Latest news with #diritti
South China Morning Post
08-06-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Italians vote on citizenship, labour protection referendums amid low turnout concerns
Italians vote over two days starting Sunday on referendums that would make it easier for children born in Italy to foreigners to obtain citizenship and on providing more job protections. But apparent low public awareness risks rendering the vote invalid if turnout is not high enough. Campaigners for the change in the citizenship law say it will help second-generation Italians born in the country to non-European Union parents better integrate into a culture they already see as theirs. Italian singer Ghali, who was born in Milan to Tunisian parents, urged people to vote in an online post, noting that the referendum risks failure if at least 50 per cent plus one of eligible voters do not turn out. 'I was born here, I always lived here, but I only received citizenship at the age of 18,'' Ghali said, urging a yes vote to reduce the residency requirement from 10 to five years. The new rules, if passed, could affect about 2.5 million foreign nationals who still struggle to be recognised as citizens. The measures were proposed by Italy's main union and left-wing opposition parties. Premier Giorgia Meloni has said she would show up at the polls but not cast a ballot – an action widely criticised by the left as antidemocratic, since it will not help reach the necessary threshold to make the vote valid.
The Guardian
08-06-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Activists fear low turnout threat to Italy referendum on easing citizenship rules
Italians are voting in a referendum on whether to make it easier for children born in Italy to foreigners to obtain citizenship, with activists saying apparently low public awareness risks rendering the vote invalid if turnout is not high enough. Campaigners for the change in the citizenship law say it will help Italians born in the country to non-European Union parents better integrate into a culture they already see as theirs. The Italian singer Ghali, who was born in Milan to Tunisian parents, urged people to vote in an online post, noting that the referendum, held over Sunday and Monday, risks failure unless at least 50% plus one of eligible voters turn out. 'I was born here, I always lived here, but I only received citizenship at the age of 18,' Ghali said, urging a yes vote to reduce the residency requirement from 10 to five years. The new rules, if passed, could affect about 2.5 million foreign nationals who still struggle to be recognised as citizens. The measures were proposed by Italy's main union and leftwing opposition parties. The prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, said she would show up at the polls but not cast a ballot, an action widely criticised by the left as antidemocratic, since it will not help reach the necessary threshold to make the vote valid. The citizenship referendum is one of several being held on issues including a move towards greater job protections. 'While some members of her ruling coalition have openly called for abstention, Meloni has opted for a more subtle approach,' said the analyst Wolfango Piccoli of the Teneo consultancy based in London. 'It's yet another example of her trademark fence-sitting.'' Supporters say this change would bring Italy's citizenship law in line with many other European countries, promoting greater social integration for long-term residents. It would also allow faster access to civil and political rights, such as the right to vote, eligibility for public employment and freedom of movement within the EU. Selam Tesfaye, an activist and campaigner with the Milan-based human rights group Il Cantiere said: 'The real drama is that neither people who will vote 'yes' nor those who intend to vote 'no' or abstain have an idea of what [an] ordeal children born from foreigners have to face in this country to obtain a residence permit.' 'Foreigners are also victims of blackmail, as they can't speak up against poor working conditions, exploitation and discrimination, due to the precariousness of the permit of stay,' she added. Activists and opposition parties also denounced the lack of public debate on the measures, accusing the governing rightwing coalition of trying to dampen interest in sensitive issues that directly affect immigrants and workers. Sign up to This is Europe The most pressing stories and debates for Europeans – from identity to economics to the environment after newsletter promotion In May, Italy's AGCOM communications authority lodged a complaint against RAI state television and other broadcasters for a lack of adequate and balanced coverage. Michelle Ngonmo, a cultural entrepreneur and advocate for diversity in the fashion industry, who has lived most of her life in Italy after moving as a child from Cameroon, said: 'This referendum is really about dignity and the right to belong, which is key for many people who were born here and spent most of their adult life contributing to Italian society. For them, a lack of citizenship is like an invisible wall.' 'You are good enough to work and pay taxes, but not to be fully recognised as Italian. This becomes a handicap for young generations, particularly in the creative field, creating frustration, exclusion and a big waste of potential,' she said.
CTV News
28-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
Sicily requires hospitals to hire doctors who perform abortions
Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni attends the European Political Community summit in Tirana, Albania, Friday, May 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Vlasov Sulaj) ROME - Sicily has passed a law requiring public hospitals to hire doctors who do not object to performing abortions, amid difficulties across Italy in accessing terminations. The measure was adopted by the assembly of the right-wing-led regional authority on Tuesday, in what its main proponent described as a 'historic moment'. Abortion has been legal in Italy since 1978 but doctors can refuse to perform the procedure by citing conscientious objections. In practice, this means abortion access can be difficult in many areas of the Catholic-majority country -- including in Sicily. Of the 55 hospitals on the island with a gynaecology department, abortion is performed in 47 percent of them, below the national average of 61 percent, according to Italy's health ministry. In 2022, 61 percent of all gynaecologists across Italy were conscientious objectors, rising to 81.5 percent in Sicily. The law change was proposed by Dario Safina, a member of the regional assembly for the centre-left Democratic Party, who hailed it as a 'historic moment'. 'Our goal is that the right to abortion is real, not just theoretical,' he wrote on Facebook. 'With this rule, we lay the foundation for a health system that is fairer, more efficient and respectful of the rights of all,' he added. Italy's far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni opposes abortion but has said she will not change the law. However, critics accuse her of trying to make it more complicated to obtain one.
