Migrants' death investigator to visit Malta on fact finding mission

Tineke Strik, who is carrying out an inquiry for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe into "Lives lost in the Mediterranean Sea: who is responsible?" will be in Malta on a fact-finding mission tomorrow and on Friday.

During her visit, the rapporteur will meet refugees who arrived from Libya after January to gather testimony on their experiences, and will meet officials from the Maltese armed forces who are involved in organising rescues.

She will also meet representatives of NGOs and European and UN officials dealing with refugee matters on the island, and the Maltese delegation to PACE.

Mrs Strik's investigation was sparked by news reports that migrants and refugees have perished after their distress calls were ignored, and in June the PACE Migration Committee appointed her to look into the issue.

Since then, she has visited Rome and Brussels, and hosted a parliamentary hearing on the subject.

Her report is expected in the spring of 2012.