US embassy cable - 04ROME4430

UNCLAS ROME 004430 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, IT, HUMAN RIGHTS 
SUBJECT: ITALY CREATES NEW OFFICE TO COMBAT RACIAL 
DISCRIMINATION 
 
 
 1.  (U)  At a well-attended press conference November 16, 
Stefania Prestigiacomo, Minister for Equal Opportunity, 
announced the creation of a new office in her ministry to 
combat racial and ethnic discrimination in Italy.  The 
Ufficio Nazionale Antidiscriminazioni Razziali (UNAR), which 
was founded in accordance with EU Directive 2000/43, will 
officially begin activities on December 10.  Under the 
slogans "diversity and equality" and "united in our 
diversity" UNAR's goals are to prevent discrimination and 
promote equal opportunity through education projects in the 
schools, mass media campaigns and victims' assistance 
programs.  A contact center will field questions about 
discrimination and provide judicial assistance for victims in 
the private sector.  A phone line available in eight 
languages, including Arabic, Romanian and Chinese, will 
provide information on anti-discrimination laws and 
assistance available at the new UNAR office.  The office will 
also monitor incidents of racial discrimination and public 
attitudes. 
 
2.  (U) Interestingly, speakers included incidents of 
prejudice (both direct and indirect, ranging from physical 
attacks to swastika graffiti) against Muslims and Jews as 
examples of racial/ethnic discrimination.  Muslims, Jews and 
"extracommunitari" (foreign workers) are considered the three 
"cultural minorities" against whom most discrimination is 
directed.  It is not clear how UNAR will collect statistics 
on racial/ethnic prejudice given the legal privacy 
protections that prevent requesting information about an 
individual's ethnic/racial background. 
 
3.  (SBU)  In highlighting creation of UNAR, the Government 
clearly wanted to present a high-level positive focus on 
immigration, probably to help counter the negative press 
Italy has received about its recent actions to quickly return 
to Libya illegal immigrants arriving on Sicily's shores. 
Speakers at the press conference included Undersecretary of 
State Gianni Letta and Mayor of Rome (and possibly the next 
leader of the Center-Left) Walter Veltroni.  In both the 
speeches and the brochure describing UNAR activities, the 
focus was on promoting integration of Italy's immigrant 
community.  After decades of Italian emigration, Italy now is 
faced with an increasing number of both legal (2.5 million) 
and illegal (300,000 plus) immigrants, who arrived first from 
Eastern Europe after the collapse of communism, and now 
increasingly from Africa and China. 
 
4.  (SBU)  Historically, Italians have strongly supported the 
concepts of anti-discrimination and equal opportunity. For 
example, many newspapers ran editorials decrying the alleged 
racism behind the recent Amsterdam murder of the filmmaker 
who criticized Islamic treatment of women.  But a recent 
survey indicated there are growing levels of ethnic 
racial/ethnic intolerance, especially in northern Italian 
cities and among young people.  At the same time, one in four 
Italians, according to this same survey, believe that the 
presence of different cultures enriches the country.  The 
mixture of attitudes reflects the current state of public 
ambivalence on the issue of immigration.  Despite strong 
support for human rights and the need for foreign workers, 
Italians are beginning to question how they can assimilate a 
growing immigrant population that does not share Italy's 
racial/ethnic background or Catholic traditions.  The 
creation of the new UNAR office indicates the Government 
wants the issue resolved positively through better 
integration of immigrants into Italian society. 
 
SEMBLER 
 
 
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 2004ROME04430 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED