Goldston: "Italy has the most concentrated television ownership in Europe"

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's control over television broadcasting in Italy goes against European democratic standards, the Open Society Justice Initiative has argued in a brief filed on 11th March with the European Court of Human Rights.

The Italian broadcaster bringing the suit, Centro Europa 7 s.r.l., has been denied access to the airwaves for almost a decade.

"This case highlights the failure of successive Italian governments to deal with the twin problems of concentrated control and conflict of interest in broadcasting," said James A. Goldston, Executive Director of the Open Society Justice Initiative.

"The Italian situation is unacceptable for a democracy, and we are calling on the European Court to uphold the principles of media pluralism."

In 1999, Italian authorities granted Centro Europa 7 a license to operate a national television station but failed to offer it an actual operating frequency until December 2008. The frequency should have been relinquished under national anti-trust law by the Mediaset Group, Italy's dominant private broadcasting company. Mediaset operates the country's top three private television channels and is controlled by the Berlusconi family.

"Italy has the most concentrated television ownership in Europe," said Goldston. "This lack of diversity can stifle debate and limit the public's access to information and critical perspectives."

As head of government, Berlusconi also has indirect authority over Italy's state-owned public service broadcaster, Radiotelevisione Italiana (RAI). Together, Mediaset and RAI jointly control roughly 90 percent of audience and advertising revenue shares nationally. Centro Europa 7 claims the frequency it was finally granted in 2008 was squeezed out of RAI's existing frequencies and is unsuitable for operating a national television network across Italy.

In 2004, both the Council of Europe and the European Parliament condemned the open conflict of interest between Mr. Berlusconi's media interests and his political responsibilities when in government, yet the situation persists. The current government has been repeatedly accused of partisan interference with RAI's editorial choices.

The Justice Initiative intervened in this case as an independent third party acting in the public interest.

The Open Society Justice Initiative uses law to protect and empower people around the world. Through litigation, advocacy, research, and technical assistance, the Justice Initiative promotes human rights and builds legal capacity for open societies.

It is time to move from words to action, Ms. Murer tells Government

Ministry of Home Affairs has succeeded to drastically reduce the time required to process Permits of Stay, Home Affairs Minister Roberto Maroni has said.

Answering a Parliamentary question by the Democratic Party MPs on why the ministry has been taking unnecessarily long to issue the permits, Mr. Maroni said much progress has been made since last year.

In 2009, the ministry provided more human and material resources to the immigrations offices processing the permits, Mr. Maroni said.

Some 70 new scanners for fingerprinting have been supplied to the immigrations offices and staff members allowed to work overtime to clear the backlog, the minister said.

He revealed that last year, his ministry managed to issue 43% more permits than the previous year.

Mr. Maroni said he is aiming at reducing the time required to issue and renew permits, hoping to succeed in doing so within 20 days as required by the law.

The minister’s answer, however, didn’t convince Ms. Delia Murer, one of the MPs who presented the question. She said that Mr. Maroni answered their question with uncertainty, promising to reduce the time required to issue and renew permits, without explaining how he plans to do so.

Ms. Murer said there are people who have to wait for 15 months in order to be issued their permits and a backlog of more than 500,000 applications for Permits of Stay.

She observed that while immigrants waiting to be issued their permits are issued a receipt which is supposed to guarantee full respect of all their rights, in reality, this never happens.

Immigrants waiting to be issued permits have limited rights, many problems and live in a state of uncertainty, she said.

It is time to move from words to action, Ms. Murer told the Government.

By Stephen Ogongo

Save them from becoming "modern slaves"

Caritas Internationalis has appealed to governments and international communities to protect migrants working in homes as maids, caretakers and caregivers.

Most of these domestic workers are women, and are frequently trafficked and exploited. They rarely have any form of legal protection.

The abuse may be difficult to detect, as the workplace is within private homes.

Caritas has appealed for this category of workers to be granted the same legal rights as all other workers. "In addition to the risk of abuse, domestic workers have no social insurance, are subjected to long working hours, and are underpaid. Many are afraid to complain, as they fear revenge from employers and continue to live as 'modern slaves'," Caritas Internationalis said in a statement.

The International Labour Organization (ILO), the United Nations body responsible for the management of international workers, is studying a document to protect the rights of domestic workers, which will be presented in June.

Caritas has also called for special measures for migrant domestic workers so that their work permits or residence are not bound to their employer. The Organization is studying a mechanism by which housework should be regulated by the creation of employment agencies that act as intermediaries between employers and migrant workers. These agencies should ensure observance of labour standards and the quality of work.

Caritas has recognized an increase in demand for domestic workers, although in many countries there are still no legal migration channels, and has called on governments to create channels that allow for work in the legal form, for those who wish to leave their country origin.

Leader of Lega Nord party Umberto Bossi wants Italy’s borders to be closed to foreign workers. He said the country can’t allow in millions of immigrants when there is no work even for Italians.

Mr. Bossi holds that immigrants should be helped in their home countries.