Italy-Somalia-Immigrantion-Incident

Status quo as of October 2003:

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS: Mr Berlusconi has kept a tight grip on foreign policy, partly to prevent a re-emergence of divisions within the coalition, mainly over the EU, but also because he views it as a means to improve his international standing. He is unlikely to be successful in this regard, however, given his lack of diplomatic tact in handling international issues and his habit of making gaffes at international meetings. He attaches considerable importance to maintaining good bilateral relations, particularly with the administration of George W Bush in the US and Vladimir Putin in Russia. This has led him sometimes to contradict common positions agreed within the EU, angering Italy’s European partners. In addition, Mr Berlusconi’s insistence that his government should be more assertive than its predecessors in the pursuit of the national interest within the EU has led to tensions with other member states on a wide range of issues and is likely to do so again in the future, especially once Italy’s presidency of the EU ends in December 2003.
 * Silvio Berlusconi leads the government - from the Economist Intelligence Unit 2003 report:

June 2003 - EIU Viewswire INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS: Mr Berlusconi has kept a tight grip on foreign policy by appointing a close ally, Franco Frattini, as his successor as foreign minister in mid-November 2002. Generally, he appears to attach considerable importance to maintaining good bilateral relations, particularly with the US, while being less co-operative with Italy's EU partners on EU issues than previous Italian governments. Mr Berlusconi takes a pragmatic view of the EU and insists that his government will be more assertive than its predecessors in the pursuit of Italian national interests within the Union. This has led to tensions with Italy's EU partners over issues such as the creation of a common EU arrest warrant, the location of the new EU food safety body, and most recently milk quotas, which have damaged Italy's standing within the EU. However, opportunities for assertiveness that could cause further tensions are likely to be fairly limited. On EU constitutional issues being discussed at the Convention on the Future of Europe Italy's position has not been clear, but the Casa appears to favour a more inter-governmentalist approach.
 * Libya is under sanctions from the EU


 * Somalia status in 2003 - State Dept. 10/03: http://www.state.gov/outofdate/bgn/s/36384.htm

Disillusionment of Somali refugees in Italy: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002077919_somali31.html (originally a NYT article from 2004)

Recent developments:

Italy is the first to re-open an embassy in Somalia: http://www.javno.com/en-world/italy-first-in-west-to-reopen-embassy-in-somalia_264577

New York Times account of the story: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/21/world/boat-carrying-african-immigrants-reaches-italy-with-13-dead.html


 * **Publication title:** || [|The Economist]. London: [|Oct 25, 2003]. Vol. 369, Iss. 8347; pg. 46 ||
 * | **Document URL:** || http://proquest .umi .com .libproxy .usc .edu/pqdweb ?did=430193901 &sid=3 &Fmt=3 &clientId=5239 &RQT=309 &VName=PQD ||  ||

ON OCTOBER 19th an Italian fishing skipper spotted what he took to be an abandoned boat drifting south of Sicily. But as he drew nearer, he saw people lying motionless in the vessel. "One sat up and made signs with his hands. The others seemed to be sleeping," the captain said. Only they weren't. Just 15 of the 28 people aboard the rickety boat were alive. Thrown bags of food, the survivors were too weak to open them. As protection against the elements, they were using corpses that they had been unable to toss overboard. The survivors, all apparently Somalis, said they had been adrift for 13 days after their engine broke down on the third day of a journey from Libya to the Italian island of Lampedusa. They said 50 or more corpses had been consigned to the sea before their boat was found. Few commentators missed the irony that this tragedy was discovered on the same day as a meeting in France of five European interior ministers to consider how to stop illegal immigrants. Nor is it the only, or the worst incident. In 1996 a launch with 283 would-be immigrants aboard sank in the Malta-Sicily channel--yet the disaster almost went unnoticed because of doubts about survivors' tales. This week, the trial began in Sicily of two men--a Lebanese and a Maltese of Pakistani origin--accused of mass murder. The trial hints at a determination by the Italians to tackle people trafficking; in the past, some traffickers are said to have bought protection. One of the defendants was arrested and released twice before being charged. The Italian government has pursued a twin-track approach. It wants to show illegal immigrants that it is not worth taking the risk; and it wants to make deals with governments of countries from which they set out. Official figures show that the number of illegal immigrants landing in Italy fell by 40% in the first half of this year. But the tragedy is a double setback. The Somalis left from Libya, a country with which Italy signed a deal in July; and they were not deterred by a law doubling the length of time that illegal entrants can be held after detention and imprisoning those caught re-entering. The reality is that illegal immigrants usually enter without papers and refuse to give their nationalities, to avoid deportation. Most "expulsions" from Italy, except to Albania, are notional; the expelled simply go underground, or to another European country, after their release from detention. Small wonder that hundreds--some say thousands--of other hopefuls are waiting on the Libyan coast for a chance to reach the promised land. Or to die in the attempt.
 * Deaths in the Mediterranean**


 * **[Illustration]** ||
 * Caption: Reaching the promised land ||

NYT October 2004 on immigration in Italy: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/05/international/europe/05asylum.html

2004 Article on another controversial illegal immigration incident in Italy: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/22/international/europe/22sici.html

2004 Article on Immigration in Italy - LA Times: http://articles.latimes.com/2004/oct/06/world/fg-deport6

MICHELE NORRIS, host: From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Michele Norris. ROBERT SIEGEL, host: And I'm Robert Siegel. Italy has made an abrupt change in its policy toward illegal immigrants. The Italian government has started sending hundreds of migrants back to Libya immediately after their arrival on Italian shores. The deportations have drawn criticism from humanitarian aid agencies, which accused Italy of ignoring the plight of people who might be fleeing war or persecution. NPR's Sylvia Poggioli visited Lampedusa, a small island in the Mediterranean, and sent this report. SYLVIA POGGIOLI reporting: Lampedusa is the southernmost inhabited vestige of Italy, a scraggly rock that's closer to Africa than to Sicily. In the space of one weekend earlier this month, nearly 2,000 illegal immigrants landed here. Italian officials call the latest migratory wave an assault on Italian shores, and decided to deport the new arrivals to Libya without giving them a chance to seek political asylum. (Soundbite of airplane) POGGIOLI: A large cargo is on the tarmac. We see scores of men, their hands tied in front of them, being led by policemen, some of them being pushed by the large number of policemen here to the back of the plane. There are four Hercules cargo planes on the tarmac here at Lampedusa Airport. (Soundbite of protest) Group of People: (Chanting in unison in Italian and Arabic) POGGIOLI: A small group of protestors, who took the 10-hour sea voyage to get here from Sicily, shout the word freedom in Italian and Arabic. (Soundbite of protest) Group of People: (Chanting in unison in Italian and Arabic) Mr. COLOJORO MICHIKEI (Deputy, Sicilian Regional Assembly): (Foreign language spoken) POGGIOLI: The protestors are joined by Colojoro Michikei(ph), a deputy to the Sicilian Regional Assembly who has not been given permission to talk to the deportees. He voices his indignation at a measure which he says shames Italy. Lampedusa depends on tourism, and the immigration crisis is not good for business. But even local people are not pleased by the way authorities are treating these migrants. Emmanuele Bilardello(ph) is a tour guide. Mr. EMMANUELE BILARDELLO (Tour Guide): (Through Translator) It saddens me to see them sent away with their hands tied. It's an awful thing to do. We Italians have a memory of immigration. We know what it was like. POGGIOLI: From a distance, one can see the migrants are all young men from sub-Saharan Africa as well as the Maghreb. Like thousands before them, they gathered in Libya, now the major illegal gateway to Europe. In exchange for 500 to $1,000, human traffickers stuff up to 150 people on rickety old boats or rubber dinghies. The crossing is a treacherous 150 miles. They're left on their own. The only instructions are, `Head north.' Giuseppe Permicciano(ph), captain of a large fishing boat, has often rescued migrant boats at sea. He says those are the lucky ones. Mr. GIUSEPPE PERMICCIANO (Fisherman): (Through Translator) What about the ones we never see, those who are shipwrecked and lost in storms? Several times, we've pulled up our nets and found them entangled with dead bodies. Nobody knows who they are, and nobody asks about them. POGGIOLI: Officials here in Lampedusa say they know of about 200 migrant deaths this year. Several of them have been buried in the local cemetery. The grave marker for these Africans? A rudimentary wooden cross and a number. No one knows exactly how many would-be migrants have died at sea throughout the Mediterranean. Just last week, 22 lost their lives when their ship sank off Tunisia. Italy's massive deportation is unprecedented in recent European history, and it has been severely criticized by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and by Amnesty International. Christopher Heine, director of Italy's Council for Refugees, says Italy is violating international treaties that bar the expulsion of people to countries where they could be at risk for life or liberty. Mr. CHRISTOPHER HEINE (Director, Council of Refugees, Italy): There is a very risk that from Libya, these persons are sent back to their home countries. In such a case, it would be a clear violation of the principle of Article 33 of the Geneva Conventions. POGGIOLI: The mounting flow of //illegal// migrants to //Italy// and other south European countries highlights the challenges EU countries face in trying to curb human smuggling and control the entry of those willing to risk their lives for a better life in Europe. With more than 1,000 miles of unguarded coastline, //Italy// is on the front line of the //immigration// crisis. But Rome says its European partners are unwilling to share the burden. Christopher Heine. Mr. HEINE: Unfortunately, we have been witnessing over the last three, four years a tendency of return to very national and legalistic thinking. The result is, unfortunately for the time being, that there is no really European response to these questions and no instruments for a common response. POGGIOLI: And EU members are now at odds over a proposal backed by Germany, Italy and Britain to build holding centers in North Africa, where migrants would be initially screened. France, Belgium and Sweden strongly oppose the idea of camps in countries not known for their human rights records. In any event, Europe is in a bind. It's estimated the EU will lose 6 percent of its population by midcentury, which means that large-scale immigration is an absolute necessity. Sylvia Poggioli, NPR News.
 * Profile: Italy deports hundreds of illegal immigrants to Libya without allowing them to seek political asylum****[|All Things Considered]**. Washington, D.C.: [|Oct 13, 2004]. pg. 1

EIU 2003 estimates on Italy:

c) 2003 The Economist Intelligence Unit Ltd. All rights reserved. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. No further reproduction is permitted.

Italy covers a total area of 301,333 sq km, excluding the Republic of San Marino and the Vatican. According to the October 2001 census, the population was 57m. After rapid growth in the 1960s despite substantial net emigration, the rate of population increase slowed sharply between the 1970s and 1980s. As the number of deaths exceeded the number of births between 1993 and 2001, population growth was achieved entirely as a result of immigration. The fertility rate is now among the lowest in the world, slight annual increases were recorded in 1997-2000. Life expectancy, which in 2001 was 76.6 years for men and 82.3 years for women, is one of the highest in the world. There are many medium-sized cities in Italy, 42 of which have a population of over 100,000. Significant migration from the south to the north, from rural areas to cities, and from Italy to other countries in western Europe took place in the first two decades after the second world war. In recent years Italy has experienced net immigration. In January 2001 there were 1.5m registered immigrants, a rise of 15.3% year on year, accounting for about 2.5% of the total population, considerably lower than in most other west European countries. The majority come from Morocco, Albania, Romania, Tunisia, former Yugoslavia, the Philippines and China. According to government estimates, up to 250,000 immigrants reside illegally in Italy. Although citizens of EU member states are free to live and to work in all other member states, owing to limited labour mobility only a small percentage of the non-national population comes from other EU countries. As in many other western European countries, //immigration// legislation has been the subject of intense political debate during the past decade. At the end of 1995 more stringent legislation on non-EU //immigration// was introduced to prepare //Italy// for participation in the Schengen agreement, which includes the removal of border controls between most EU countries. However, an influx of Kurdish immigrants claiming refugee status in early 1998 caused concern in other member states, forcing //Italy// to tighten //immigration// rules further. In July 1988 the government of Romano Prodi approved a legislative decree granting an amnesty to //illegal// immigrants who had arrived in the country before the end of the previous March, and annual quotas; the quota for 2002 was 49,000. The debate has intensified under the government of Silvio Berlusconi, which in September 2002 pushed through legislation known as the Bossi-Fini law aimed at stemming //immigration// flows, including applying stricter conditions for the granting and renewal of residence permits, finger printing and severer penalties for //illegal// immigrants and traffickers of migrants. However, as the influx of immigrants swelled in the summer months of 2003 the Lega Nord, which along with Alleanza Nazionale (AN) was the main force behind the more draconian measures, publicly called on the interior minister, Giuseppe Pisanu (Forza Italia), to resign because of delays in implementing them.
 * Italy: Population**


 * **[Table]** ||


 * **Population of regions, regional capitals and other main towns, 2000** ||
 * ('000; year-end) ||
 * Region ||  ||   || Capital ||   ||   || Other major towns ||   ||
 * North-centre ||  ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||
 * Piemonte || 4,290 ||  || Turin || 901 ||   || Novara || 102 ||
 * Valle d'Aosta || 120 ||  || Aosta || 35 ||   || - || - ||
 * Lombardia || 9,122 ||  || Milan || 1,301 ||   || Brescia || 195 ||
 * Trentino-Alto Adige || 943 ||  || Trento || 106 ||   || Bolzano || 97 ||
 * Veneto || 4,541 ||  || Venice || 275 ||   || Verona || 257 ||
 * Friuli Venezia-Giulia || 1,188 ||  || Trieste || 215 ||   || Udine || 95 ||
 * Liguria || 1,621 ||  || Genoa || 632 ||   || La Spezia || 95 ||
 * Emilia-Romagna || 4,009 ||  || Bologna || 380 ||   || Modena || 177 ||
 * Toscana || 3,548 ||  || Florence || 374 ||   || Prato || 174 ||
 * Umbria || 840 ||  || Perugia || 158 ||   || Terni || 108 ||
 * Lazio || 5,302 ||  || Rome || 2,656 ||   || Latina || 115 ||
 * Marche || 1,469 ||  || Ancona || 98 ||   || Pesaro || 89 ||
 * Mezzogiorno ||  ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||
 * Abruzzo || 1,281 ||  || L'Aquila || 70 ||   || Pescara || 115 ||
 * Molise || 327 ||  || Campobasso || 51 ||   || Isernia || 21 ||
 * Campania || 5,782 ||  || Naples || 1,000 ||   || Salerno || 142 ||
 * Puglia || 4,087 ||  || Bari || 332 ||   || Taranto || 207 ||
 * Basilicata || 605 ||  || Potenza || 70 ||   || Matera || 57 ||
 * Calabria || 2,043 ||  || Catanzaro || 97 ||   || Reggio Calabria || 179 ||
 * Sicilia || 5,077 ||  || Palermo || 679 ||   || Catania || 336 ||
 * Sardegna || 1,648 ||  || Cagliari || 163 ||   || Sassari || 121 ||
 * Source: Istituto Nazionale di Statistica. ||

In the early 1960s a total of 33% of the labour force was employed in agriculture. By 2002 this proportion was down to 5%. Since the beginning of the 1990s the number of people employed in manufacturing has fallen rapidly as a result of a process of industrial restructuring that is still under way, and was down to 31.8% of the labour force in 2002. As in most developed countries, the number of workers employed in the services sector has increased almost inexorably, accounting for 63.2% of the total workforce in 2002. According to the Istituto Nazionale di Statistica (Istat, the National Statistics Institute), employment in the "black economy" increased in the second half of 1990s, reaching an estimated 15.1% of the total workforce in 1999, although the proportion rose to 22.6% in the south. Following a steady rise from an average of 10.1% in 1993 to 11.8% in 1998 according to Istat, the unemployment rate has declined steadily to 9% in 2002, despite sluggish economic growth during most of the period. This positive trend is largely attributable to robust employment growth, helped by a gradual labour market reform since 1998, particularly the introduction of measures favouring the use of part-time, fixed term and other forms of flexible employment contracts. However, unemployment among young people is still substantially higher than the EU average, although it has fallen in the past few years. Of the labour force under 24 years, 27.2% were jobless in 2002, compared with 34% in 1997. Unemployment among men is slightly higher than the EU average, but declined from 9% in 1997 to 7% in 2002. Among women, the jobless rate was higher, at 12.2% in 2002, compared with 16.2% 1997. The participation rate has increased the past few years, rising from 57.9% in 1997 to 61% in 2002, but is still low compared with most other EU countries. The participation rate has increased mainly among women, rising from 43.5% in 1997 to 47.9% in 2002. Unemployment is largely concentrated in the south (see Regional trends), where the seasonally adjusted rate was 18.2% in April 2003, compared with 6.5% in the centre and 3.7% in the north. In 2001 total social expenditure, including that on health, was about 23% of GDP in 2002, up slightly from 22.5% in 2000-01. Although in terms of total resources deployed the welfare state is similar to other EU countries, owing to the heavy emphasis on pensions other benefits are considerably below the EU average. Whereas pension outlays in 2001 accounted for 69.3% of total welfare spending, the highest in the EU, healthcare expenditure amounted to 25.4%, slightly below the EU average. Basic unemployment benefits are meagre, at just 1.8% of total social expenditure, except for payments for those laid off temporarily and limited period payments of 80% of salary for those made redundant. In June 2002 the government launched proposals to expand unemployment benefits in exchange for support from moderate trade unions for labour market reform, including a symbolic easing of restrictions on dismissals. The pension system, based for the most part on the state pay-as-you-go scheme, has suffered from underfunding for more than a decade owing to the generosity of payments and changing demographics. In order to place the system on a more sustainable footing, a series of reforms have been adopted since 1992. The most substantial package of reforms, passed in 1995, is being implemented gradually. It contains several innovations, including: In 1997 the government introduced changes aimed at accelerating the implementation of earlier reforms. The minimum retirement age for workers with 35 years' service will be raised to 57 years by 2004, instead of 2008 as set out in the 1995 reform. However, because these reforms have not produced the expected savings and have only partly contained the tendency for outgoings to rise faster than contributions, pressure has increased on the government to introduce further changes. In December 2001 it announced a package of minor reform measures, including incentives to remain in work beyond the minimum retirement age, the use of some social insurance contributions to boost private pension schemes and a limited reduction of these contributions for new employees. These measures, which according to official estimates will not result in any substantial savings, had not yet become law by mid-July 2003. At around the same time, as the government prepared to announce the Documento di Programmazione Economico-Finanziaria (DPEF) 2004-07, containing its medium-term projections and policy objectives which provide the framework for the annual budget, several ministers, notably Mr Tremonti, hinted for the first time at the possibility that additional, more structural measures could be included in the DPEF. Various options were considered, particularly the introduction of disincentives to discourage or even to eliminate early retirement (pensioni di anzianita), a gradual rise in the minimum retirement age, and an extension of the contributions-based system introduced under the 1996 changes to workers whose pension entitlements are still based on salary (employees who had at that time more than 18 years' service were permitted to remain under the former salary-based system). However, the ruling coalition is unlikely to be able to reach agreement on one or more of these measures, and pension reform was therefore excluded from the DPEF when it was presented to parliament for approval. The Lega in particular opposes measures to cut spending on early retirement since its electoral strongholds are in the north where the concentration of early retirees is highest. Other members of the government are fearful of antagonising the trade unions, which although divided on labour market reform, are ready to oppose any structural changes to the current pension system. A general strike called by the trade unions to oppose pension reform was one of the main causes of the fall of Mr Berlusconi's first government in 1994.
 * Employment and social security**
 * Reform of the pension system**