Italy in the Spotlight Over Hardline Immigration Policies

Filed in archive Europe on April 24, 2009

Human rights groups are expressing concern over new immigration policies in Italy that seem designed to target Europe's Roma and Sinti Gypsy populations.

Europe's top human rights watchdog on Thursday expressed "deep concern" over the conservative Italian government's hardline immigration policies, including plans to make illegal immigration a crime and a controversial census of Sinti and Roma Gypsies in Italy.

Italy is home to around 160,000 Roma Gypsies. About half of them were born in Italy and have Italian citizenship. But many come from Romania or parts of the former yugoslavia. In the last year the Italian government has demolished a nnumber of Gypsy camps and the Gypsy census seems designed promote discriminatory policies and "xenophobia" in the country, according to human rights groups.


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