Detention centres "inadequate, overcrowded"

Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg insists that the government's policy of detention will not change, but maintains that a series of measures introduced in the last few months will ease the problems.

Malta's detention policy and facilities for illegal immigrants have come under fire in a Council of Europe report on human rights.

The report calls for an alternative to detention and severely criticises the conditions under which the immigrants are kept.

The long-awaited report, however, gave full marks to the Corradino Prisons to the extent that the CoE urges Malta to treat illegal immigrants in a similar manner as ordinary prisoners, "at the very least".

The report was drawn up by the Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights, Alvaro Gil-Robles, following his visit here last October.

Addressing a news conference, Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg insisted that the government's policy of detention would not change, but he maintained that a series of measures introduced in the last few months would ease the problems.

Though the report focuses on human rights in general, it puts the spotlight mainly on the plight of illegal immigrants.

Mr Gil-Robles argues against the detention of asylum seekers in Malta when they have not committed any offence. Detention in Malta is automatic and not at the discretion of a judge, he notes.

He urges the authorities to seek alternatives and to open specific structures dedicated to asylum seekers, the same way it provides centres for refugees. Otherwise, it should adopt the policy of some countries, which have introduced a system of bail or warranty tied to an obligation to report daily to a police station.

It is crucial for Malta to adopt specific legislation on the detention of irregular migrants in order to limit its length and to clarify the competence of the judiciary in this area, says Mr Gil-Robles.

"Concerning asylum seekers, the law should allow detention only in exceptional circumstances and under the strict control of a judge of a court."

The Safi Barracks came in for severe criticism, with the commissioner describing them as "totally inadequate". When the report was drawn up, between 10 and 15 illegal immigrants were living in each room at the barracks, obliging families to build flimsy structures with sheets in order to obtain a minimum of privacy.

"Their outdoor access is limited to one hour of recreation in a muddy field encircled by barbed wire. To make matters worse the shelter is a micro-wave in summer and a fridge in winter."

The commissioner notes that half the illegal migrants detained in the Safi camp have been there for over a year.

The report says that from what the commissioner could gather, those affected by contagious diseases are not adequately separated from the other illegal immigrants, increasing the risk of a spread of the disease.

The difficult living conditions, prolonged confinement and absence of activity have resulted in at least 15 illegal immigrants requiring psychological treatment, according to the report.

Finally, in addition to the overpopulation of the camp, the illegal immigrants are confronted with the deterioration of the sanitary installations, which are described as totally inadequate for the number of people using them.

In a positive tone, the commissioner says the facilities are correctly maintained and that military staff are dedicated, despite the fact that they are not trained for the task.

Turning to the Hal Far centre, the report unleashes similar criticism with respect to the over-crowding and inadequate sanitation.

It also takes exception to a number of other shortcomings, such as the handcuffing of migrants, and access to education for children.

Mr Gil-Robles praises the Commissioner for Refugees for the fact that the proportion of asylum status and humanitarian protection granted is significantly superior to most European countries'.

On a general note, the Commissioner remarks that Malta has adopted important reforms in the human rights field at both legislative and material levels.

Turning to the judicial system, Mr Gil-Robles criticises the considerable backlog of cases, mainly in civil matters, even if this backlog has been reduced by 18 per cent in the last five years. He urges the authorities to increase the number of judges and magistrates in this respect.

Referring to Corradino prisons, Mr Gil-Robles describes the conditions there as "praiseworthy".

"Each detainee has his own cell and the inmates would appear to be perfectly well treated. Equal praise is due for the new building designed to accommodate juveniles, who receive all the necessary attention."

The only objections refer to the cells allocated to criminals who require special care, in particular sex offenders.

Mr Gil-Robles nevertheless says the authorities convinced him that the remaining challenges would be resolved.

The Home Affaris Ministry emphasised that the arrival of 1,680 illegal immigrants in 2002 was equivalent to half the number of births per year in Malta. Around 400 illegal immigrants landed last year.

If these 2,000 individuals were to have been released at once, it would have triggered off chaos in the employment and housing sectors, Dr Borg said.

The government, he told journalists, gave protection to 500 individuals and repatriated 1,300 illegal immigrants to their country, at a cost of some Lm300,000 over two years.

Dr Borg pointed out that a recent draft law would protect those individuals being detained in immigration centres and who believed their stay was being prolonged unreasonably. Such individuals will be able to ask for provisional freedom from the Immigration Appeals Board.

Referring to the shortcomings in the conditions of detention centres, highlighted by the Commissioner, Dr Borg said it was impossible for the government to construct another detention centre at the expense of other projects.

However, the government would inform the Commissioner that the number of detainees had dropped from 900 in December 2002 to 240.

Since then, the government has also started providing accommodation for another 100 individuals in open centres.

Dr Borg promised that the Office of the Refugee Commissioner would be beefed up shortly with the necessary staff, and this would help in cutting down waiting time.

Present for yesterday's news conference were Police Commissioner John Rizzo, Parliamentary Secretary Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici and Assistant Police Commissioner Andrew Seychell.