NGOs report reflects on inter-regional transfers and redistributions

Trieste, a border city between Italy and Slovenia, is a key hub along the Balkan route. In recent years, the city has become one of the main entry points into Italy for people on the move seeking to apply for international protection. The management of arrivals is characterised by a chronic shortage of reception places, prolonged waiting times for the registration of asylum applications at the Police Headquarters (Questura) and frequent transfers to other Italian regions.

Between February and September 2025, the 85% asylum seekers transferred from Trieste to other Italian regions were sent to first reception centres located in Sardinia as part of inter-regional relocation operations coordinated by the Ministry of the Interior.

"Fuori Rotta. An Investigation into the System of Abandonment and Isolation from Trieste to Sardinia" is the report produced by No Name Kitchen and ICS based on field monitoring conducted between Trieste and several Sardinian reception centers. Through firsthand accounts, field observations, and regulatory analysis, the research documents the effects of interregional transfers on asylum seekers and investigates the reception conditions found in the centers visited.

The evidence collected shows that these transfers, while formally justified by organisational and capacity-management needs, have significant human, social, and legal consequences. A comparative analysis of the conditions observed against the current legal framework reveals substantial discrepancies in the implementation of the reception standards established under Italian and European law. The transfers thus appear not merely as tools for the numerical management of migration flows, but as mechanisms that profoundly affect asylum seekers' effective enjoyment of their rights.

The report highlights critical issues related to the geographical isolation of facilities, access to healthcare services, legal information, the quality of material conditions, and the difficulties in building pathways to autonomy and inclusion.