Thursday, 29th May 2008
Amnesty slams Malta over migrants
Amnesty International - the human rights watchdog - yesterday harshly criticised the way Malta is dealing with illegal immigration and alleged that the island is not respecting its international obligations.
Launching its annual report in Brussels yesterday, Amnesty said that Malta's performance last year continued to be abysmal.
"The Maltese authorities continued to detain migrants automatically on arrival to the island, contrary to their international obligations. They also failed to adequately protect people stranded at sea. The Council of Europe criticised Malta for its policies regarding detention of migrants," the report notes.
Citing two particular incidents, Amnesty accused the Maltese authorities of failing to protect the right to life of people stranded at sea.
"On May 21, 2007, officers of the Maltese Armed Forces spotted 53 people in a sinking boat approximately 88 nautical miles south of Malta. According to reports, it took 12 hours for a rescue vessel to reach the boat, by which time it had disappeared.
"The individuals on the boat, who may have been seeking international protection, reportedly managed to return to Libya where they were retained at the Al Zoura detention centre."
The tuna-pen incident which last year made international headlines was also given prominence.
"On May 24, a Maltese fishing boat failed to take on board 27 migrants and asylum-seekers whose boat had sunk. The ship-master did not allow them to hold onto a tuna cage to prevent them from drowning, and eventually let them on to the vessel. The Maltese authorities failed to rescue them or to ensure their safety. They were finally rescued by an Italian vessel."
Amnesty's report continued to criticise Malta's current detention policy and the conditions in which illegal immigrants are being detained.
"Detention conditions remained poor including at the Ħal Far open migration detention centre, which migrants are allowed to leave, where up to 800 migrants were housed in approximately 25 tents, some of them with holes in them. Those living in the faulty tents were directly exposed to rain, wind and cold temperatures, leading to sleep deprivation and ill health. The Maltese authorities said they had no intention of replacing the tents with other structures."
Referring to a report by an NGO called Medecins du Monde, Amnesty International said that in August, a heavily pregnant Somali woman gave birth in detention.
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Comments
Amnesty International works hard to improve the human rights situation in Somalia, and Eritrea, which are some of the worst in the world. (go to www.amnesty.org and search under each of these countries) However, the refugee convention was created so that every nation in the world could do their part to help protect those who are at risk of persecution. I understand as a small country in the Mediterranean, it can feel like Malta has a heavy burden, but this doesn't remove the responsibility that Maltese have, like others, to make sure we don't turn away people in desperate need (or let them drown in the sea).
The Maltese are Fretted – Why the European Union tackling on immigrants is not up to the Maltese expectations?
Continues surveys carried out in Malta (on behalf of the EU Commission to detect racism and the xenophobia in member states ) demonstrate that racism and xenophobia are high among population, yet alarming. This place Malta at a disadvantageous place among member states. More importantly, this goes against the fundamental values of the EU: Human rights and Democracy.
These also puts our politicians at very awful shape when negotiating the immigrants issue with their European counterparts.
Now – shall we get out of the EU? NO-This is out of question. Shall we kill immigrants? Certainly not. Shall we keep crying and post clunky writing? Waste of time and only fuel the situation. So, what is the solutions? We must start from within us. Who should lead the way? Every genuine Maltese citizen. But how? We start from parents, schools, youth centers and churches and before every thing Media. This is my view any way and its (trash able) SMILE-:)
@ I. M. Dingli
You are asking for solutions - in how to stop Illegal immigrants coming to Malta? Or a solution on how they should be accommodated while in Malta? Or on how to solve the issue from its roots? Any way - I posted my ‘suggestions’ on the first 2 issues – imam on how the problem started I would refer you to my previous posts:
On Friday, 14th December 2007 MEP Dr. John Attard Montalto wrote a factual article that may interest those who seriously wish to be aware of the core problem of Africa. Here I quote a paragraph - (The scramble for Africa has started all over again. In the colonial period, European nation-states competed between themselves. After World War II, the US permitted Europe to continue to dominate the continent, on the reckoning that the boost to the European economies would boost trade with the US itself.)
Please, if interested here you can find of my previous post
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20080526/local/migrants-land-at-golden-bay
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20080526/opinion/editorial
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20080523/local/second-group-of-migrants-in-12-hours-arrives-at-ghar-lapsi
I welcome discussions from all
Thank you
I hope our government does not act defensively. He should ignore the report completely. If we are to look after our interest, we must get used to such criticisms. Because they are becoming incompatible. I don't think the US officially answers to every AI report against it.
The tuna pen incident happened within Libyan S&R.
The immigration problem has nothing to do with money netted from the S&R, which mainly goes to equipment maintenance and running costs. It has to do with Malta's limited geographical size, population density and social order.
With no official continuous burden sharing, there is no solution but to divert the boats from here to the nearest port, be it Libya or Lampedusa. What we have signed, is being abused of. Our interest (territorial integrity and space preservation) is worth much more than a piece of paper. A whole large field in the south of Malta is now already irriversibly occupied by a shanty town. And its should not be AI that will tell us where all this must end.
The problem should be tackled at its origins and not here in Malta or Libya. If these illegal immigrants coming from Eritrea or Somalia or wherever are having problems in their respective countries I believe AI and the other NGOs should open talks with the people governing these countries and not threaten us for trying to help them out with the limited resources available to us.
AI criticised Malta for taking 12 hours to rescue persons 88 miles off the shores of Malta. As if, what is next, we should equip AFM with a power boat capable of carrying 60 persons!!! Or convert a B-52 or Hercules to land on water!!! AI please blow your horns where it is needed and not at our doorstep.
Yes, they are individuals like you and myself. But the numbers are important because we simply do not have the space on our little island, nor the finances, to host a multitude of immigrants. I am not against such individuals - I am simply highlighting the problem of uncontrolled immigration.
The security and stability of our island will be increasingly threatened as more arrive, as our EU neighbours have and are still experienced. Look at Italy for example, and even south to South Africa.
Up to a few years ago I was refused settlement in most EU countries. Does this mean that I was treated with less dignity? No. I simply did not qualify and accepted the fact. Of course I could have entered illegaly and let Amnesty International protect my "rights"...
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/AMR51/051/1999/en/dom-AMR510511999en.html
AI does not seem to have addressed illegal migration to the US during the past 9 years, other than the above report on asylum seekers, and last December in The Wire on the denial of habeas corpus for alleged terrorist detainees. Perhaps it should devote some of its resources to the problem of illegal migration to the US as well, so that we may learn from some of its recommendations. Our authorities might wish to take a look at Chapter 6: Conclusions and Recommendations, of the above mentioned report, and see whether any of the recommendations could apply to Malta.
AI is now criticising Malta again. One would expect that the Maltese consider well what the report claims before responding with the usual slogans.
Clive - not our problem. Of course it is. We have netted the money of our search and rescue area for years and were not keen on sharing the profit with the EU, so why is it that other countries have to share the burden when things are not in our favour.
Jean Pierre - numbers. What AI is referring to are situations of individuals like you and I. Should you and I be treated with less dignity and respect should one day we land in Lampedusa seeking asylum simply because it is a small island?
M.Borg - 'five star resorts' ... No dear but "faulty tents ... exposed to rain, wind and cold temperatures, leading to sleep deprivation and ill health."
Why not have an opinion poll , asking the general public about their views regarding the way this problem is being tackled? My guess is that the majority would agree that not enough is being done.
Probably AI would argue differently should it see such figures.
Also, why does it cite two particular incidents whilst ignoring the efforts by NGOs and all those involved in taking care of such immigrants, giving them a life which is otherwise absent in their home country? AI should stop looking only towards the dark sides to this problem and praise Malta for its efforts given the current circumstances and limited resources.