Vita gazette – Ignoring the racist policies of countries such as America, England, France and Germany, the UN directed its warning arrows to Italy, the second country of immigrants. The United Nations (UN) called Italy to “do more” to combat racism and discrimination in society and sports competitions.

The written statement made by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) included the Committee’s findings on Italy and Croatia. The results released Thursday were part of the committee’s periodic look at efforts by governments of UN member states to crack down on racial hatred and discrimination. In this round, other countries under the panel’s scrutiny were Croatia, Namibia, Senegal, Turkmenistan and Uruguay.

UN-backed human rights experts focusing on racial discrimination urged Italy’s government to do more to eliminate violence, hate speech, stigmatisation and harassment against Africans and people of African descent. They expressed concern that no legal cases have been brought to punish fans and others for racist acts at sports events.

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, a panel of independent experts that works with the UN’s human rights office, also said it regrets that Italy’s government hasn’t provided it with an updated number of complaints and cases of racial discrimination that have been investigated and prosecuted, among other concerns.

The committee noted Italy had adopted laws and other measures to fight racial discrimination, including hate speech in sports. But it said it was “concerned that cases of racist acts during sports events, including physical and verbal attacks against athletes of African descent, continue” in Italy and “legal proceedings to punish those responsible are not initiated.”

Italy has also been a significant thoroughfare and destination for Africans and other migrants who make dangerous crossings of the Mediterranean to reach Europe, where peace and economic opportunity may be more excellent than in their home countries.

The panel urged Italian authorities to do more to protect the human rights of migrants, asylum-seekers, and ethnic minorities. It expressed concern about the “persistent and increasing use and normalisation of racist hate speech” against ethnic groups in the media and on the internet.