UNHCR welcomes detention board

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has welcomed the government's announcement that by the end of September it will establish an independent monitoring board to oversee detention centres.

The Times reported yesterday that the Cabinet had approved regulations setting up a special board on detention centres last July and this would be done by the end of the month.

The idea behind the board is to introduce an accountable monitoring mechanism overseeing the running of the centres, particularly in the light of the government's policy to bar journalists from entering them.

The UNHCR said it had long been concerned about the conditions of asylum-seekers and refugees in Malta and strongly supported the setting up of a mechanism created to ensure on-going monitoring of the various detention centres and the maintenance of international standards in running them.