Migrant-management being optimised-govt

(ANSA) - Rome, December 18 - The interior ministry on Tuesday released a report defending how asylum-seekers are being managed in Italy following the approval of government's migration-and-security decree. The report responded to criticism of the package, saying that "protection has not changed for those who have fled because they are persecuted or discriminated against, for those who risk the death sentence or torture, for those who risk their lives in armed conflicts in their homelands".
    Among the aspects of Interior Minister Matteo Salvini's package that have come under fire are limitations on access to the SPRAR centres that provide accomodation and assistance to migrants.
    The ministry said the SPRAR system has not been dismantled, but remains useful and had been renamed SIPROIMI (system of protection for those with international protection status and unaccompanied foreign minors). It said the system was financing 877 projects, with places for 35,881, with the involvement of 1,825 councils and reception provided for 27,000 people.