National Office Against Racial Discrimination

Overview

UNAR is the Italian Office against Racial Discrimination. Operating since November 2004 with the purpose of promoting equal treatment and removing all forms of racial and ethnic discrimination,
UNAR monitors the impact of discrimination on men and women as well as explores the relationship with other forms of discrimination, such as those based on culture or religion.

Brief history

UNAR was created by a Legislative Decree, number 225 on 9 July 2003, as part of the European Directive 2000/43/CE, to promote the principle of equal treatment of individuals, independently of their race or ethnic origin. UNAR has become an institutional point of reference for the acknowledgement and understanding of the rights of immigrants as well as a catalyst for those individuals, associations and local agencies who work on a daily basis to stem racial discrimination. Since 2011 UNAR is the National Contact Point for social inclusion of Roma people. The office was founded in order to translate the new legislative ordinances and legal instruments adopted by Italy to protect the rights of immigrants and ethnic minorities through the delivery of concrete operational responses which meet the requirements of social inclusion for foreign communities to eliminate every form of harassment or discrimination, direct or indirect, based upon ethnicity, race, religion or culture. The interventions put in place by UNAR have gone beyond providing free legal assistance to the victims of discrimination. They identify and break down, wherever possible, the structural factors of discrimination. By altering the system it promotes collaboration, bringing together local and national levels, to promote a significant cultural change.

Governing laws and regulations

Mandate

Sectors covered

field_sectors_covered

Functions

• Undertaking ex-officio investigations
• Organising training, advising and capacity-building activities for particular stakeholders on meeting their obligations
• Organising awareness raising and communication activities
• Advising government on the development, adoption and amendment of law and policy
• Monitoring national law and policy from an equality perspective
• Carrying out specialist research on equality and non-discrimination
• Reporting discriminatory advertising
• Networking with relevant entities in the country and internationally
• Making legally binding decisions on claims of discrimination
• Conciliation or mediation

Fields and grounds

Other grounds

Nationality in the field of employment

Other mandates of the institution

Standalone dedicated national equality body

Institution

Management and Appointments

Management

Single headed equality body (led by director or ombudsman/commissioner)

1 Director General
2 Managers
A working group made up of 8 permanent staff members of public administrations, holding a management position and competent on specific issues (complaints, hate crimes, awareness raising) and 30 external experts working on specific issues, grounds of discrimination or projects (European Social Fund initiatives, Roma
issues, territorial antennas, communication).
Specific desk officers in outsourcing, offering help for specific areas (Roma complaints, discrimination cases on the grounds of disability, LGBT and age)

UNAR was set up within the Department for Equal Opportunities under the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, article 7 of Legislative Decree 215/2003 pursuant to European Council Directive 2000/43/EC. The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs is the competent political authority for the Department of Equal Opportunities, while the Ministry of Cooperation and Integration is the political reference for the work of UNAR as the National Contact Point on Roma.

Regional or Local offices

This institution does not have regional officies.

Accountability

National Parliament, National Ministry