Italy rejects UN recommendations 73% on LGBT+ rights, associations say: "Meloni is like Orban.".
Negative record: 12 “no”s out of 19 international requests submitted.
Rome, July 14, 2025 – Twelve clear "no" votes out of nineteen recommendations. Italy rejects 73% of the international requests on LGBT+ rights and earns itself unprecedented isolation. The verdict comes from the United Nations after the fourth cycle of the Universal Periodic Review, where for the first time in history, 19 countries have pointed the finger at Rome on the rights of LGBT+ people.
The Italian "Wall": Marriages, Adoptions, and Parental Recognition
Canada, France, Ireland, the United States, and Germany: this is the list of countries that have asked Italy to take a step forward on civil rights. Yet the Meloni government has said "no" to practically everything: equal marriage, same-sex adoptions, recognition of both same-sex parents, and protection of the rights of children of same-sex couples.
The justification? Civil unions "are largely equivalent to marriage." A response that infuriated Yuri Guaiana of the Radical Association Certain Rights: “It’s like saying that Serie B is equivalent to Serie A. We keep millions of citizens in a condition of legal inferiority and we even boast about it.”.
On parental recognition, requests from Canada, France, and Finland to recognize both parents in same-sex families were rejected. “It's a denial of reality,”, attacks Alessia Crocini of Famiglie Arcobaleno. “"Thousands of children in Italy have two mothers or two fathers, but the government prefers to pretend they don't exist. This is an institutional cruelty that condemns minors to a state of permanent legal uncertainty.".
Regarding adoptions by same-sex couples, Italy has rejected the recommendations of Portugal and the Netherlands, despite the Constitutional Court itself recently opening the door to international adoptions for singles, including homosexuals.“We have a jurisprudence that evolves and a government that regresses"”, continues Crocini. “The Constitutional Court recognizes that the best interests of the minor prevail over all else, but the executive prefers to maintain ideological discrimination.”
Intersex children: the most serious case
Malta's recommendation to protect intersex children from non-consensual surgery has been particularly harshly criticized. The government responded by citing guidelines from 2010, ignoring fifteen years of progress in medicine and human rights.
“We are talking about children who undergo genital mutilation to conform to binary standards”, explains Manuela Falzone of IntersexEsiste. “The government prefers to hide behind outdated documents rather than admit that the rights of intersex minors are systematically violated in Italy.”
Sex education: the taboo that endures
Denmark's recommendation for mandatory sex education in schools was also rejected. The government hides behind "school autonomy," perpetuating unacceptable regional disparities.
“In some cities you can find innovative projects for emotional education, in others you don't even know what it is,”, explains Gabriele Piazzoni of Arcigay. “This way we create first-class and second-class citizens right from school, fueling ignorance and prejudice.”
"Reparative therapies": banned everywhere, but allowed in Italy
Italy also said no to the ban on "reparative therapies"—practices condemned by all international medical associations. The reason? The National Health Service doesn't practice them. It's a shame they proliferate in private facilities and religious associations.
“It's like saying: 'No problem, the mafia doesn't work in public offices.'', jokes Piazzoni. “Meanwhile, thousands of young LGBT+ people are being subjected to practices that the World Health Organization defines as psychological torture.”
International embarrassment: "We've become like Orban's Hungary."“
The most striking finding is the comparison with other European countries. While France, Germany, Spain, and the Netherlands have progressively expanded rights, Italy finds itself in the same category as Hungary and Poland—the very countries facing EU infringement proceedings for violations of the rule of law.
“With these decisions we have aligned ourselves with the illiberal European regimes”, attacks Guyana. “When France, Germany, Canada, and the Netherlands—the world's most advanced democracies—ask you to respect human rights and you say 'no,' the problem isn't them. The problem is you.'
The seven "yeses" of facade
Italy accepted only seven recommendations: "combating discrimination," "promoting equality," and "combating hate speech.". “They only accepted recommendations that did not commit them to anything concrete.”, concludes Piazzoni. “It's the policy of 'let's pretend to do something and hope everyone will forget'.'.
The precedent: broken promises
This isn't the first time. In the previous UPR cycle, Italy had accepted several recommendations on LGBT+ rights that remained completely unimplemented. The associations are now announcing close monitoring of the implementation of even the few recommendations that were accepted.
The political fact is clear: with 73% of rejected recommendations on LGBT+ rights, Italy confirms its ever-increasing isolation in the European landscape, moving ever more dangerously close to illiberal models within and outside the EU.
TECHNICAL NOTE:
The recommendations are contained in the UPR Working Group report and in the official responses of the Italian government, which can be consulted here.
The video of the meeting for the adoption of the UPR results for Italy can be seen here.
In the UPR process, "accepting" a recommendation means making a concrete commitment to its implementation and reporting progress. "Taking note" on the other hand is equivalent to rejecting it without any commitment to implementation.
