Check against delivery Italian intervention Addressing the root-causes of discrimination in the administration of justice 25 November 2015 Mr. Chairman, We welcome the increasing attention paid to the root-causes of discrimination in the administration of justice. Italy pays great attention to the rights of minorities, that are granted a constitutional protection. According to Art. 3 of the Italian Constitution "All citizens have equal social dignity and are equal before the law, without distinction of sex, race, language, religion, political opinion, personal and social conditions". According to Art. 6: "The Republic protects linguistic minorities by appropriate measures". Both these articles are among the Fundamental Principles upon which our Constitution is built. On these bases, Act nb. 482/1999 specifically envisages the protection of historical linguistic minorities providing, inter alia, for the establishment of a National Fund for the Protection of Linguistic Minorities and allowing the use of the protected language, both orally and in writing, in Public Administration Offices. As per its own tradition, Italy moreover attaches the utmost importance to Human Rights Education and Training. In this regard, we would like to recall the role of academia as well as of key national bodies, such as the National Office Against Racial Discrimination and the Observatory Against Discriminatory Acts. These institutions are working hard to fight against any form of discrimination, including by training law enforcement agencies and the key sectors of the Public Administration. We particularly welcome the fact that some of the draft recommendations before us today are addressed also to non-State actors, including CSOs and media professionals. We do believe that mass media and an independent administration of justice play an essential role to counter, prevent and eradicate multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination in all sectors. I thank you.