(ANSA) - Milan, October 16 - Asylum seekers who land on Italy's coasts have a right to their dignity, President Sergio Mattarella said Friday during at the Expo world's fair.
    The president was on hand to celebrate the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations World Food Day.
    "They abandoned their homes and loved ones to escape persecution, famine and hunger - women and men who have a right to the safeguarding of their dignity". Almost 310,000 asylum seekers have reached Italy since 2014, he added. "Feeding the planet is inseparable from the word 'peace," Mattarella said, and handed the Milan Charter to visiting UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
    "We give you the Milan Charter, which is the legacy of Expo," he told Ban.
    "This is the fruit of a collective labor...signed by over a million people," Mattarella said.
    The Charter is an expression of global citizenship, as hunger can only be ended by global action, the president said.
    The Milan Charter was drafted to commit individuals, associations and companies that sign it to take responsibility through their actions and policies, while requesting governments and international institutions to implement rules and policies that ensure a fairer and more sustainable future for the planet.