Introduction

In an era of global upheaval, this review unfolded against a backdrop of unprecedented challenges. The years 2020 to 2024 were marked by a series of crises that reshaped international priorities and domestic policies alike. Nations grappled with the complexities of migration governance, the escalating threats of climate change, the evolving landscape of digital rights, and the persistent socio-economic aftershocks of the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the Working  Group interactive dialogue of January 20, the Italian delegation, led by the Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Giorgio Silli, reiterated its national and international commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights. The session was facilitated by a troika composed of Switzerland, North Macedonia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

As in previous cycles, the review was based on specific documents  and information, namely:

• The National Report submitted by the Italian Government - In this document, the state under review assesses the progress made and the impact of the recommendations received during previous cycles.
• The Compilation of UN Information, prepared by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) - This document consists of a summary of inputs from various international entities, such as special procedures’ reports and treaty bodies’ recommendations.
• The Summary of Stakeholders’ Submissions, prepared by OHCHR - The document provides an overview of contributions received from NHRI, NGOs, human rights defenders, academic institutions, and research centres.

Some States prepared some advance questions that were transmitted to Italy through the troika. Advance questions were submitted by Belgium, the core group of sponsors of the resolutions on the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment (Costa Rica, Maldives and Slovenia), Germany, Portugal (on behalf of the Group of Friends on national mechanisms for implementation, reporting and follow-up), Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the USA.

At its 49th session, held in June-July 2025, the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) approved the Outcome of the Working Group on Italy’s UPR. The outcome consists of the Report of the Working Group on the UPR, summarising the dialogue between the state delegations and containing the complete list of recommendations addressed to the State under review, and an Addendum, containing Italy’s responses and views on the recommendations. 

These documents highlighted Italy’s human rights landscape and efforts since the third cycle, with attention to anti-discrimination policies, strengthening the protection of vulnerable groups, women’s empowerment, and enhancing institutional coordination on human rights issues.

General Outcome and Statistics

Italy received 340 recommendations from 123 UN Member States, ranking third in terms of volume among the session’s reviewed countries, after Iran and Egypt. According to Italy’s official response submitted in March and April 2025, 295 recommendations were fully accepted, 41 were noted, and 4 were partially noted.

These figures reflect the country’s willingness and engagement with the UPR process and the interest of the international community in the Italian situation. However, they also suggest a more conservative stance compared to the previous cycle, in which 292 out of 306 recommendations were accepted. Indeed, the percentage of noted recommendations increased from 4.5% to 13.2%. Italy has further declared its intention to submit a voluntary mid-term report by January 2027, continuing a practice it had also adopted during the third UPR cycle.

A quantitative overview of the recommendations received by Italy in this cycle reveals important insights into international concerns regarding the country’s human rights framework. A large portion of these recommendations clustered around specific thematic areas: 

• The rights of migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers constitute one of the most significant areas of concern, accounting for approximately 15% of all recommendations, which underscores continued scrutiny over Italy’s migration governance policies.
• Anti-discrimination measures in all their forms represent the second largest category, with 11.4% of the recommendations. This broad cluster includes calls to address structural racism, xenophobia, hate speech, and intersectional discrimination, particularly targeting racialised groups such as Roma, Sinti and Caminanti, and people of African descent.
• Women’s rights and gender equality are highlighted in 25% of recommendations, which rose notably compared to the previous review (10.5%). Recommendations in this category often focus on tackling femicide, strengthening anti-violence services, and promoting gender equality in political and economic spheres.
• Recommendations addressing the establishment of a National Human Rights Institution (NHRI) in accordance with the UN Paris Principles make up nearly 15% of the total. Italy has received such recommendations since its first UPR cycle, indicating persistent concern over the lack of a fully independent monitoring body at the national level.
• Children’s rights and access to education comprise over 10% of the total, representing a cross-cutting theme. Recommendations in this field concern the protection of unaccompanied migrant minors, access to inclusive education, child labour, and protection from violence.
• The rights of persons with disabilities feature approximately 4.7% of all recommendations.Compared to previous cycles, Italy has made modest yet noteworthy progress in this area. While in 2019, recommendations centred largely on legislative alignment and institutional coordination, the current cycle calls for a more structured response.
• LGBTQ+ rights are a significant focus, with almost 15% of the total recommendations specifically addressing this area. These proposals particularly emphasize the need for enacting legal protections for the LGBTQ+ community, recognizing same-sex parenthood, and banning conversion therapies.

This distribution of recommendations points out the multidimensional nature of the international community’s concerns and provides Italy with a roadmap for prioritising policy reforms.

Key Thematic Priorities and Challenges

Building upon the quantitative overview of the recommendations, this analysis delves into the substantive human rights concerns that emerged most prominently from the 2025 UPR. These concerns not only signal the international community's normative expectations but also illuminate long-standing structural gaps and evolving challenges within Italy's domestic framework.

Migration and Non-Refoulement

Member States urged Italy to strengthen protection mechanisms for migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers, and to address the need for individualised assessments of asylum claims. Many recommendations (34.10, 83, 300, etc.) focused on ensuring compliance with the principle of non-refoulment, the protection of vulnerable individuals in transit, and the legal recognition of humanitarian grounds for residence. In its response, Italy reaffirmed its adherence to non-refoulment, expressing the role of territorial commissions and judicial oversight in assessing international protection requests. Nonetheless, several stakeholders, including civil society organisations, have stressed that these procedural safeguards are often undermined by inconsistent implementation, prolonged detention practices, and insufficient access to legal aid.

Discrimination and Hate Speech

Italy received a considerable number of recommendations, in which the delegations emphasised concerns over the rise of racially motivated violence, online hate speech, and all forms of discrimination, including those based on gender (e.g. recommendations 34.66 advanced by the Republic of Korea, and 34.71 raised by Uzbekistan). Recommendations called for more robust legislation against hate crimes, the effective implementation of anti-racism strategies, and the promotion of inclusive education. Namibia recommended a prohibition on racial profiling and adopting a guideline for police officers aimed at preventing any racial discrimination during checks and other policing measures. Also, countries such as Bangladesh and the United States of America insisted on the importance of inclusive public services, education, and housing. The Italian delegation referred to the adoption of the National Action Plan Against Racism (NAPAR) 2023–2027, which outlines strategic goals across public institutions, media, and the private sector.

Women’s Rights and Gender-Based Violence

Recommendations related to women’s rights and gender equality reflect ongoing international concerns over structural gender disparities, underrepresentation of women in decision-making roles, and the persistence of gender-based violence, including femicide, domestic abuse and sexual harassment (see recommendations 34.159, 214, 229, 235, etc.). In addition, some States called on the country to strengthen its national response to gender based violence against women by improving access to shelters and psychological support, ensuring effective prosecution of gender-based crimes, and addressing gender pay gaps and workplace discrimination. Several recommendations emphasised the importance of collecting gender-disaggregated data, particularly in the justice and health systems. As Iceland recommended, sexual and reproductive health rights need to be promoted and protected. Although Italy highlighted the 2023 Law on Comprehensive Protection Against Gender-Based Violence and new funding for anti-violence centres (Law No. 168/2023), civil society submissions stressed that the implementation of such frameworks remains uneven across regions, and Italy is encouraged to ensure effective implementations of existing laws and policies alongside strengthening gender-based equality. 

National Human Rights Institution (NHRI)

The repeated recommendations articulated by 28 Member States, such as Qatar, Estonia, Sri Lanka, for the establishment of an independent NHRI (34.22, 23, 24, etc.) underscore the centrality of this institutional gap in Italy’s human rights system. The government reaffirmed its commitment in the 2025 review, just as it had done in 2010, 2015, and 2019. However, a notable shift occurred with the submission of a draft law to the Parliament in late 2024, a development that, if effectively implemented, could lead to an institutional step forward for the country to fulfil its international human rights obligations.

Children’s Rights and Education Access

Ensuring accessibility to inclusive education for all, reinforcing the child protection system, and addressing the specific needs of unaccompanied minors in the migration context were among the key concerns raised by delegations with regard to children’s rights (34.175, 177, 178, etc.). Italy responded by referring to existing policies and national guidelines designed to address these gaps.  

Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Recommendations that cover disability rights emphasise the need for concrete measures to guarantee accessibility in public infrastructure, inclusion in education and employment, and to enhance disability assessments. Italy responded by referencing its 2022–2024 National Strategy on Disability and new guidelines for inclusive education, by which it indicated the national priorities in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The Democratic Republic of Congo, in recommendation 34.152, raised the adoption of additional incentives for companies to encourage the employment of persons with disabilities.

Rejected or Partially Noted Recommendations

Italy noted or partially accepted 45 recommendations and justified these rejections based on European alignment, constitutional constraints, and national security considerations.

Key examples of non-accepted recommendations include:

• Ratification of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. Italy noted recommendations 34.1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, and maintained that its legal frameworks already protect the rights of both regular and irregular migrants. Consistent with the EU common position, its member states have not signed the mentioned convention, but through the ratification of ILO conventions 143 and 189, Italy is bound to protect migrant workers and remains subject to periodic review on the domestic implementation of both conventions.
• Broader LGBTQ+ parental rights and legal marriage equality Italy noted recommendations 34.117, 118, 119, etc., asserting that the rights of same-sex couples are regulated under Law 76/2016, which recognises domestic partnerships, granting largely equivalent rights and obligations to same-sex couples. However, Italy does not allow joint adoption by unmarried or same-sex couples, but in special cases. Legislative reforms in this area remain under the competence of Parliament.
• Endorsement of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. While Italy reaffirmed its commitment to the goal of a world free of nuclear weapons, it considers the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as the cornerstone of the disarmament regime, and therefore does not deem new treaties necessary. Recommendation 34.14 was noted partially: the part on the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) was not accepted, while the other elements were endorsed.
• Amendments to the definition of consent in sexual crimes. Recommendations 34.86, 87, 235, 243 were noted, noting that, under Art. 609-bis of the Criminal Code as interpreted by the Supreme Court of Cassation, sexual violence is already characterised by the absence of consent, not by the use of violence. However, Italy partially accepted recommendations 34.220, 221, and agreed on the criminalisation of femicide.

Conclusion

Italy’s fourth UPR cycle reflects continuity in key areas of international concern: migration governance, racial discrimination, gender-based violence, and the long-awaited NHRI. The increase in recommendations related to climate and digital rights signals a shift in the global human rights discourse that Italy must integrate into its domestic framework. The government’s relatively high acceptance rate indicates openness to international scrutiny, but implementation and follow-through remain the ultimate benchmarks of credibility.