Position paper-MUNUCCLE 2022

Committee : UNHCR (United Nation High Commissioner for

Refugees)
Subject/ Issue: Face aux flux migratoires, en finir avec la lâcheté
des États !

Author: The republic of Italy

Introduction
In modern times, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of migrants that have arrived in
Italy. Examples include successive waves of immigration, such as the one from eastern Europe in the
90s and the early 2000s and a much bigger flow of people from Africa and the Middle East in more
recent times. Migrants and asylum-seekers must complete arduous journeys that are usually
expensive and that don’t guarantee safe passage to the desired country and in many cases, can
prove fatal. Not only that, but once arrived, there is a chance that they will not integrate into the
society or that they won’t find a stable source of income.

The European Union and its member states, including Italy, have always placed a very high value on
fundamental human rights. This is highlighted by the existence of legislation that aims to enshrine the
protection of human rights into the core mission of the European union. EU Member States have a
shared responsibility to welcome asylum seekers in a manner that ensures that they are treated fairly
and uniformly across the board.

Current policies

The Italian national statistical agency estimated stated that in 2020, around 5 million foreign residents
were living in Italy. Also, around 6.2 million people living in Italy have an immigration background (this
accounts for about 10.4 percent of the total Italian population). These numbers do not however
include the number of illegal immigrants, which is estimated to be around 670,000. It must also be
noted that the distribution of foreign residents is unequal; around 61 percent of foreign residents lived
in Northern Italy (a wealthier part of Italy) while 24 percent lived in central Italy and 14.7 percent live in
Southern and Insular Italy.

The number of immigrants that have come into Italy have increased at a fast pace in the past few
years due to political instability in regions in Africa and the Middle East. Due to its proximity to Africa
Italy is a main gateway into the EU for those immigrants. As member of the European Union, Italy
respects legislation regarding this issue. The policies of the Italian state are focused on integrating
immigrants within local society no matter their cultural, religious, or national background. Italy has one
of the fastest processing procedures when it comes to issuing refugee visas. Italy has also been one
of the most involved countries in the EU regarding assistance to African countries that are confronted
with massive emigration phenomena such as Libya or Sub-Saharan countries.

Proposed solutions

The delegation of Italy acknowledges the complexity and sensitivity of the issue at hand, especially
when taking into consideration the fact that human lives are at stake. The delegation of Italy would like
to propose several solutions that will address on a solid basis the challenge all of us are confronted
with.

The Italian government together with its like-minded partners is willing and able to cooperate with
African countries for the betterment of their own countries which will ensure that the people will have
valid reasons to live their life without risking their lives and expending time, energy and money to
cross borders. The goal of this is not to restrict people’s possibility of emigrating to Italy or other EU
countries but instead to give people the opportunity to pursue the life they desire in their own country,
close to their families and compatriots. This will be done by the initiative of Italy and any other country
that Is willing to offer their assistance in the form of additional funding, human resources, and others.
This effort will also focus on addressing the current issue of smugglers, which is essential due to
multiple reasons. Smugglers charge exorbitant prices and make fake promises to vulnerable
individuals. The journey that will supposedly take them to a better place has appalling conditions
(people crammed into one vessel, lack of food, water etc.) alongside the chance that the people
onboard will drown.

This will also mean focusing on preventing smugglers from carrying out their activities and
collaborating with other countries to enforce harsh measures. Italy also seeks to better the
international convention on refugees by identifying any weak spots and improving them.