Council of Europe | 02.03.2017
Report of the fact-finding mission to Italy
by Ambassador Tomáš Boček,
Special Representative of the Secretary General on migration and refugees,
16-21 October 2016
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Secretary General’s Special Representative on migration and refugees carried out a fact-finding mission to Italy from 16 to 21 October 2016, visiting formal and informal facilities for migrants and refugees in Como, Sicily (including Lampedusa) and Rome. He also met with representatives of the government, the authorities dealing with migration-related issues and civil society.
Over 180,000 refugees and migrants arrived in Italy in 2016, of whom around 25,000 were unaccompanied children (UAMs). Throughout the mission, the goodwill of those engaged in addressing the challenges posed by this influx was apparent. However, the sheer number of new arrivals has put enormous pressure on the authorities. The scarcity of relocation offers from other Council of Europe member states prevents those entering Italy from being able to travel legally to other countries so that their asylum claims can be examined there. On the other hand, effective fingerprinting of all new arrivals means that those who succeed in crossing borders to other European Union member states by illegal means are returned under the Dublin III Regulation. The comparatively low number of economic migrants and failed asylum-seekers who are removed from Italian territory also contributes to the overall saturation of the reception system by encouraging arrivals. Italy cannot be left to cope with these challenges alone: Council of Europe member states must show solidarity by ensuring a fairer distribution of asylum-seekers across Europe.