News Archive

Director of the Irish Centre for Human Rights, Professor Siobhán Mullally led a delegation of the Council of Europe's Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) from 29 January to 2 February 2018. The visit provided an opportunity to assess progress in the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings since the first evaluation visit by GRETA in 2013 (link to GRETA's report on Italy), as well as developments since the publication of GRETA’s urgent procedure report in January 2017.

During the visit, the GRETA delegation held consultations with officials from the Department for Equal Opportunities of the Italian Presidency of the Council of Ministers, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies, the National Anti-Mafia and Anti-Terrorist Directorate, the State Police, the Carabinieri Corps, the Financial Police, the National Association of Italian Municipalities, the National Commission for Recognition of International Protection, the Territorial Commission for Recognition of International Protection in Rome, and the National Statistics Institute.

Further, the GRETA delegation met Ms Filomena Albano, Italian Ombudsperson for Children and Adolescents.

In addition to holding meetings in Rome, the GRETA delegation travelled to two Italian regions, Sicily and Tuscany, where it met representatives of public bodies and civil society involved in local anti-trafficking networks.

In the course of the visit, the GRETA delegation visited shelters for victims of trafficking and drop-in centres providing services to possible victims of trafficking, run by non-governmental organisations (Proxima and Penelope in Sicily and Donne in Movimento and Arnera in Tuscany). Further, the delegation visited an emergency reception centre (CAS) for asylum-seeking women in Torre Angela.

The GRETA delegation held separate meetings with representatives of non-governmental organisations, lawyers and officials of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The visit was carried out by Professor Siobhán Mullally, President of GRETA, and Ms Rita Theodorou Superman, member of GRETA, who were accompanied by Ms Petya Nestorova, Executive Secretary of the Convention, and Mr Markus Lehner of the Secretariat of the Convention.

Following the visit, GRETA will prepare a draft report which will be sent to the Italian authorities for comments. The final report will be made public after its adoption by GRETA. More information about GRETA’s work is available at: https://www.coe.int/en/web/anti-human-trafficking/news