Report suggests 'wrong people' are handling detainees

A report probing the issue of illegal migration has concluded that the wrong people are handling the detainees.

The armed forces are neither trained nor temperamentally suited to do such work and the police are severely over-stretched and can only deal with irregular immigrants to the detriment of their prime policing roles, the report, drawn up by Martin Scicluna, concluded.

Martin Scicluna, chairman of Din l-Art Helwa and a seasoned official in the field, was steering one of the workshops during the national conference on immigration focusing on coordination and security. Some of its recommendations were not however fully endorsed by some of the participants in the same workshop.

Speaking at the end of a fruitful national conference on illegal migration, Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg pledged to rope in all players in the field to hammer out a national plan on migration in the coming months.

In his no-frills and straight to the point report, Mr Scicluna says that even though funding is a problem, the country cannot shirk its responsibilities.

Changes at the operational level need to be progressively implemented as soon as possible to ensure that the army and the police are relieved of all contact duties. External routine guarding of detention centres should however remain within the responsibility of the army and the police.

Detention centres must meet specific minimum criteria of care, accommodation and administration, which should be specified and periodically vetted.

Mr Scicluna recommended that, on balance, a system of detention should, given Malta's particular circumstances, continue. The Jesuit Refugee Service and other organisations have demanded the elimination of the detention system. The report suggests that the island must move towards a system of "purpose-prepared" detention centres to replace the current "inadequate" arrangements.

An immediate exercise should be conducted to identify and start preparing potential sites for new detention centres. Mr Scicluna urged the authorities to consider places like the White Rocks complex at Pembroke, Ta' Kandja in Siggiewi, or even vacant factories, since one third of these are unused. Malta should move towards a policy where all open centres are run by NGOs.

The report goes as far as to describe irregular immigration as the foremost foreign policy challenge facing Malta today.

It calls for a determined and concerted diplomatic offensive steered by the Foreign Affairs Minister to ensure that the implications for Malta are understood by EU and neighbouring countries, an exercise which should hopefully lead to some form of financial aid.

The report suggests the introduction of another full time Commissioner for Refugees or at the minimum two assistant commissioners. The Appeals Board should also be properly staffed and supported.

Discussions in a second workshop on minors, the conclusions of which were relayed by Sonia Camilleri, revolved, among others, on the big role the media and the political parties play in spreading a message of solidarity.

The participants in this workshop argued that detention should be used as a last resort and that application processes should be explained to the asylum seekers in detail.

Speaking at the end of the conference, Dr Borg said that the wishes of all participants cannot always be executed, as practical as they may appear to be on surface. "We need to consider not just what we want but what we can really attain."

He said there seemed to be general agreement on the need to relay the problems of immigration to the EU as well as the need to restructure detention centres and rope in more NGOs.

Dr Borg said he would have liked to hear participants suggesting where irregular immigrants may be housed as an alternative to detention.

Still, he promised that his ministry would do its utmost to ensure that reforms would take place gradually, but effectively.

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi admitted there were no easy solutions to the problem but expressed optimism that the conference would lead to concrete and effective decisions for the benefit of all.

He said the government was prepared to refine and readjust its own policy paper on migration to take on board some of the ideas given in the workshops.

A group of people will be appointed to absorb all the suggestions and draw up a far-reaching policy which would attempt to inch the NGOs and the authorities closer on issues like detention and open centres.

Dr Gonzi said that two values should guide the authorities in mapping out a policy on immigration: the common good and the dignity of every person that steps on Malta.

"It's important to stop and reflect what we are talking about. We need to strike a balance," he said.

Opposition Leader Alfred Sant argued that the conference should have been held later in the year to give all the players enough time to draw up their proposals.

The Scicluna report should have also been submitted to the players beforehand as it would have provided clearer guidelines to the conference even though the MLP has certain reservations about some of the recommendations made.

Still, Dr Sant said he agreed that the coordination between the police and the army in the field was flawed. "They are not trained to do this kind of job; they are understaffed and under-financed," he said.

Dr Sant said he expected the Church to chip in and provide alternatives for accommodation, the way the Bon Pastur nuns in Balzan were doing.

He said he had met people that feared that irregular immigrants were taking their jobs and warned that fascist factions were capitalising on such fear.