65]
Children accommodated with adults and left destitute
Unaccompanied children cannot be held or detained in CPR.[66]
On 31 August 2023, the European Court of Human Rights condemned Italy for the violation of art. 3 of the ECHR (inhuman and degrading treatment) regarding the reception reserved to a single minor girl, in situations of promiscuity and without the assistance she needed for 8 months at an adult centre in Como (M.A. v. Italy, no. 70583/17).
On 14 September 2023, the ECtHR delivered its judgement Diakitè v. Italy, no. 44646/17 founding that Italy violated Article 8 ECHR by failing to diligently assess a minor’s age and unlawfully placing him in an adult centre.
However, DL 133/2023 amended the Reception Decree allowing accommodation of minors within dedicated sections of adults accommodation centres.
With a MOI circular dated 17 January 2024, it was established that the sections dedicated to unaccompanied minors over-16 year olds in the adults centres, have to provide the same services and quality standards than those guaranteed in the centres dedicated to minor (those ruled by Article 19 of the Reception Decree).
However, it is not clear how this could happen in practice if those centres do not provide those services.
Moreover, as stressed by the associations belonging to Tavolo Minori, reception in adult facilities is not compatible with the protection to be granted to single minors according to the Convention on the Rights of Children and Adolescents, which in art. 20 establishes that the minor without his family must be placed in family foster care or in specific structures for minors, excluding the possibility of placement in adult structures. Furthermore, this provision conflicts with the Reception Directive 2013/33/EU, which in art. 24 establishes the possibility of housing unaccompanied minors who have reached the age of 16 in reception centres for adults, but only “if it is in their best interests, as required by article 23, paragraph 2.
In 2023, the associations part of the “Tavolo Minori” for minors also recorded minors accommodated in completely emergency situations, such as tents or containers, where they remained for several months in reception conditions that do not ensure minimum hygiene standards and essential services and where the minors remained in the inability to access fundamental rights such as the right to education or the right to apply for international protection or a permit for minors.
An example is what was found at the Martorano camp in Parma and at the Rosolini centre (Syracuse),[67] closed in December 2023 following an urgent intervention by the Juvenile Court of Catania.[68] after a letter signed by ARCI, ASGI, CNCA, Defence for Children International Italia, INTERSOS and Oxfam Italia.[69]
As underlined by ASGI to the Committee of Ministers in January 2024,[70] in the Rosolini camp no adequate water supply was guaranteed (the minors were often forced to wash with water from bottles), and only five showers (with no hot water) and ten toilets, located outside and often malfunctioning, were provided, evidently insufficient for the 180 minors housed in the facility (reaching 210 at times of overcrowding). The minors slept on cots, with no guarantee of privacy, the heating was insufficient and the minors were not provided with blankets by authorities. There were no dining areas, tables and chairs. The minors did not have a guardian appointed and had not had the opportunity to apply for asylum or a residence permit. There were also no legal support or educational activities. According to information provided by the Prefecture of Syracuse[71] between 2 September and 1 December 2023, 512 UAMs were placed in this facility (91 under 16 years of age), for an average stay of 60 days, which for some minors lasted more than three months; 264 minors left independently and unprotected.
In 2023, ASGI also recorded cases where minors were detained in CPRs as adults (see Detention).
Between October and December 2023, the European Court of Human Rights intervened on three occasions with urgent precautionary measures in favour of unaccompanied foreign minors, de facto detained in the reception centre, ordering their immediate transfer to suitable centres: these were the case of a minor detained for 5 months in the Sant’Anna government centre for adults (Isola di Capo Rizzuto, Crotone) in conditions of degradation and severe isolation;[72] in another of a minor held in the Restinco adult centre for 2 months[73] and in the last one of a minor under 14 years of age held at a police station in Rome for 6 days.[74]
Regarding the situation of minors in Rome, as underlined by Asgi to the Committee of Ministers in November 2023,[75] since late 2022, UASC who arrive at police stations and cannot be accommodated in dedicated facilities due to capacity constraints are temporarily held in the police stations while awaiting placement. This arrangement is made under the directives of the judicial authorities and the Municipality of Rome. As stated by the police themselves, the minors “are camped in inhuman conditions, forced to sleep on benches, because there are no suitable lodgings or rooms to accommodate them.”[76] According to data released by the Municipality of Rome, at the beginning of September 2023, 15-20 minors were ‘housed’ in Police Stations[77]
With reference to the condition of minors at the Sant’Anna reception centre in Isola Capo Rizzuto (Crotone), the condition of deprivation of liberty and promiscuity in which minors remained was also confirmed by the Guarantor Authority for Childhood and Adolescence, who visited the reception centre in Isola Capo Rizzuto on 13 and 14 November 2023, representing how minors inside the structure live “in contact with other adult migrants despite having a part of the camp reserved for them. In fact, there are not enough separation and surveillance systems to avoid promiscuity situations that should always be prevented” and, also, that “(…) the time spent in the centre is much longer than the law provides. Some boys, in particular, told me that they had been there for six or seven months.”[78]
Regarding the Restinco centre, a monitoring access made by a Parliamentarian on 7 December 2023 allowed to ascertain the condition of de facto detention in which 88 minors were living (including 15 fifteen-year-olds and 2 fourteen-year-olds) in very precarious hygienic and housing conditions.
Even after the urgent precautionary measure issued by the ECtHR on 29 December 2023 in favour of one of the minors (detained since October 2023), this practice was not changed: several associations continued to monitor how, in particular following disembarkation, unaccompanied minors continue to be transferred to this centre, with identical reception conditions and de facto detention.
On 5 October 2023, the head of the Italian Authority for Child Protection, Carla Garlatti, was in Restinco and was able to directly verify the presence of 18 unaccompanied minors, aged between 15 and 16, in inadequate conditions.[79] Some had been there for 45 days and most of them came from Lampedusa, Taranto and Calabria, so their stay in places unsuitable for the reception of minors and in conditions of deprivation of liberty was even longer.
On 23 November 2023, the ECtHR condemned Italy for the illegitimate detention of many minors, accommodated in inhuman and degrading conditions and without a guardian in the Taranto hotspot (case A.T. and others v. Italy, Appeal no. 47287 /17). As of November 2023, 185 minors were held in this centre, some since August 2023.
Similarly, Asgi monitored such a situation of minors deprived of their personal freedom at the hotspot of Pozzallo/Contrada Cifali and Lampedusa (see Detention).
Regarding the condition of unaccompanied minors at the border between Italy and France ASGI found that in Ventimiglia[80] the Italian authorities proceed, in many cases, to notify the person concerned of deferred rejection or administrative expulsion measures without carrying out any age assessment. In particular, this happens in all cases where the person, mistakenly identified as an adult after landing or arriving on the territory, is stopped by the French border authorities and returned to Italy.
In its report “The Frontier of Rights – Migrant and Refugee Minors and UNICEF’s Intervention in Italy” published in December 2023, UNICEF notes that, “In other places – such as Porto Empedocle, Augusta, Roccella Jonica – tensile structures have been set up. These are tents, often placed inside port areas, unsuitable in both summer and winter, because they lack any form of ventilation and heating, thus being particularly hot in summer and very cold in winter. In these facilities – often set up only with cots to sleep on – the sanitary conditions are often precarious, and many times minors are unable to access even basic necessities, including clothes and blankets. Many complain of not having access to mobile devices, which are essential after the journey to notify family that they have arrived at their destination. Placed near the main disembarkation sites, hotspots and tensile structures are supposed to house people no longer than is necessary to carry out identification procedures, but – except for the island of Lampedusa, where recent months have seen faster transfers – often the stay lasts much longer than expected. Similar to the previous ones are the emergency centers that often are placed in disused buildings – such as the old school complex in Ardore or the sites in Stilo, Siderno and Portigliola, which at times of intensified arrivals can be used as temporary reception centers.[81]
On 21 July 2022, the ECtHR condemned Italy in the case Darboe and Camara v. Italy (no. 5797/17).[82]
The Strasbourg judges verified that the Italian authorities unlawfully held that Mr. Darboe was of age, through anachronistic and unreliable age-assessment medical tests, contrary to what was stated by the applicant himself, thus failing to appoint a guardian who could represent him and preventing him from presenting the application for international protection without proper support.
Furthermore, the erroneous age assessment led to his placement in the adult reception centre of Cona, known for its extreme overcrowding, widespread violence and serious sanitation deficiencies, for more than four months. In the light of these findings, the Court considered that the right to respect for Mr. Darboe’s private and family life (Article 8 of the Convention) and the prohibition of being subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment (Article 3 of the Convention) had been violated. The Court specifies that the extreme vulnerability of minors together with their status as asylum seekers are a decisive element to be carefully considered and protected through specific guarantees.
The appeal, brought to the attention of the Court by ASGI lawyers in January 2017, when, after an urgent requested under Article 39 of the Court regulation, the minor was moved to a dedicated facility, was deemed admissible since the Court also found the inexistence, within the Italian legal system, of effective judicial remedies (article 13 of the Convention) to act against the living conditions within reception facilities
Save the Children, active within the hotspot of Lampedusa, has denounced a now permanent situation of delays and shortcomings in the provision of the most basic services, even regarding the most vulnerable. The NGO reported that 450 minors, 250 of whom unaccompanied, even very small children, had been present in the hotspot for over a month.[83] UNICEF also noted severe crowding and delays identified as risk factors for the most vulnerable.[84] In early May 2023, around 500 unaccompanied minors, locked inside the hotspot, held a demonstration, climbing the roof of the facility and clamouring to be transferred.[85]
ASGI noted that at the Roccella Ionica hotspot, unaccompanied minors are subject to de facto detention, as they are not permitted to leave the facility.[86]
[1] See Article 17 LD 142/2015 as amended by DL 133/2023 converted into L. 176/2023
[2] Articles 9(4) and 11(1) Reception Decree.
[3] Article 17(3) Reception Decree.
[4] Article 9 (1 bis) LD 142/2015.
[5] Article 17 (3) Reception Decree.
[6] Article 17 (6) Reception Decree.
[7] Article 17(5) Reception Decree.
[8] Article 17(7) Reception Decree.
[9] Article 34 Moi Decree 18 November 2019. According to an analysis from 2020, the places intended for the reception of vulnerable people were by that time insufficient; there were 734 places specialised in accommodation of vulnerable refugees, compared to the 2,000 who, according to the Ministry of the Interior, have been officially diagnosed with a disease. Only 2.3% of these people with severe mental illness are adequately assisted. See Linkiesta, La questione irrisolta dei migranti con disturbi mentali, 23 December 2020, available in Italian at: https://bit.ly/3eGbVR4; see also Migranti Torino, “La salute mentale nei rifugiati prima, durante e dopo la migrazione”, 15 January 2021, available at: https://bit.ly/3w4iinb.
[10] I numeri del SAi, August 2023, available at: https://acesse.dev/sFROp.
[11] I numeri del SAI, February 2023, available at: https://bit.ly/3LJ7xC0. See I numeri del SAI, November 2023, at: https://acesse.dev/IWeH3.
[12] I numeri del SAI, February 2023, available at: https://bit.ly/3LJ7xC0. See I numeri del SAI, November 2023, at: https://acesse.dev/IWeH3.
[13] Linee guida per la programmazione degli interventi di assistenza e riabilitazione nonché per il trattamento dei disturbi psichici dei titolari dello status di rifugiato e dello status di protezione sussidiaria che hanno subito torture, stupri o altre forme gravi di violenza psicologica, fisica o sessuale, adopted with Decree of the Ministry of Health on 3 April 2017, available at: https://t.ly/Wwyp.
[14] Fra, Migration: Key Fundamental Rights Concerns, Quarterly Bulletin, February 2021, available at: https://bit.ly/37WS13N, 17.
[15] Link to the RARO project led by Quore, available at: https://bit.ly/3vwYzPA.
[16] Link to the project available at: https://bit.ly/3vFf2Qt.
[17] Comune di Roma, Bando SAI, progetto pilota per migranti LGBT+, available at: https://bit.ly/3TCuuZi.
[18] See also: Large movements, Prassi del sistema accoglienza e migranti LGBTQ+, 28 June 2021, available at: https://bit.ly/3OqqBDX.
[19] Article 10(1) Reception Decree.
[20] Court of Cassation, 3 April 2019, decision 9199/2019.
[21] Article 18(1) Reception Decree.
[22] Article 18(2) Reception Decree.
[23] See Ministry of Interior, Cruscotto Statistico, available in Italian at bit.ly/48VIQtT
[24] Ministry of Labour, Monitoring report on unaccompanied foreign minors, 31 December 2023, available at: bit.ly/4bM9XKD.
[25] Ministry of Labour, statistical data, 31 December 2023, available at: https://encr.pw/YbEnY.
[26] Ministry of Labour, Monitoring report on unaccompanied foreign minors, 31 December 2023.
[27] Ministry of Labour, Monitoring report on unaccompanied foreign minors, 31 December 2023, available at: bit.ly/4bM9XKD.
[28] 2015 Stability Law (Law 190/2014, Article 1 (181-182).
[29] Fund regulated by Article 21(1) DL 145/2023 converted into L. 191/2023.
[30] Law 213/2023, Article 1 (361).
[31] Meltingpot, Minori non accompagnati senza tutele e diritti, abbandonati in hotspot e grandi centri, 4 January 2024, available in Italian at: https://l1nq.com/UadWy. As also highlighted by ASGI, the appropriations envisaged in the original text of the budget plan, amounting to 190 million for 2024, 290 million for 2025 and 200 million for 2026, were reduced to 172,739,23 euro for 2024, 269,179,697 euro for 2025 and 185,000,000 euro for 2026. ‘Government cuts Fund for child migrants: so the money goes for increases to the police force’, available at: https://bit.ly/4bGTEOT. See also: https://bit.ly/3KrXPSr.
[32] Chamber of Deputies, Study Service, 19 March 2020, available in Italian at: https://cutt.ly/myO8ddD.
[33] Article 5, par. 1, lett. a) LD no. 133/23
[34] Article 5 (1 lett.a) LD 133/2023
[35] Article 1 septies DL 416/1989 converted by L. 39/1990.
[36] See the report made by the Ministry of Labour, Monitoring report on unaccompanied foreign minors, 31 December 2023.
[37] Ministry of Labour, Monitoring report on unaccompanied foreign minors, 31 December 2023. See also the scheme created by ANCI, available at: https://encr.pw/nH0vL.
[38] See Children’s Ombudsman, 2021 report to Parliament, available at: https://bit.ly/438B0L0.
[39] See Circular letter from the Department of Civil Liberties to Prefects on 19 May 2022 and Circular Letter of 17 January 2024.
[40] Source ANCI, Biffoni: “Ingestibile concentrazione minori stranieri non accompagnati in certi Comuni”, 14 April 2023, available at: https://bit.ly/42TlrHg.
[41] The full documentation of the public notice is available at: https://bit.ly/407wg7l.
[42] Source ANCI, Minori stranieri non accompagnati, Anci: Puntare sul doppio canale: hub di primissima accoglienza e rete SAI diffuse su territori”, 3 May 2023, available at: https://bit.ly/3oeCGUA.
[43] Ministry of Labour, Monitoring report on unaccompanied foreign minors, 31 December 2023.
[44] See Order of the Chief of Department for Civil Protection no. 994 of 11 May 2023, available at: https://bit.ly/45lRK3e.
[45] Article 12(5-bis) Decree Law 113/2018, as amended by L 132/2018.
[46] Article 38 Moi Decree 18 November 2019.
[47] DL 130/2020, Article 4 (3) b), amending Article 1-sexies (1 bis) DL 416/1989. In 2020 ASGI had underlined that, although the Ministry of Interior had not clarified it, It was not justified a different treatment of unaccompanied children who obtained an administrative extension of their placement but who, due to the unavailability of places in SIPROIMI, had not been included within this system during the minor age, see ASGI, Emergenza covid-19 e percorsi dei minori non accompagnati dopo i 18 anni, 13 March 2020, available in Italian at: https://cutt.ly/NyO8h6T.
[48] MoI Decree, 18 November 2019, Article 35, available in Italian at: https://cutt.ly/hyO8jXD.
[49] See I numeri del SAI, November 2023, at: https://acesse.dev/IWeH3.
[50] Data as of 31 December 2023, Ministry of Labour.
[51] Ministry of Labour, Monitoring report on unaccompanied foreign minors, 31 December 2023, available at: bit.ly/4bM9XKD.
[52] Ibid.
[53] Ministry of Interior Decree of 1 September 2016 on the establishment of first reception centres dedicated to unaccompanied minors.
[54] Article 3 Ministry of Interior Decree of 1 September 2016.
[55] Children’s Ombudsperson, I movimenti dei minori stranieri non accompagnati alle frontiere settentrionali, 29 March 2019, available in Italian at: https://bit.ly/2v2oNt6.
[56] CRC Group, 12° Updated report 2022, Chapter VIII, available at: https://bit.ly/3q0yXKD.
[57] Article 19(3) Reception Decree.
[58] Article 19(3-bis) Reception Decree, citing Article 11.
[59] Article 19 (3–bis) Reception Decree.
[60] Article 19 (3 bis) Reception Decree
[61] Article 19(3-bis) Reception Decree, citing Article 19(2)-(3).
[62] Article 19(3-bis) Reception Decree.
[63] UNICEF, “La frontiera dei diritti – Minori migranti e rifugiati e l’intervento dell’UNICEF in Italia”, December 2023, available at: https://encr.pw/2AdBu, 22-23.
[64] Article 19(3) Reception Decree, as amended by Article 12 Decree Law 113/2018 and L 132/2018.
[65] MoI Guidelines available in Italian at: https://cutt.ly/2yO8nAN.
[66] Article 19(4) Reception Decree.
[67] Altreconomia, “Chiudere la struttura per minori di Rosolini”: l’appello della società civile, 27 December 2023, available at: https://l1nq.com/p0G0j.
[68] See Asgi Il Tribunale per i Minorenni di Catania interviene a tutela dei minori collocati nella tensostruttura di Rosolini, 4 January 2024, available at: https://l1nq.com/L43UV.
[69] ASGI, Il Tribunale per i Minorenni di Catania interviene a tutela dei minori collocati nella tensostruttura di Rosolini, 4 January 2024, available at: https://bit.ly/4bZvjUC; A parliamentary question was also presented to the Minister of the Interior on the Rosolini facility, available at: https://bit.ly/4elePHW, 5938.
[70] See Communication submitted by ASGI on 31 January 2024 under Rule 9.2 of the Rules of the Committee of Minister concerning the case of Darboe and Camara v. Italy (Application No. 5797/17) available at: https://bit.ly/45bcDyD.
[71] See ASGI, Inlimine, available at: https://bit.ly/4c2BKGw.
[72] European Court of Human Rights, Decision on interim measures, Application no. 41645/23, 5 December 2024 (Annex n. 1).
[73] European Court of Human Rights, Decision on interim measures, Application no. 42909/23, 19 December 2024 (Annex n. 2).
[74] Appeal under art. 39 before the European Court of Human Rights (case no. 36616/23).
[75] Communication made by ASGI to the Committee of Minister on 16 November 2023, concerning the case of Darboe and Camara v. Italy, available at: https://bit.ly/4c5o6BT.
[76] See Roma Today, https://encr.pw/QrGbp.
[77] See: https://encr.pw/MYyj3.
[78] See Communication submitted by ASGI on 31 January 2024 under Rule 9.2 of the Rules of the Committee of Minister concerning the case of Darboe and Camara v. Italy (Application No. 5797/17) available at: https://bit.ly/45bcDyD.
[79] ANSA, Garante, minori stranieri devono essere separati da adulti, available at: https://bit.ly/4e6lNQU.
[80] See Asgi, Medea, Breve restituzione del sopralluogo a Ventimiglia e considerazioni a margine della sentenza della Corte di Giustizia c143/22, September 2023, available at: https://acesse.dev/R8fX1.
[81] UNICEF, “La frontiera dei diritti – Minori migranti e rifugiati e l’intervento dell’UNICEF in Italia”, December 2023, available at: https://encr.pw/2AdBu, 22-23.
[82] ECtHR, Darboe and Camara v. Italy, Application No 5797/17, Communicated on 14 February 2017, available at: https://bit.ly/3Z8AtWY.
[83] Save the Children, Hotspot sovraffollato a lampedusa: le condizioni critiche dei minori, 12 April 2023, available at: https://bit.ly/41YgFqV.
[84] UNICEF, Cronache di frontiera. Lampedusa: vite in hotspot, 10 May 2023, available at: https://bit.ly/3MfcWiC.
[85] See Repubblica, Protesta dei minori non accompagnati all’hotspot di Lampedusa, 1 May 2023, available at: https://bit.ly/3okux0P.
[86] See ASGI, Roccella Ionica: situazione attuale e implementazione “approccio hotspot”, 21 February 2023, available at: https://bit.ly/3pXsL65.