ASGI

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The OUT OF LIMBO project aims to change the policies, regulations, enforcement of the law and practices that perpetuate the lack of a legal status by undocumented and stateless migrants of Roma origin in Italy, including both migrants born abroad and persons born in Italy to parents originating from the Balkans.

The project has a national dimension and a local one, focusing particularly on the cities of Rome, Milan and Naples, where the largest Roma communities originating from the Balkans live and where extremely discriminatory policies were enforced in the last years(1).

1. To strengthen the legal competences and advocacy capacity of Roma and non Roma practitioners working with Roma communities, in particular in Rome, Milan and Naples, as well as their links with expert lawyers, so that they can play the role of “community-based paralegals” and promote the access of undocumented and stateless Roma persons to a legal status, assisting them in individual documentation cases, advocating on local authorities and promoting community education activities.

2. To build a national network of Roma and non Roma “community-based paralegals” engaged in promoting undocumented and stateless Roma migrants’ access to a legal status in different Italian cities (particularly in Rome, Milan and Naples), so that they can share their experiences and good practices, they can be more legitimated in their work at local level and strenghten their advocacy capacity at national level.

3. To promote strategic litigations concerning undocumented and stateless Roma migrants’ access to a legal status, identifying the cases fom those reported by the paralegals, in order to produce changes in the policies, regulations and legislation concerning statelessness, the acquisition of Italian citizenship and the issue of a residence permit on humanitarian grounds and to strenghten the paralegals‘ confidence that their action can produce change.

4. To promote evidence-based advocacy, documenting the obstacles that prevent undocumented and stateless Roma migrants from getting a legal status and the possible solutions to address these obstacles, from the stories and experiences of the cases supported by paralegals and lawyers.

5. To increase the visibility on traditional and social media of the rights violations that undocumented and stateless Roma people suffer and the possible solutions, in order to raise policy makers and public opinion's awareness on the issue and promote the consensus on the need for change.

6. To promote practices by local authorities more favourable to the access of undocumented and stateless Roma persons to a legal status, in Rome, Milan and Naples, in particular:

- Municipalities recognizing the Italian citizenship to youth born in Italy (Law n. 91/92, art. 4, par. 2) even in cases where they lacked a residence permit or a registered residence for a significant period between their birth and the age of 18;

- Police local authorities issuing a residence permit on humanitarian grounds (D.lgs. 286/98, art. 5, par. 6; Dpr 394/99, art. 11) to those that cannot be returned to the country of origin, according to the jurisprucende on art. 8 ECHR, irrespective of their criminal records and the lack of passport;

- Juvenile Courts authorizing parents to stay in Italy, in the best interests of the child (D.lgs. 286/98, art. 31, par. 3) in a less restrictive way, according to the Supreme Court’s decisions (e.g. even in cases where the child has not health problems and irrespective of their criminal records).

7. To promote legislation reforms and national policies more favourable to the access of undocumented and stateless Roma persons to a legal status, in particular: 

- a circular by the Ministry of Interior-Department Public Security instructing Police local authorities to issue a residence permit on humanitarian grounds to those that cannot be returned to the country of origin, according to the jurisprucende on art. 8 ECHR (D.lgs. 286/98, art. 5, par. 6; Dpr 394/99, art. 11);

- policy by the Ministry of Interior-Department Civil Liberties to recognize the stateless status under the administrative procedure irrespective of the legal residence of the applicant (Dpr 572/93, art. 17);

- application, by the Ministry of Interior-Department Civil Liberties and the Court of Rome, of criteria for the determination of the stateless status consistent with UNHCR Guidelines; 

- reforms of the judicial procedure for the recognition of the stateless status and the law on citizenship introducing the acquistion jure soli (Law n. 91/92, art. 1), or at least a debate on these reforms.

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(1)  In 2009, the State of Emergency related to nomad communities was declared in Lazio, Lombardia and Campania, and thousands of evictions were executed by local authorities in Rome and Milan.