Detention camps should be open to 'outside scrutiny'

The government's policy of not allowing media access to detention centres breached a number of international human rights obligations, according to Amnesty International.

The international human rights watchdog has lambasted the government's insistence on barring the media from the camps, saying they should be open to outside scrutiny by concerned groups, including the media, to guarantee full respect for the fundamental human rights of people deprived of their freedom.

A total of 100 Maltese journalists recently presented a petition to Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg requesting access to the infamous camps.

Amnesty has repeatedly expressed concern about the situation of asylum-seekers and unauthorised migrants in Malta, including their lack of communication with the outside world, Nerys Lee, AI researcher for Western Europe, said.

With its policy of mandatory detention of asylum-seekers, Malta was one of three EU countries that illustrated AI's concern about widespread detention practices, "often in inadequate conditions".

According to international refugee standards, the detention of asylum-seekers is "inherently undesirable" and should "normally be avoided".

Ms Lee said AI was very concerned by the reluctance of the Maltese government to bring its policy in line with international standards, which state that asylum-seekers should be detained only when a legitimate reason for doing so has been demonstrated, when other measures short of detention will not suffice, and only for a minimal period.

International standards, such as the 1988 UN Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment also underline the importance of contact with the outside world for detainees and prisoners. These standards apply equally to detained asylum-seekers and unauthorised immigrants, AI said.

Assembly resolution 43/173 of December 1988 says: "A detained or imprisoned person shall be given adequate opportunity to communicate with the outside world, subject to reasonable conditions and restrictions as specified by law or lawful regulations."

The Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights issued a recommendation concerning the rights of aliens wishing to enter a member state.

It states that: "On no account must holding centres be viewed as prisons" and that "governments must guarantee maximum transparency".

Clearly, visits to detention centres by the media would be legitimately subject to reasonable conditions to ensure security and good order and interviews with individual residents should be subject to the individual's agreement, Ms Lee said.