Terra dei Fuochi: European Human Rights Court condemns Italy

Brussels – The lives of residents of the “Terra dei Fuochi” (Land of Fires) are at risk, and Italian authorities, while acknowledging the problem, are doing nothing to protect citizens from the damage produced by waste illegally buried for decades between the provinces of Caserta and Naples.

This was the verdict of the European Court of Human Rights, which has today condemned Italy, ordering it to implement immediate measures to address environmental damage in the area.

According to the Court’s findings, “the Government did not prove that Italian authorities addressed the problem of the Terra dei Fuochi with the diligence warranted by the seriousness of the situation” and “that they did not prove to have done all that was required of it to protect the applicant’s lives.” There has thus been “a violation” of Articles 2 and 8 of the Convention on the Protection of Human Rights.

The issue had been brought before the Court by several associations and a group of residents of the area, who were direct or indirect victims of the fumes, which were said to have caused a significant increase in cancer rates and groundwater pollution.