Italy to skip UN migration conference in Morocco - Deputy Prime Minister

ROME, 05 Dec. - (ANA)  - Italian officials stated they would not take part in next month’s conference in Morocco where the United Nations to make a case for the first-ever global deal on migration.

'The Italian government will not go to Marrakesh and will not sign the deal because this issue is too important to be decided by the government alone', Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini told the lower house of parliament on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte did not rule out signing the controversial Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, but stressed the parliament had the final say.

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'The government will not participate in Marrakesh, reserving the option to adopt the document, or not, only when parliament has expressed its opinion', Conte was quoted as saying by the ANSA news agency.

The non-binding pact, which seeks to cover all dimensions of international migration, has been losing support over concerns it will affect national migration policies. The United States, Austria, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Israel, Switzerland, and Australia said they would not go.

Italy and Greece have been especially hard hit by the EU refugee crisis, as they often serve as the arrival points for migrants and refugees. More than 16,000 migrants have been moved from Greece and Italy to other EU countries over the past few years.

UN experts expressed "grave" concern on Wednesday over the Italian government’s policy on migration and urged to reverse it, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said.

"Italy’s proposed tightening of immigration rules will have a serious impact on migrants’ lives, and are of grave concern, UN human rights experts said today, urging the Government to reverse course … The government must adhere to the values enshrined in the Italian constitution, and the international commitments it signed up to," the statement read.

The UN experts underlined that the new government’s policy on immigration "fuels" a climate of hatred in Italy in regards to migrants and other ethnic minorities as well as those supporting these groups.

"Perpetrators of hate crimes must be held accountable and justice provided to the victims. Italian authorities should implement the national and relevant European legal framework and provide the needed responses to hate crime and the use of hate speech," the experts added.  - (ANA) -

AB/ANA/05 December 2018 - - -