ERRC Urges Italian Authorities to Go Ahead with Housing Project for Roma

09 June 2008

9 June, Budapest: On 6 June 2008, the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) sent a letter to Italian authorities in Mestre, Italy, urging them to go ahead with a housing project for Roma. The ERRC letter was sent following the suspension of the project in the wake of protests organised by members of the Northern League, a far right political party in Italy. In its letter, copied to the Italian President, Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, as well as the Council of Europe's Human Rights Commissioner and the UN Special Rapporteur on Housing, the ERRC expressed its support for the project, which may set a positive example for Italian authorities.

The full text of the letter is available at:

For further information, please contact Andi Dobrushi, ERRC Senior Staff Attorney, andi.dobrushi@errc.org, +36.1.413.2200 

Persons wishing to express similar concerns are urged to contact: 

Mr Massimo Cacciari
Mayor of Venezia 
Comune di Venezia 
Ca' Farsetti - S. Marco 4136 
Fax: +39 04 15200782 

Mr Carlo Morselli 
Questore 
Questura di Venezia 
Sestiere di Santa Croce, 500 - 30100 Venezia 
Fax: +390412715402-04 
email: urp.ve@poliziadistato.it 

Mr Giorgio Napolitano, President of the Republic of Italy 
Palazzo del Quirinale 
Piazza del Quirinale - 00187 Rome 
Fax +39 06 46993125 

Mr Silvio Berlusconi, President of the Council of Ministers 
Palazzo Chigi, Piazza Colonna 370 
00187 Rome, Italy 
Fax: +39 06 6779 5342/5326 

Mr Roberto Maroni, Italian Minister of Interior 
Ministry of the Interior, Palazzo Viminale 
00187 Rome, Italy 
Fax: +39 06 46549815 

Mr Thomas Hammarberg 
Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner 
Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights 
Council of Europe 
F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex, FRANCE 
Fax: +33 3 90215053 

Ms Raquel Rolnik 
UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing 
Office of the United Nations 
High Commissioner for Human Rights 
UNOG-OHCHR, 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland 
Fax: +41 22 9179006