Introduced within the Human Rights Council in Geneva by United Nations General Assembly Resolution 60/251 of March 2006, the Universal Periodic Review is a review procedure on the overall human rights situation in all UN Member States, on a periodical basis of approximately four and a half years (see UPR documentation for each Member State).
Italy was examined in 2010, 2014 and 2019, within the first three UPR cycles by the UN Human Rights Council.
With reference to the recommendations received and accepted in the framework of the Third UPR Cycle in 2019, CIDU elaborated, through a dedicated interministerial exercise, the Mid-Term Report – Plan for the Implementation of Recommendations (PIR). On 4 November 2021, the aforementioned document was sent to the United Nations, as a voluntary update on the recommendations received and accepted during the Third UPR Cycle, accompanied by an Annex dedicated to good practices in the field of human rights developed at regional and local level. This approach, in particular the overview of regional and local good practices reported in the aforementioned Annex, was particularly appreciated in the UN framework where, in November 2022, at a specific event at the opening of the Fourth UPR Cycle, it was noted that Italy was the first UN member Country to provide such a focus.
Italy underwent the Fourth UPR Cycle on 20 January 2025.