UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent: visit Italy from 1 to 5 June

The Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent will make a monitoring visit to Italy from 1 to 5 June 2015.

The Working Group is the thematic special procedures of the UN Human Rights Council devoted to the problem of racial discrimination faced by individuals of African descent worldwide. It was established in 2002 by the Commission on Human Rights with resolution 2002/68.

The task of the country visits is to gather information on any forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, afro-phobia and related intolerance faced by people of African descent; on the measures taken to prevent racial discrimination and protect victims of racism and hate crimes; on existing mechanisms for the protection, integration and inclusion of migrants and refugees; on the responses provided by the countries to multiple forms of discrimination that specific groups of African descent may face and on the efforts undertaken by the authorities to protect people of African descent from violations. To collect these information, the experts of the Working Group meet with heads of State and of Government, relevant ministers, representatives of independent human rights institutions, civil society, the media and human rights defenders.

That of June 2015 will be the first visit of the Working Group in Italy, and it will provide an opportunity to examine in detail the situation of people of African descent in the country, to identify any problems related to these issues and to make recommendations for how these could be resolved.

At the end of the visit, the Working Group will issue a press release with its preliminary findings and recommendations. The Working Group will also release a mission report indicating the main concerns and recommendations for action.