UN expert on contemporary forms of slavery to visit Italy

UN expert on contemporary forms of slavery to visit Italy

GENEVA / ROME (28 September 2018) – The UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, Urmila Bhoola, will visit Italy from 3 to 12 October.

During her country visit, Bhoola will focus on labour exploitation of migrants in agriculture and on the strategies, policies and laws which the Government of Italy is implementing to prevent and address exploitation in that sector.

“The aim of the visit is to gather first-hand information about the labour and living conditions of migrant workers in agriculture and to assess to what extent the Government of Italy is taking measures to achieve target 8.7 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals which requires taking “immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking (…)”, the expert said.

Amongst other issues, the Special Rapporteur is also interested in assessing to what extent victims of labour exploitation are granted access to justice.

The Special Rapporteur will meet with senior Government officials from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs; Interior; Labour and Social Policies; Justice; Agriculture, Food and Forestry and of the Department for Equal Opportunities and National Office Against Racial Discrimination. Ms. Bhoola is also planning to meet migrant workers in the areas of Rosarno (Calabria), Foggia (Apulia) and Latina (Lazio). She will also meet with representatives of civil society and international organizations.

The Special Rapporteur will hold a media conference on 12 October 2018 at the Istituto Luigi Sturzo, Via delle Coppelle, 35, in Rome, to share her preliminary observations and conclusions. It will start at 14:00, and access is strictly limited to the media.

ENDS

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