Overview

Over 4,500 refugees and migrants died or disappeared in the central Mediterranean trying to reach Italy, the highest number of victims on record, while over 181,000 reached Italy. The implementation by Italian authorities of the EU “hotspot approach” to identify and separate refugees from alleged irregular migrants resulted in cases of excessive use of force, arbitrary detention, and collective expulsions. Roma continued to suffer discrimination in access to housing, with thousands living in segregated camps and hundreds subjected to forced evictions. Parliament passed legislation establishing civil unions for same-sex couples. Italy continued to fail to introduce the crime of torture in its criminal code.

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