JRS urges special consideration for split families

The Jesuit Refugee Service has urged the government to give special consideration to refugees whose close family members have already been granted international protection here.

JRS Malta welcomed the initiative of European Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmström to ask member states to resettle Eritrean, Somali, Ethiopian and other refugees fleeing Libya.

The government has already said it would not be offering to resettle any of these immigrants but, while the JRS laid stress on the need for northern Europe to step in and help in this crisis, it also urged Malta to give special consideration to cases involving migrants who had family members that were granted protection on the island.

Those who are still trapped in Libya constitute a particularly vulnerable group, without any protection. Refugees fleeing the North African country by boat or any other means should be allowed to access protection, the advocacy group said.

“Over the past years, asylum seekers reaching Malta have been allowed access to the asylum procedure. JRS lauds this good practice and is confident it will be upheld as Malta continues to make its contribution on the inter­national scene,” JRS said.

Meanwhile, the UN refugee agency said it understood Malta’s declaration that it would not offer to resettle sub-Saharan migrants who poured into Egypt and Tunisia when they fled the turmoil in Libya.

The UN agency also made the case for refugees who would have family in Malta. It pointed out that Malta’s response to the appeal for resettlement solutions did not impact on the general obligation to allow access to refugees and asylum seekers who could be approaching its borders in search of safety from war or persecution. In fact, the agency called on all states in the region, including in Europe, to maintain open borders for all those fleeing Libya.