Italy
Summary of Conclusions
1. Italy has an extensive legislative framework protecting human rights and the environment. Human rights are generally respected, enacted and enforced. We applaud Italy’s overall acceptance rate of UPR recommendations, which is significantly higher than the global average, and the success of Italy in implementing the UPR recommendations.[1]
2. Nevertheless, as in other countries, several significant human rights challenges remain, especially with regard to the global climate crisis.
3. Italy should take urgent steps to resolve the human rights challenges in the short term while developing plans to address systemic problems in the medium and long term.
4. With regards to the climate crisis, Italy should increase its efforts to mitigate climate change as well as adapt to the effects of climate change. Additionally, Italy should consider and evaluate the disparate impact of climate change on groups that are already in a vulnerable position in society, like women and refugees. We recommend that Italy take special measures to protect these groups from the effects of climate change.
5. We further recommend Italy to increase its efforts to establish a national human rights institution in accordance with the Paris Principles that is equipped to address the complex implications the climate crisis has on human rights.
Right to a Clean, healthy and Sustainable environment
6. The right to a healthy environment is recognized both domestically and internationally in Italy.
7. Italy is a party to various international agreements and conventions that emphasize the importance of environmental protection and the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
8. At the domestic level, the Italian Constitution includes provisions that recognize the duty to safeguard the environment for present and future generations.
9. We commend Italy for recognizing the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment. We encourage Italy to continue and increase its efforts to respect, protect, and fulfill this right within the context of climate change impacts. This would include, among other things, the following actions:
Italy is a high polluting country that must take ambitious steps to mitigate climate change
10. Currently, Italy is a high polluting country. Italy has given various international commitments and taken serious steps to mitigate the impact of climate change and protect its citizens’ right to a healthy environment.
11. However, so far the current mitigation efforts set out in the National Energy and Climate Plan have not been enough and experts estimate that Italy will not be able to meet its targets if it does not implement several additional decarbonization levers.[2]
12. Italy currently lacks a framework climate change law that sets out the overall objectives and main policies. Most measures are only included in general planning documents without normative force, requiring further legislative and administrative implementation. The existing climate change regulation is sparse and consists of a large number of sectoral legislative and regulatory acts. The existence of a legal framework is not merely a political decision, but a matter of law. The lack of a national framework to reduce greenhouse gases violates human rights. In Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz and Others v. Switzerland[3] the ECtHR found that the duty of Switzerland to protect the right to private and family life implies an obligation for the State to adopt a national framework to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Italy has recognized the lack of a framework climate chance law in its domestic legal system and legislative proposals are pending. We highly recommend the passing of those proposals.
13. While Italy has taken laudable steps to protect the environment as part of its amendments to articles 9 and 41 of its constitution, applicants have so far not been successful in climate litigation. The environmental organization A Sud, together with other associations and more than 180 individuals, sued the Italian state for its alleged failure to promote adequate climate policies to respond to the climate crisis. On February 26, 2024, the Civil Tribunal of Rome held in A Sud v. Italy[4] that the climate case was inadmissible. The main argument of the Civil Tribunal was that the petitioners lacked a protected right or interest to support their claim. According to the judges, the Italian legal system lacks any protected right to the correct exercise of legislative powers. In other words, the adequacy of climate policies is a matter for the legislative political branches rather than the judiciary. An appeal is in the making by the applicants.[5] It is possible that the ECtHR case Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz and Others v. Switzerland[6] will influence the appeal and support the position of the applicants.[7] In its judgment, the ECtHR established a clear link between the failure to adopt an adequate regulatory framework to pursue climate mitigation and the violation of human rights. A right to a remedy for violations of human rights is required under human rights law, including article 2 of the ICCPR. Therefore, the government of Italy may have a legal obligation at this time to ensure that the Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz is respected and implemented under its domestic law.
Italy has to adapt to the effects of climate change
14. Italy is now being subjected to the adverse effects of climate change. 60% of Italian territory is projected to be exposed to high physical risks by 2050 because of climate change. Rising temperatures, coastal erosion, flooding and drought may lead to water scarcity. Water stress could also lead to a reduction in agricultural production, a higher risk of forest fires, increased desertification, and threats to economic progress. In addition, climate change impacts air quality.[8] The expected economic impacts of climate change for the latter half of the century will mean a loss of 8.5% of GDP in Italy.[9] Italy has already experienced severe heatwaves, water emergencies and floods.
15. Insufficient adaptation efforts threaten various human rights, including the right to life, health and food.
16. A National Climate Change Adaptation Plan was recently approved. We commend Italy for this positive step to tackle the effects of the climate crisis. However, we recommend that Italy continue to enhance its adaptation efforts by improving the Adaptation Plan. Currently, most solutions are classified as ‘soft’, i.e. non-structural. Because of the already unavoidable and certain effects of climate change that pose threats to human rights, the number of ‘hard’ obligations with binding indications should be increased.
17. Overall, Italy must take decisive steps to ensure that climate change adaptation is included in its social and economic planning.
18. The protection of human rights, including those rights guaranteed by the ICCPR and ICESCR, should be at the center of climate action.
Italy must consider and address the effects of climate change on women’s rights
19. We want to highlight the effects of climate change on women’s rights.
20. Italy has a gender quality outcome that is frequently close to the OECD average. Italy has considerably developed its national legislation, policies, and institutional framework for the promotion of gender equality and the prevention and combating of violence against women. However, a marked contrast persists between the legal guarantees in place and the situation on the ground as regards inequalities and gender-based violence suffered by women and girls. Continued violence and discrimination against women and girls remain a prevailing and urgent concern.
21. Climate change is a “threat multiplier” that will deepen the gender inequalities already affecting women. Climate change will not affect everyone the same way. Women who are already in a vulnerable position, including migrant workers, immigrants, low-income households, will be more severely impacted by climate change. Environmental disasters, for example, can have different negative impacts on the health of women than on men. Women are particularly vulnerable to such events, especially with regard to their reproductive health and pregnancy.
22. We recommend that Italy takes steps to raise awareness and build capacity on how to address the impacts of climate change on women. The protection of women who are already in a vulnerable position because of their status in society, in particular migrant workers and immigrants, has to be ensured. Italy should pay attention to the social and environmental determinants of health and gender in the national health policies and disaster plans. Especially the National Climate Change Adaptation Plan should include strategies to address the negative impacts climate change has on women.
23. The disparate impact of climate change on women should also be mitigated by fighting the persisting inequalities in society that violate women’s rights. We recommend strengthening the implementation of anti-discrimination legislation. Additionally, it should be ensured that intersecting forms of discrimination are adequately addressed in the justice system and adequate and stable funding is provided.
24. We encourage Italy to continue to strengthen its efforts to increase female representation both in Government and in private companies. Improving women’s representation in Government and private sector leadership will benefit the climate change battle. Research shows that countries with higher female representation in leadership positions are more prone to ratify environmental treaties and adopt policies that address climate change impacts. Italy’s affirmative action has led to a significant increase in women on the boards of Italian listed companies. However, the number of women CEOs in Italian companies and the Government remains low. More proactive measures have to be taken by the Government, the private sector, trade unions and civil society organizations to achieve substantive gender equality in Government and the private sector.
Italy must respect and ensure the rights of refugees and other displaced persons ´
25. Italy is a popular destination for refugees. Climate change is likely to increase displacement from climate vulnerable countries and thus increase mobility into Italy. Under high emissions climate change scenarios, predictions indicate that climate-driven migration will happen and will be significant in the Mediterranean area, with tens of millions of people at a time displaced by extreme weather events, and many millions more displaced by climate processes like desertification, salinization of agricultural land, and sea-level rise.[10]
26. Italy has to prepare for this scenario and ensure that the human rights of the climate refugees are respected. The fundamental principle of non-refoulement must be upheld to protect those unable to return to their homes. Non-refoulement is a fundamental obligation under international law, as noted in the Teitiota decision from the Human Rights Committee.[11] Italy, therefore, cannot send displaced individuals back to a territory in which such individuals may face threats to their life from climate change impacts or associated impacts.
27. We recommend Italy to revise its existing immigration policies and ensure that the law includes sufficient protections for persons displaced from climate-related impacts. We acknowledge, and commend, that Italy’s legislation offers explicit and multiple protection statuses to people displaced due to disasters, climate change, and environmental degradation. The 2020 “security degree” introduced six-month residence permits for those who escaped natural disasters. However, this permit only protects people caught in sudden disasters, thus excluding persons displaced from slow-onset climate impacts from legal protection. More specifically, displaced persons from countries hit by conflict due to the scarcity of natural resources such as the Sahel, South Sudan, and Syria are further excluded from this protection. Italy should expand the legal status of climate refugees to effectively protect a wider category of persons displaced from climate change as well as conflict coming about from environmental and climate change related impacts.
28. We ask the Italian Government to account for the special risk women face due to climate change in the legislation and when assessing the protection status in individual immigration proceedings.
29. Italy should increase the knowledge and capacities of stakeholders on the legal protections available for persons displaced from climate change. Such displaced persons themselves often do not associate their displacement with the climate crisis. Therefore, climate migration often goes unnoticed even by professionals who provide legal aid to migrants. Consequently, the need to protect the rights of the individual as a person displaced by climate change will not be taken into account in the proceeding. Once climate migrants are formally recognized as a specific category, forms of protection can be put into practice. Italy should provide education and training on climate change and climate change related impacts to authorities, lawmakers, and professionals who provide legal aid.
30. We applaud Italy for the measures initiated to accommodate and integrate persons displaced from the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Regrettably, we note with concern that Italy has refugee policies and practices in place that do not comply with human rights law, particularly with its focus on deterrence measures. Italy operates 10 migrant repatriation centers. The centers are supposed to be temporary holding facilities for migrants whose asylum bids failed, or foreigners who have been expelled for criminal or other reasons while the paperwork is completed to send them home. These detention centers are managed by private companies. There have been several reliable reports of serious violations of fundamental rights in those detention centers.[12] We urge Italy to ensure the protection of all human rights in those detention centers.
31. Italy intensified cooperation on migration with other countries. Bilateral migration agreements can facilitate safe migration provided such agreements are non-discriminatory and comply with international human rights obligations. Italy has to ensure that the right to asylum and the freedom from arbitrary detention are respected in these cooperations.
32. In entering bilateral agreements with climate vulnerable countries, Italy must ensure that such cooperation fully respects the human rights of impacted and displaced peoples at all times. Any such bilateral agreements must also respect the self-determination of climate vulnerable people, including such people’s permanent sovereignty over their natural resources, the inviolability of such people’s national boundaries, and such people’s enduring and irrevocable connection to its territory and resources impacted by climate change related impacts such as sea-level rise, desertification, or climate change-induced inhospitability. Furthermore, the data rights of such climate vulnerable peoples must be respected, and their data cannot be used against them as part of border agreements or to prejudice them in any way.
Italy Should establish a National Human Rights Institution
33. In the last UPR Italy reaffirmed its intention to establish a National Human Rights Institution and the countries recommended the establishment of a national human rights institution in accordance with the Paris Principles (148.18).
34. We note that Italy has not yet established a National Human Rights Institution and there are no indications that a new initiative will be taken. We ask Italy to increase its efforts to establish a National Human Rights Institution in accordance with the Paris Principles.
35. We also ask that Italy ensure that any such National Human Rights Institution is equipped to address the human rights implications of the climate emergency and to ensure that human rights remain central to the Government’s response to the overlapping and cascading impacts of climate change. Especially the disparate impacts of climate change on vulnerable groups should be addressed.
Italy’s strong commitment to human rights
36. Italy has shown remarkable progress and commitment to safeguarding the rights and dignity of humans.
37. As we look toward the future, it is necessary that Italy remains steadfast in its commitment to furthering human rights, fostering social justice and building a society where every individual can thrive.
38. Therefore, Italy needs to increase its efforts to mitigate climate change and adapt to the unavoidable effects of climate change. The disparate impact of climate change and the effect of the climate emergency on vulnerable groups have to be recognized and addressed in those efforts.
[1] Cofelice, A., De Perini, P. (2020) ‘The Third Universal Periodic Review of Italy between Recurring Trends and New Challenges’, Peace Human Rights Governance, 4(2), 249-277.
[2] Beccarello, Massimo & Di Foggia, Giacomo. (2023). Meeting decarbonization targets: Techno-economic insights from the Italian scenario. DeCarbon. 2. 100022. 10.1016/j.decarb.2023.100022.
[3] ECtHR,Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz and Others v. Switzerland, no. 53600/20, judgment (Grand Chamber) of 9 April 2024.
[4] Civil Tribunal of Rome, A Sud et al. v. Italy, judgment of 26 February 2024.
[5] Federica Cittadino, The A Sud v. Italy Case after the KlimaSeniorinnen Judgment: Implications of the ECtHR’s Decision for Climate Litigation in Italy, Völkerrechtsblog, 24.05.2024, doi: 10.17176/20240525-005001-0.
[6] ECtHR,Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz and Others v. Switzerland, no. 53600/20, judgment (Grand Chamber) of 9 April 2024.
[7] ECtHR,Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz and Others v. Switzerland, no. 53600/20, judgment (Grand Chamber) of 9 April 2024.
[8] WHO, Climate and Health Country Profile Italy, 2018, p. 1.
[9] Euro-Mediterranean Centre for Climate Change, The cost of climate inaction for Italy, 05.11.2019, https://www.cmcc.it/article/gdp-loss-of-over-8-regional-inequalities-doubled-the-italian-costs-of-climate-inaction#, last accessed: 18.06.2024.
[10] Migration and climate change, IOM Migration Research Series, IOM International Organization for Migration, MRS No. 31, 10 November 2015.
[11] Human Rights Committee, Ioane Teitiota v. New Zealand, No. 2728/2016, Communication of 24 October 2019.
[12] ASGI, Conditions in detention facilities: Italy, 31.05.2023, https://asylumineurope.org/reports/country/italy/detention-asylum-seekers/detention-conditions/conditions-detention-facilities/, last accessed: 18.06.2024.
Link on the United Nations System
Universal Periodic Review Fourth Cycle - Italy - Reference Documents on the United Nations System