Amnesty International's report 'riddled with inaccuracies'

The Malta section in the Amnesty International report "is riddled with inaccuracies, misinformation and glaring omissions", the Home Affairs Ministry said.

In a statement, the ministry said for its 2009 report Amnesty obtained second or third hand information , rather than checking facts on the ground.

"The report is misleading when referring to Malta’s efforts in rescue at sea in stating that the authorities failed to adequately protect the lives of migrants and asylum-seekers rescued at sea.

"In this regard it should be noted that as for previous years the Armed Forces of Malta, the authority responsible for search and rescue, properly addressed all reported search and rescue cases, in line with Malta’s international obligations.

"In accordance with such obligations, the Armed Forces of Malta coordinate search and rescue cases within Malta’s Search and Rescue Region, and ensure that the persons rescued are taken to the nearest safe port, be this in Malta or elsewhere in line with applicable international law."

The ministry noted that throughout the years, notwithstanding differences on legal interpretation of the laws of the seas, the Italian and Maltese authorities had, in close cooperation, effectively ensured the safety in the central Mediterranean of thousands of lives.

It said that when it came to detention, the motivation behind Malta’s policy was to safeguard the country’s security, particularly since practically all illegal migrants entered the country undocumented.

In Malta’s circumstances detention was aa necessity but legal remedies against it were available.

Contrary to what was stated in the Amnesty report, the ministry said, the Immigration Appeals Board was an independent judicial body.

"The claim made in the same report that this body is also responsible for determining asylum applications is likewise factually incorrect.

"As a matter of fact Malta has a fully fledged asylum determination authority, namely the Office of the Refugee Commissioner, as well as an independent judicial board for determining asylum-related appeals, namely the Refugee Appeals Board," the ministry said.

It said that such inaccuracies were regrettable in view of the efforts made by the Maltese authorities in the asylum sphere throughout last year.

"UNHCR’s Asylum Levels and Trends in industrialised Countries report for 2009 clearly indicates that Malta received the highest number of asylum applications per capita among the EU Member States; and the second highest among the industrialised countries worldwide, with up to 5.8 applications per 1,000 inhabitants.

"Moreover, during this period Malta’s rate of asylum recognition was over 60 per cent, in recognition of applicants’ entitlements and in full accordance with the country’s international obligations – glaring facts which Amnesty International has once again failed to acknowledge in its report," it said.

The ministry said that factual inaccuracies about Malta’s policies and their implementation were also a characteristic of last year’s Amnesty report.

It noted that throughout last year significant efforts were made to improve detention conditions, and that no detained migrants were being accommodated in tents.

"Here again, one would have expected Amnesty International to verify its information prior to publishing its report."

The ministry reiterated its calls on Amnesty International to actively support Malta in its bid to resettle beneficiaries of international protection, to other EU member states as part of the pilot project promoted by the European Union and lobby other countries to come to these unfortunate peoples’ aid so as to provide a future for them.