71 / 131
69
Cases of discrimination in other areas
activity”. Police violence resulted in over 30 people injured who, according to the media and community acti-
vists, did not resist the police. Many small children were among those injured.
According to international human rights law, police use of force must be proportional, legitimate and necessary.
The Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms limit police use of force and firearms to situations when it
is inevitable and proportionate to achieve a legitimate objective, and this was certainly not the case.
Amnesty International and the European Roma Rights Centre are also concerned by the announcement made that
police are planning to continue carrying out similar interventions “especially in areas where there has been a rise
in crime”. The areas listed in the media as possible targets for future police intervention are well-known Roma
settlements.
28.
Italy.
Other.
Forced evictions and the transfer of families to special camps for Roma.
On 12 September 2013,
about 35 Roma families were evicted from their makeshift settlement on the Via Salviati in Roma and taken to a
segregated camp against their will. Amnesty Italy, Associazione 21 Luglio and the European Roma Rights Centre
(ERRC) all witnessed the operation and are concerned because the police action failed to uphold human rights
standards or procedural guarantees.
This action was the result of Mayor Marino’s instructions in the 5 August 2013 order to immediately transfer all
people and their belongings to the large official camp called Castel Romano. This is the second time that Roma
have been evicted from Via Salviati which is only a few kilometres away from the centre of Rome. The Roma
community sent an open letter to Mayor Marino clearly stating that they do not want to live in a ghetto. Castel
Romano is a mega-camp exclusively for Roma and is about 25 kilometres outside the city. Living is this isolated
area makes it extremely hard for Roma to access employment or education thus making social inclusion enor-
mously difficult.
On numerous occasions the Via Salviati Roma community requested a meeting with the authorities to discuss
and try to change the disastrous policies implemented by the preceding authorities. In the open letter to the
mayor, they asked him to implement effective inclusion policies. According to information received from the
NGOs, the authorities paid no heed to the request.
Human rights groups also criticised the eviction claiming that it failed to comply with procedural standards and
guarantees laid down in international regulations. There was no consultation with the Roma families affected and
no suitable alternative living arrangement foreseen. The special camps for Roma cannot be considered a suitable
alternative form of housing. It has been proven that living in settlements such as these hinders one’s access to
essential social and economic rights and has a very negative impact on the lives of their inhabitants which is a
violation of the most basic human rights.