Malta defends its human rights record

Malta's Permanent Representative to the Council of Europe, Joseph Licari yesterday defended Malta's record on human rights and its treatment of illegal immigrants during a meeting of the Committee of Ministers' deputies in Strasbourg.

He referred to the report by the Council's Commissioner for Human Rights, Alvaro Gil Robles, following his visit to Malta in late October when he visited detention centres where illegal immigrants are held.

Dr Licari thanked Mr Gil Robles for his report and for his expression of gratitude to various government authorities he met in Malta "for their great helpfulness, frankness and exemplary co-operation".

He expressed appreciation at Mr Gil Robles's conclusion that "Malta should be considered a country with a longstanding commitment to the values of human rights and that the Maltese authorities have demonstrated a strong will to ensure respect of fundamental rights".

Mr Gil Robles notes in his report that in Malta "the activities of the Council of Europe were well known and closely followed by all institutional actors".

He also said that the credit for recent important reforms in the human rights field "is primarily due to domestic authorities who have taken a pragmatic approach and acted with a strong desire to strengthen the protection of fundamental rights".

And the commissioner also added:

"To their credit, the Maltese authorities have implemented a number of reforms to accelerate (judicial) proceedings and this has led to a reduction in the backlog of cases by 18 per cent in the last five years" and "the improvements achieved by the Maltese authorities in respect of the conditions at Corradino prison are praiseworthy... Each detainee has his/her cell and the inmates would appear to be treated perfectly well. Equal praise is due for the new building designed to accommodate juveniles, who receive all the necessary attention".

Dr Licari noted that in his report, the commissioner focuses on the problem of illegal immigrants. He acknowledges that a suitable policy, while entailing financial and human costs, would not solve the problem in the long run. He also recognises that:

"It is extremely difficult for Malta to implement a coherent migration policy without the concomitant engagement of neighbouring EU members. It is to be hoped, therefore, that Malta's imminent accession to the EU will permit this issue to be tackled more effectively.

Finally, an answer to the problem also requires greater dialogue with the countries of origin and transit and, especially, those of northern Africa".

Dr Licari said Malta's problem with illegal immigrants is a result of geography. "The island lies between Sicily to the north and Libya and Tunisia to the south. Boatloads of irregular immigrants leave North African shores, heading towards Sicily. Occasionally, weather or navigation conditions bring them to Malta. The country has an area of about 320 square kilometres and a population of 400,000.

With 1250 inhabitants per square kilometre, it is the most densely populated country in Europe.

"In 2002 alone, about 1,700 irregular immigrants landed on the island, or about 0.4 per cent of the population. It was a national emergency for which the country was ill-prepared. The figure would be equivalent to some 40,000 in a country with a population of 10 million, or 240,000 in one with a population of 60 million."

The commissioner, Dr Licari noted in his speech, acknowledges in his report that, to Malta's credit, it grants asylum status and humanitarian protection to a higher proportion of applicants than most European countries.

He also acknowledges that the Refugee Act (2000) introduced new institutions, such as, the Refugee Commissioner and the Refugee Appeals Board and gave "refugees legally enforceable rights to travel documents, to be released on recognition of status and to social assistance, as well as the right to work". He further notes that "in December 2001 Malta withdrew practically all reservations to the Geneva Convention on the Status of Refugees (1951)" and in December 2002 decriminalised entry into its territory without permission.

The commissioner, however, criticises the fact that every person, on entering Malta illegally, is detained, even if he/she has applied for refugee status. He recommends that they be released on making such an application.

"The Maltese government appreciates the commissioner's comments but it does not consider that it would be in Malta's national interest to do away with the policy of detention. If the 2,000 persons who entered Malta illegally in the last two years had been immediately released, they would have caused upheavals on the labour market and major problems regarding their accommodation.

"The government acted with moderation and humanity and in the national interest by extending protection to 500 persons, who were released, and sending 1,300 clandestine persons back to their country of origin (at considerable cost to the Maltese exchequer) because they did not qualify for protection," Dr Licari said.

In his report, the commissioner also recommends that in certain cases detained immigrants be given a remedy to challenge their detention.

The government accepts this recommendation and Dr Licari explained that it has published a Bill to enable any person detained in an immigration centre to request his/her conditional release to the Immigration Appeals Board (set up in December 2002) if he/she considers that he/she has been detained for an unreasonably long period.

In the case of detention conditions, the commissioner underlines that the Hal Safi barracks, run by the armed forces, and the Hal Far centre, run by the police, are correctly maintained and that the staff are "dedicated and respectful in the fulfilment of their tasks, despite the fact that they are not trained to run a detention centre for migrants".

However, he criticises the centres for their inadequacy - they are overcrowded and parts are too hot in summer and too cold in winter; detained persons are not given enough time for outdoor recreation and are handcuffed when taken out of the centre.

The commissioner recommends improvements in the detention conditions of illegal immigrants to allow them "to be at the very least treated in a similar manner to ordinary prisoners".

This, Dr Licari said, would be desirable but, financial resources being limited, the Maltese government does not consider it right to sacrifice other projects having higher national priority to construct a new detention centre for immigrants.

"However, the government has succeeded in reducing the scale of the problem. In December 2002, there were 900 detained immigrants.

When the commissioner paid his visit to Malta in October 2003, there were 550. At present, the number has gone down to 240. In addition, the government already provides accommodation for 100 persons in open centres.

"Overcrowding will be further reduced because applications for refugee status will be processed more rapidly once more full-time and part-time case officers are appointed and undeserving and clandestine immigrants will be repatriated. While it is difficult for the police to stop using handcuffs, ways will be sought to make the practice more acceptable."

Dr Licari informed the meeting that the Minister for Justice and Home Affairs, Tonio Borg, intends using the commissioner's report to further strengthen the government's commitment towards safeguarding human rights and protecting the national interest.

At the meeting, the chairman, Dutch ambassador Johannes Landman, congratulated Dr Borg for taking the initiative and publishing the report ahead of its examination by the Committee of Ministers. He praised this as a sign of transparency and a possible precedent for other countries to follow.

In presenting his report, the commissioner said that, judging from the statement made by Dr Borg at his news conference earlier this week, it seemed the Maltese government had already started tackling some of the problems identified in the report.

In addition, the representative of Luxembourg emphasised that Malta needs the help of the EU to solve a problem which is not of its own making and which it cannot solve on its own.