GENEVA (Sputnik) – The United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) will visit Italy from September 16 to 22 to assess the conditions of detention of undocumented migrants, Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said in a press release on Monday.
According to Italian law, undocumented migrants arriving in the country are transferred to detention centers.
The UN delegation will visit several detention facilities and conduct interviews with "persons deprived of their liberty," according to the press release. The delegates will also meet government officials and international organizations.
"Given the current migration crisis, this visit is extremely timely. We look forward to engaging collaboratively with the Italian authorities and supporting their efforts to strengthen the protection of migrants. We will also assist the authorities to fully implement their treaty obligations, including through the establishment of a national independent body to monitor places of detention," Hans-Jorg Bannwart, who will head the delegation, was quoted as saying in the press release.
Europe is struggling with a large-scale refugee crisis, as hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers from crisis-torn countries in Africa and the Middle East seek a safe haven in EU member states.
The International Organization for Migration estimates that over 430,000 refugees, predominantly from Syria and Afghanistan, have come ashore in Europe since the start of 2015.
