Hearing on Roma Discrimination in Italy Marks Progress, but Crisis Unresolved

MILAN, Italy—Today’s hearing on the case of Omerovic and Others v. Italy, filed in cooperation with the Open Society Justice Initiative, marks the first time testimony has been presented in court to challenge Italy’s Nomad Emergency Decree for unfairly targeting Roma communities.

Today’s witness described how the emergency decree was implemented, focusing on the Roma census. The judge will allow time for the submission of additional material and has scheduled a follow-up hearing for November 9.

“Conducting a census that singles out Roma—including children—for fingerprinting, photography, and harassment is a racist policy that has no place in modern Europe,” said James A. Goldston, executive director of the Open Society Justice Initiative. “The Italian courts need to confront such cases of obvious abuse.”

The Civil Tribunal of Milan could refer the case to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, where France may soon be challenged for its treatment of Roma as well. If the case is not referred and local remedies are ultimately exhausted, the Justice Initiative plans to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights.

The case is named for Mujo Omerovic—a Holocaust survivor—and his wife, Nevresa, who brought legal action in Milan in 2008 following a forced census of their community. The couple has since passed away, leaving nine other claimants to take the case forward. Their camp, Triboniano, is an authorized settlement where 600 Roma have lived for decades.

Implementation of the 2008 Nomad Emergency Decree and the 2009 Security Package has resulted in the persecution of Roma and Sinti populations throughout Italy. Between June and October 2008, Italian police and soldiers forcibly entered 167 Roma settlements to gather personal information about the inhabitants, creating a database with information only on Roma. After the census, restrictions were placed on access to Roma camps, and forced evictions began.

After two full years of “emergency,” there have been no measures to relocate, protect, or provide basic services to the evicted communities as had been promised in the original decree. Instead, families have been forced from their homes and children have been prevented from continuing school. While some inhabitants of the Roma camps come from third or other EU countries, at least half of the Roma affected by these policies are Italian citizens whose families have lived in Italy for generations.