In September 2023, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) published its concluding observations on Italy.

The Committee welcomed the adoption of recent legislation relevant to third-country nationals (TCNs) in Italy, including:

• law no. 47/2017 of April 2017 on measures for the protection of unaccompanied migrant minors
• the National integration plan for beneficiaries of international protection 2022-2024 (not currently publicly available)
• the National strategy for Roma and Sinti equality, inclusion and participation 2021 - 2030
• the National strategic plan on violence against women 2021 - 2023, which identifies refugee and asylum-seeking women as specific beneficiaries of the plan
• the National action plan on business and human rights (2016 - 2021), which includes a specific target of tackling forced labour, labour exploitation, child labour and irregular work, with a particular focus on migrants and victims of trafficking

The Committe also focused on:

• discrimination against asylum seekers, with advice to assess Italian legislation: "in particular Law 132/2018 and Law 50/2023 with a view to repeal all provisions that are not in compliance with international human rights principles and are not proportionate in light of the objectives and purposes of the Convention";
• discrimination against migrant workers, highlighting in particular the issue of access to justice and the importance of "adequate measures to support migrant workers to raise
• their level of qualification, including through vocational training";
• the issue of racial profiling, recommending that Italy "include in its legislation a prohibition of racial profiling and ensure that the police and other law enforcement officials are provided with clear guidelines aimed at preventing racial profiling during police checks, identity checks and other police measures", and that migrants have adequate access to justice ad effective remedies.

Concern was also expressed by the Committee about a lack of comprehensive and updated data and statistics on the racial and/or ethnic composition of the state's population and the absence of a clear definition of racial discrimination in its legal framework. In addition, it urged Italy to take all necessary steps to ensure the independence of the National Office against discrimination (UNAR), and recommended the adoption of a national plan against racial discrimination.

A summary - in Italian - of the observations can be found on the website of the Italian Network to Combact Hate Speech and Behaviours.