|
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's nationalist government drew up
the legislation after a shipwreck off southern Italy in February
that killed more than 90 migrants.
The law, which was approved by parliament last week, envisages
tougher jail terms for human smugglers and limits the scope for
newcomers to receive "special protection" residency permits if
they don't qualify for full asylum.
"The new law will have a devastating impact on migrants' rights,
including their ability to seek protection, access fair asylum
procedures, and enjoy freedom of movement," Human Rights Watch
said in a statement.
The government has said the previous system was abused, noting
that in 2022 authorities had handed out 10,506 special
protection permits against 7,494 permits offering refugee status
and 7,039 that granted another form of international protection.
Controversially, the law also halts state-funded Italian
language courses and eliminates legal advice services for
migrants hosted in official reception centres.
Meloni's government has said it wants to direct resources at
migrants who come to Italy via legal channels.
"Far from offering a rational, humane response to the rise in
people crossing the Mediterranean to reach Europe, the new
legislation doubles down on the government's focus on deterrence
and criminalization," Human Rights Watch said.
Meloni's conservative bloc won power last year vowing to
crackdown on boat migrants, but its efforts have so far failed,
with new arrivals surging in recent months. Latest data shows
that 45,157 people reached Italy from Jan. 1- May 11, against
12,324 in the same period last year.
(Reporting by Crispian Balmer, Editing by William Maclean)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2022 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
