measures to prevent violence against women migrants on arrival in hotspots and reception and domestic violence. These included centres. access to early provisional compensation Thousands of migrants continued to work in during criminal investigations for victims who exploitative conditions and to live in report the abuse and broader powers for the inadequate conditions in informal authorities to adopt surveillance and coercive settlements. They were also vulnerable to measures against perpetrators. racist and xenophobic attacks. In April, three SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS African workers driving near their homes in Rignano, Foggia, were shot at by people in Access to abortion continued to be another car. Two of them were injured, one obstructed due to a persistently high number seriously. The authorities opened an of doctors and other healthcare providers investigation. In October, following a visit, the refusing to provide abortion care. UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights noted that migrant workers employed LGBTI PEOPLE’S RIGHTS in agriculture and the garment and logistics In October, the Senate blocked a bill aimed at industries were trapped in a cycle of combatting discrimination and violence exploitation, debt bondage and human rights based on sex/gender, sexual orientation, abuses. gender identity and disability. The bill would In January, the Rome Civil Tribunal declared have extended to LGBTI people, women and illegitimate the expulsion of a Pakistani people with disabilities the same protections national to Slovenia and later to Croatia and available to victims of hate speech and hate Bosnia and Herzegovina. The judge found crimes based on racist, religious, ethnic and the practice of so-called “informal nationalist motives. readmissions”, carried out on the basis of a bilateral agreement with Slovenia, to be in REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS breach of national and international human By the end of the year, it was estimated that rights law. at least 300,000 migrants remained without Following the seizure of power by the documentation, making it hard for them to Taliban in Afghanistan, Italy evacuated 4,890 enjoy their rights and leaving them vulnerable Afghan nationals. to abuses. The regularization measure In April, the National Guarantor for the launched in 2020, aimed at ensuring people Rights of Persons Detained or Deprived of with irregular status could obtain residence Liberty published a damning report on his and work permits and access health services visits to 10 centres for repatriation between during the pandemic, achieved limited 2019 and 2020. The Guarantor criticized results; according to the latest data available legislative and regulatory gaps hindering the at the end of the year. As of August about protection of people and the gravely 60,000 people had obtained some inadequate detention conditions. documentation, about a quarter of the In May, Moussa Balde from Guinea killed 230,000 who applied, while tens of himself while detained in the repatriation thousands of applications remained pending. centre of Turin – the sixth death in such In May, a grassroots trade union called a centres since June 2019. The authorities national strike of migrant agricultural workers prioritized his expulsion procedure over his to protest about the inadequacy of the health, notwithstanding the fact that he had regularization measure. just survived a violent attack by three Italian Many people with an irregular status nationals. The isolation ward where he was remained unvaccinated, despite some held was closed in September on the authorities’ measures to reach out to them. In recommendation of the Guarantor. September, the government announced a plan to vaccinate, voluntarily, refugees and Amnesty International Report 2021/22 212