Delegates hear about Malta's 'uniquely serious' problem

Though Malta is prepared to shoulder its responsibilities with regard to irregular migration, it cannot do so alone, speakers at a Commonwealth conference agreed yesterday.

"While the problem of irregular migration is not unique to Malta, it is uniquely serious here," Martin Scicluna, the government's adviser on migration, said.

He was speaking during the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association British Islands and Mediterranean Region's annual conference being held here.

The Maltese speakers at yesterday's session repeatedly highlighted immigration statistics to underline the extent of the problem on the island.

Over 5,400 irregular immigrants had reached Malta since 2002 with the yearly intake being the equivalent of 800,000 immigrants reaching the UK.

Immigration was putting potential strain on Malta's social fabric, and the threat to issues like employment cannot be underestimated, Mr Scicluna said.

He admitted that the inexperience of a multicultural society was fuelling the problem of migration. Malta still needs time to adjust to the development of migration.

A holistic approach was needed to better integrate migrants in destination countries.

All countries had the responsibility to do their utmost to try and stem migration by tackling the countries of origin, the countries of transit and recipient countries.

Among others, there was need for improvements to border management, and readmission agreements should be drawn up with the countries of origin.

"We need to establish a constructive dialogue with countries of origin.

This is being done ad hoc but it needs to be formalised," Mr Scicluna said.

Nationalist MP Mario Galea said Malta's search and rescue forces were stretched beyond limits, especially since they were responsible for a vast area of territorial waters.

But Mr Galea said it would be a mistake to block all irregular immigrants, especially considering the declining birth rates in Europe.

He pointed to what he described as the extreme inequalities taking place within the Commonwealth, adding that remaining silent to such injustices is tantamount to consent.