The Italian State is failing in
its duty to ensure the safety of the inhabitants in Campania's
so-called 'Land of Fires' (Terra dei Fuochi), an area where
criminal organisations have dumped and burned trash and toxic
waste for decades, the European Court of Human Rights said in a
ruling on Thursday.
The Court said that Italy had "failed to deal with such a
serious situation
with the diligence and expedition required - despite having
known about the problem for many years - specifically in
assessing the problem, preventing its continuation, and
communicating to the affected public".
The court said that some 2.9 million people live in the Land of
Fires', where increased rates of cancer and pollution of
groundwater have been recorded.
It ruled that Italy had violated of Article 2 of the European
Convention on Human Rights regarding the right to life.
It said Italy two years to had to draw up a comprehensive
strategy to address the Terra dei Fuochi situation, set up an
independent monitoring mechanism, and establish a public
information platform.
It added that 35 pending applications regarding the Land of
Fires from around 4,700 applicants will be adjourned for this
period.
The European Court of Human Rights, in its ruling on the Land of
Fires, indicated that the authorities have two years to
implement a series of interventions considered by Strasbourg
necessary both to remedy all types of pollution that organized
crime, industries and companies, as well as individuals have
caused by dumping, burning and incinerating waste, and to inform
citizens about the situation and its evolution.
The judges indicated that the authorities must adopt a strategy
that addresses all the different types of pollution and in all
the areas affected, and that they must provide for the
coordination of interventions in order "to avoid unnecessary
fragmentation of responsibilities".
The strategy must be implemented by consulting civil society.
The plan must include all measures aimed at identifying the
areas affected by illegal waste disposal practices and assessing
the nature and extent of their contamination; managing any risks
revealed; investigating the health impacts of pollution and
combating illegal dumping, burial and incineration of waste.
Furthermore, the Court indicated, "it should contain clear
short-, medium- and long-term implementation timetables and the
identification of the necessary resources and their allocation
to the State bodies that will intervene".
In addition to having to take into account the evolution of the
situation, given that new landfills are discovered and waste
continues to be burned.
The Court then considers that the decontamination of the
affected areas is of primary and urgent importance and urges the
authorities to provide for the submission of periodic and
detailed reports on the actions undertaken and completed and
their effectiveness.
The ECHR also considers it necessary for Italy to create an
independent monitoring mechanism that examines what has been
done and compliance with the deadlines, and makes its
conclusions public.
Finally, the State must establish a public online platform that
collects, in an accessible and structured way, all relevant
information relating to the problem of the Land of Fires and the
measures adopted or planned to address it, with information on
their state of implementation.
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