Human Rights

The promotion of human rights is one of the pillars of Italy’s foreign policy. The United Nations are the main forum for international efforts in the field of human rights. Through the action of its bodies and organisms, especially the General Assembly (Third Commission), the Economic and Social Council (of which Italy has newly become member) and related specialized Agencies.

Of those based in New York, Italy is specifically member of: the Commission for Social Development (which deals with issues regarding youths, the elderly, the family, social integration and international cooperation in the field of social development); the Commission on the Status of Women, which is the point of reference for gender issues (fighting discrimination and violence against women, promoting the social and economic role of women.)
In June 2010, Italy, as a member state of the UN Committee for Programme and  Coordination, made a critical contribution to the negotiations and definition of the 2012- 2013 United Nations Strategic Framework for human rights. For the first time in 11 years, as the High Commissioner for Human Rights noted himself with satisfaction, the document was adopted by consensus.

The main objectives of our action in the field of human rights are:

- the promotion of the rule of law and the strengthening of democracy: Italy is member of the Community of Democracies (CoD), which organizes every September in New York a ministerial meeting of the Caucus for Democracy on a specific topic. The topic for 2010 was the “Role of Women as a Crucial Factor for Democratic Governance.” Italy is also one of the main contributors to the United Nations Fund for Democracy (UNDEF).
- The fight against torture, xenophobia, racism and all forms of discrimination, with particular focus on religious discrimination and intolerance, including the protection of religious minorities. Italy is one of the main sponsors of the EU resolution presented at the 65th United Nations General Assembly on the “Elimination of All Forms of Religious Discrimination and Religious Intolerance,” adopted by consensus. It is also member of the Group of Friends of the Alliance of Civilizations (AoC), an initiative launched by Turkey and Spain under the auspices of the UN to promote dialogue between cultures and religions. Our attention has recently been focused on the topic of the “interethnic city”. In September 2009 Italy organized, together with Canada, the Alliance of Civilizations and the International Organization for Migration, a round table to discuss the problems arising from immigration and integration at the local level. The event marked the beginning of cooperation with the AoC, with which we are planning new joint initiatives on the same issue.
- Preventing genocide: Italy supports the Office of the Special Advisor of the Secretary-General on the prevention of genocide and has recently made a financial contribution to its activities, especially to the development of “early warning” mechanisms in cases of serious and widespread violations of human rights.

Italy has taken on a leading role in four key sectors.

1) Children’s Rights and Protection
In the work of the General Assembly, Italy is one of the main sponsors of the EU annual resolution on the rights of the child. In 2010 we have also co-sponsored a resolution focusing on early childhood.
Italy has taken on a leadership role in recent years to call the attention of the international community to the issue of children involved in armed conflict. During Italy’s term in the Security Council (2007-2008), it actively participated in the Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict proposing the introduction of specific measures for the protection of children into the mandates of UN operations. This proposal was later translated into standard practice for the Security Council.
Italy is a member of the Group of Friends on the issue of children in armed conflict, an informal group of like-minded countries and NGOs that aims to support and promote initiatives for the protection of children in crisis situations, particularly through support for the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children in Armed Conflict, Mrs. Radhika Coomaraswamy. For the first time, on 16 June 2010, the Group of Friends, through the Canadian chairmanship, made a statement before the Security Council in favor of the recommendations to strengthen international efforts and the work of the Council on Children in Armed Conflict contained in the Secretary-General’s report.
In June of 2009, Italy hosted in Rome an international conference “Children and Youths Affected by Armed Conflict: Listening, Understanding and Doing”, which saw the participation of the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Children in Armed Conflict.
As a follow-up to the event in Rome, Italy decided in 2010 to contribute to a project of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) setting up a training module on the protection of children for both civil and military personnel deployed in UN peacekeeping missions. On 7 February 2011, Italy organized, together withthe Special Representative and the DPKO, a meeting to present to the Group of Friends this important initiative

2) Abolition of the death penalty
Another priority for Italy is the abolition of the death penalty.
In 2007 the historic General Assembly resolution on a moratorium for the use of the death penalty was adopted through the favorable vote of 104 UN member states. A second resolution followed in 2008, again strongly supported by Italy, with an even higher consensus – 106 countries voted in favor, thus consolidating this distinctive “trend”, as confirmed by the UN Secretary-General himself in his report on developments of the moratorium between 2004 and 2008, toward the abolition of the death penalty (from 79 total abolitionist countries in 2004 to 95 at the end of 2008; countries applying a moratorium in law or in fact have grown from 41 in 2004 to 46 in 2008.)
Italy remained steadfast in its strong commitment and was particularly active, with the EU partners, in preparing the presentation, by the group of countries co-sponsoring the initiative, of the third resolution to the 65th session of the General Assembly (2010). It was another success with 109 countries voting in favor of the text, thus further enlarging the number of co-sponsor countries. The new resolution represents yet another step toward a universal moratorium and ultimately to the abolition of the death penalty.

3) Combating violence against women
The Italian government has put the promotion of gender equality and the rights of women at the top of its agenda in its work in the field of human rights at the UN. A specific priority is the elimination of violence against women. The Foreign Minister of Italy, Franco Frattini, became a member of the “Network of Men Leaders” fighting violence against women, launched by the Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, bringing together personalities (political and non-political) that are front runners in this cause.
During our two-year term in the Security Council (2007-2008) we were particularly active  in promoting a change of pace when facing the scourge of sexual violence in situations of armed conflict, used in many cases as an actual war tactic with military purposes. Italy has actively participated in drafting the historic Security Council resolution 1820. It proposed, in particular, the text of the first operative paragraph, which for the first time established that sexual violence, when used as a war tactic, is an issue regarding international peace and security and thus is an issue that falls within the responsibility of the Security Council.
In 2009, during Italy’s G8 Presidency, the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Equal Opportunities organized in Rome an international conference on violence against women, with the participation of many Ministers from the world over, including the UN Deputy Secretary-General: for the first time the issue of combating violence against women was put on the G8 agenda.
Italy adopted a national action plan in 2010 to implement Security Council resolution 1325, aiming to protect women in situations of armed conflict and promote their presence in peace and reconciliation processes. We are among a few countries that have adopted this instrument.
Confirming our commitment to gender-related issues, the Minister for Equal Opportunities, Maria Rosaria Carfagna, spoke at the 55th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women, dedicated to the issue of women’s access to and participation in education, professional training, science and technology. In this context, Italy acted as a facilitator in brokering the adoption of the Conclusions of the Commission on this priority topic.

4) Fight against Female Genital Mutilations
One of the most heinous forms of violence against women is a practice derived from tradition: female genital mutilations (FGMs.)
Italy has made intense efforts to launch within the United Nations a campaign for their abandonment, as FGMs are a practice that is no longer confined to the African Continent, but, because of migration, they also concern countries like ours.
The challenge we are facing, together with the UN agencies – UNICEF and UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund) and the African countries that are most involved - is twofold: attract the attention of the international community on an issue that has been to date considered marginal on the donor’s agenda; and - as a consequence – take on actions and initiatives in the educational and social fields that can truly impact the grass roots level of society, changing the socio-cultural rules at the foundation of FGMs.
Our efforts have met with positive feedback.
Firstly, at the sidelines of the 64th UNGA (September 2009), Minister Frattini organized a working lunch on the issue, bringing together the African countries most concerned and the UN Agencies, marking the beginning of a common effort to create greater awareness about FGMs within the UN. One of the instruments to reach this goal was the proposal of a General Assembly resolution on FGMs.
We were subsequently able to strengthen the language regarding FGMs in the General Assembly resolution on the protection of the girl child. In addition, in 2010, the Commission of the Status of Women adopted a specific resolution on female genital mutilations, which was presented by the African Group, and integrated   various elements suggested by  Italy . One of these is the objective  of a complete abandonment of the practice by 2015, aiming to reach the first concrete results – its elimination in at least one African country – by 2012.
Against this background, we have worked with a number of African partners on building consensus on the proposal of adopting a UNGA resolution on FGMs at the 65th UNGA.
We have thus organized, following the 2009 model, a meeting of like-minded countries at the sidelines of the 65th UNGA, chaired by Italy and  Egypt. More recently (February 2010), together with Egypt, Burkina Faso and Senegal, we held a side-event at the ministerial level, chaired by the Minister for Equal Opportunities, Maria Rosaria Carfagna, during the work of the Commission on the Status of Women.
Both meetings have contributed to maintaining focus within the UN on the problem of FGMs while promoting an enlarged consensus for the proposal of a General Assembly resolution – an objective to which we remain fully committed.
Lastly, another  pillar of our efforts in the campaign against FGMs is the support to  the Joint Programme of UNICEF and UNFPA on FGMs, to which Italy contributed one million euros in 2010.