Comment: 'HotNews.ro' reports that the Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, while having a meeting with the Romanian president Traian Basescu, claimed that fingerprinting in Italy will ensure and protect the right of minors within the italian borders. According to Berlusconi, this process will prevent parents from sending their children in the streets for begging since they will have identity papers and, therefore, be able to get an education by attending public school.

HotNews.ro full text

Comment: 'The Independent' reports that the British Home Office funded a research asking for the views of the public about the DNA database that now has the genetic records of over four million people in the UK who have had dealings with the police, even if later found innocent. For an earlier coverage on the same subject, please see here.

The public believed samples provided by the innocent should be destroyed and those of people convicted of lesser offences removed after a few years while an independent organization should manage the database itself. The panel members unanimously supported a nationwide publicity campaign to raise awareness of the database, using the internet, posters, leaflets and school visits. The research findings were presented to ministers for an eventual decision on how this database should be managed. The database contains the records of 100,000 children.

The Independent full text

Comment: The Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS launched its '2008 Report on the global AIDS epidemic' in New York, last week. According to Peter Piot’s words, the Executive Director of UNAIDS "this is the most positive report in the past 14 years." Since the last report in 2006, more had been accomplished in the fight against AIDS than in the last two decades, mostly due to prevention efforts and treatment.

Though, in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the number of people who are living with HIV rose to 1,5 million in 2007. The report estimates that 110'000 people in the region became infected with HIV in 2007 and 58'000 died of AIDS. The figures are more worrying in Ukraine and in Russia, since almost 90% of those infected in the region live in both countries. In Ukraine, annual new HIV diagnoses have more than doubled since 2001 and the annual number of people being infected has increased dramatically in Moldova. The main modes of HIV transmission in the region remains concentrated largely among injecting drug users (62%). Eventually, the report stresses the need for Eastern European governments to ensure equal access policies to women, since most of programs are designed for men.(You can find the Report in our Document Library).

UN full text

Comment: According to the press release of the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs there was an expert interministerial working meeting on July 22nd, within which a series of approaches regarding protection of rights of the Romanian citizens in Italy.

The working group agreed that the Romanian authorities should request additional information in order to prevent any possibility of abuse in case such a measure is passed. In addition, The Ministry of Education, Research and Youth will continue to provide Romanian language teachers to Italy. Last year, almost 400 children in Italy had access to these courses, and for the next study year it is estimated that there will be about five times more beneficiaries of these courses.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs full text