Territorial commission
Territorial commission is the competent body for granting International Protection. Commission will hear asylum seeker’s interview and will decide on the matter. Commission consists of four members: the president (Prefettura Official), State Police Official, district or province or area representative and UNHCR representative. Each member has voting right and the decision is taken by majority. TC can consult with specialists on health, cultural, religious, gender and minor/related aspects. Indeed, minor’s interview has to be conducted along with someone with a specific training. In case of unaccompanied minor, a parent or tutor has to be there.
Theoretically, interview should take place within 30 days from submission of the application, by law. Commission should decide within three days. Time between submission of the application and interview in Commission and outcome can vary significantly. Sometimes, interview can be settled beyond a year after the submission day.
During the interview, Commission will ask some questions about the asylum seekers, such as his family, his journey to come in Italy, documents that he has, reasons that make him leave his country and reasons for not coming back.
Inside Progetto Itaca, asylum seekers are supported by reception facilities’ operators and specialists in order to prepare for Commission interview. In this way, they can be able to tell their stories clearly and precisely in front of commissioners. Due to long waiting times, seekers are helped in organizing their stories becoming able to be interviewed.
Commission can decide on:
- granting refugee status;
- not granting refugee status, but subsidiary protection. This is the case if Commission thinks that would face a real risk of suffering serious harm if s/he return to the country of origin;
- not recognising refugee status, but thinking that severe humanitarian reasons have to be considered. Therefore, Commission can ask Questura to grant a resident permit for humanitarian reasons;
- not granting refugee status and rejecting the application;
- rejecting application because manifestly unfounded. This is the case when Commission considers the application obviously groundless for granting international protection.
*numeric and statistical data from National Commission for asylum law, edited by Civil Liberties and Immigration department
Refugee status
Learn on infographic!It is granted for people who have a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group.
Refugee has the sime rights as an Italian citizen apart from voting right.
Subsidiary Protection
Learn on infographic!It is a protection for who do not qualify as refugees. but would face a real risk of suffering serious harm if s/he return to the country of origin. Serious harm is considered:
- death penalty or execution;
- torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment of an applicant in the country of origin;
- serious and individual threat to a civilian’s life or person by reasons of indiscriminate violence in situations of international or internal armed conflict.
NB Subsidiary protection became necessary in order to fulfil the need for protection not from individual persecution fear (Refugee status, 1951 Geneva Convention). So, this protection is a new kind of “additional and supplementary” international protection. Therefore, subsidiary protection is not a second-class protection. Indeed, it just concerns different situation from individual persecution.
Humanitarian Protection
Learn on infographic!It is granted for who cannot be considered a refugee, but still cannot come back to his country of origin for severe reasons, particularly humanitarian ones. For instance, in case of conflicts, natural disasters or other hard events in Non-European countries, it can be granted. Besides, victims of exploitation can obtain this protection.
Revocation and termination of the positive status
operated by National Commission
Termination of protection can be decided when foreigners:
- used again the protection of their country of origin;
- after losing their citizenship, decided to voluntarily regain it;
- gained Italian citizenship and, so, having the Italian protection;
- voluntarily came back permanently to their country of origin;
- can use again his own country protection consequently to lacking in circumstances for the previous protection. Obviously, this is the case only if this change in circumstances is not temporary.
Revocation of status can be decided when it is established that:
- risk conditions for security of the State exist;
- wrong or false facts were presented; or in the case of omissions of peculiarities during the international protection recognition process.