ROME: Italians vote over two days starting Sunday on referendums that would make it easier for children born in Italy to foreigners to obtain citizenship, and on providing more job protections. But apparent low public awareness risks rendering the vote invalid if turnout is not high enough.

Campaigners for the change in the citizenship law say it will help second-generation Italians born in the country to non- European Union parents better integrate into a culture they already see as theirs.

Italian singer Ghali, who was born in Milan to Tunisian parents, urged people to vote in an online post, noting that the referendum risks failure if at least 50 percent plus one of eligible voters don’t turn out.

“I was born here, I always lived here, but I only received citizenship at the age of 18,’’ Ghali said, urging a yes vote to reduce the residency requirement from 10 to five years.

The new rules, if passed, could affect about 2.5 million foreign nationals who still struggle to be recognized as citizens.

The measures were proposed by Italy’s main union and left-wing opposition parties. Premier Giorgia Meloni has said she would show up at the polls but not cast a ballot — an action widely criticized by the left as antidemocratic, since it will not help reach the necessary threshold to make the vote valid.

“While some members of her ruling coalition have openly called for abstention, Meloni has opted for a more subtle approach,” said analyst Wolfango Piccoli of the Teneo consultancy based in London. ”It’s yet another example of her trademark fence-sitting.’’

Rights at stake

Supporters say this reform would bring Italy’s citizenship law in line with many other European countries, promoting greater social integration for long-term residents. It would also allow faster access to civil and political rights, such as the right to vote, eligibility for public employment and freedom of movement within the EU.

“The real drama is that neither people who will vote ‘yes’ nor those who intend to vote ‘no’ or abstain have an idea of what (an) ordeal children born from foreigners have to face in this country to obtain a residence permit,” said Selam Tesfaye, an activist and campaigner with the Milan-based human rights group “Il Cantiere.”

“Foreigners are also victims of blackmail, as they can’t speak up against poor working conditions, exploitation and discrimination, due to the precariousness of the permit of stay,” she added.

Activists and opposition parties also denounced the lack of public debate on the measures, accusing the governing center-right coalition of trying to dampen interest in sensitive issues that directly impact immigrants and workers.

In May, Italy’s AGCOM communications authority lodged a complaint against RAI state television and other broadcasters for a lack of adequate and balanced coverage.

“This referendum is really about dignity and the right to belong, which is key for many people who were born here and spent most of their adult life contributing to Italian society. For them, a lack of citizenship is like an invisible wall,” said Michelle Ngonmo, a cultural entrepreneur and advocate for diversity in the fashion industry, who has lived most of her life in Italy after moving as a child from Cameroon.

“You are good enough to work and pay taxes, but not to be fully recognized as Italian. This becomes a handicap for young generations, particularly in the creative field, creating frustration, exclusion and a big waste of potential,” she said.

The four other referendums aim to roll back labor reforms, making it harder to fire some workers and increase compensation for those laid off by small businesses, reversing a previous law passed by a center-left government a decade ago. One of the questions on the ballot also addresses the urgent issue of security at work, restoring joint liability to both contractors and subcontractors for workplace injuries.

Many expected to abstain from voting

Opinion polls published in mid-May showed that only 46 percent of Italians were aware of the issues driving the referendums. Turnout projections were even weaker for a vote scheduled for the first weekend of Italy’s school holidays, at around 35 percent of around 50 million electors, well below the required quorum.

“Many believe that the referendum institution should be reviewed in light of the high levels of abstention (that) emerged in recent elections and the turnout threshold should be lowered,” said Lorenzo Pregliasco, political analyst and pollster at YouTrend.

Some analysts note however that the center-left opposition could claim a victory even if the referendum fails on condition that the turnout surpasses the 12.3 million voters who backed the winning center-right coalition in the 2022 general election.

NICE, France: World leaders descend on the French Riviera on Sunday ahead of a high-level summit to tackle a deepening crisis in the oceans driven by overfishing, climate change and pollution.
The United Nations says oceans face an “emergency” and leaders gathering in Nice will be under pressure to commit much-needed money and stronger protections for the ailing seas and the people that depend on them.
The UN Ocean Conference must try to turn a corner as nations feud over deep-sea mining, plastic litter and exploitative fishing, against a backdrop of wider geopolitical tensions.
Some 50 heads of state and government are expected to attend, including Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his Argentine counterpart Javier Milei.
On Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to sail to Nice from Monaco, where he is attending a related event aimed at raising private capital for ocean conservation.
He will be joined on the shimmering Mediterranean Sea by other vessels in a colorful maritime parade, before touring an exhibition center on land transformed into the cavernous belly of a whale.
That evening, Macron will host leaders for a dinner of Mediterranean fish ahead of the summit’s formal opening on Monday.
Peaceful demonstrations are expected over the five-day event and France has deployed 5,000 police to the heritage-listed city where scientists, business leaders and environmental activists are also attending in big numbers.
A strong turnout is also expected from Pacific Island nations, whose delegations will demand greater financial assistance to fight the rising seas, marine trash and plunder of fisheries that threatens their very survival.
The United States under President Donald Trump — whose recent push to fast-track seabed mining in international waters sparked global outrage — is not expected to send a delegation.

Conservationists have warned the summit — which will not produce a legally binding agreement — risks being a talk fest unless leaders come armed with concrete proposals for restoring marine health.
Chief among these is securing the missing finance to get anywhere near protecting 30 percent of the world’s oceans by 2030, a globally agreed target.
“We’ve created this sort of myth that governments don’t have money for ocean conservation,” Brian O’Donnell, director of Campaign for Nature, told reporters.
“There is money. There is not political will,” he said.
So far, only around eight percent of oceans are designated marine conservation zones and even less are considered truly protected.
Greenpeace says at this rate, it could take another 82 years to reach the 30 percent goal.
In a boost this week, Samoa declared 30 percent of its national waters under protection with the creation of nine new marine parks.
Conservationists hope others at Nice follow suit.
“All eyes should be on the many Pacific leaders attending... Their ambition and dedication to ocean protection can serve as inspiration to all countries,” said Kevin Chand from the nonprofit group Pristine Seas.
There has also been a concerted push for nations, including France, to ban bottom trawling — a destructive fishing method that indiscriminately scrapes the ocean floor.
On Saturday, Macron told the Ouest-France newspaper that bottom trawling would be restricted in some national marine protected areas.
Inching closer toward the numbers required to ratify a global treaty on harmful fishing subsidies, and another on high seas protection, will also be a summit priority.
France is spearheading a separate push in Nice to build support for a moratorium on deep-sea mining ahead of a closely-watched meeting of the International Seabed Authority in July.
On Sunday, an expert scientific panel will hand Macron a list of recommendations for leaders at the summit, including pausing seabed exploration when so little is known about the deep oceans.