Seeking asylum is not a criminal offence, says AD.Malta’s detention policy helps fuel negative perceptions of asylum seekers and makes it harder for them to integrate into society, the United Nations’ refugee office said.
“One would expect that a national policy that requires asylum seekers and migrants to be held behind bars induces a perception in the public that people arriving are criminals,” UNHCR representative to Malta Jon Hoisaeter said.
“For those granted protection here, it is not difficult to imagine that a longer period in detention does not provide a good start towards settling and integrating in a positive way in Malta,” he added.
Irregular migrants who apply for protection are detained until their asylum claims are determined, which usually takes months. If their claim is still pending after 12 months, they are automatically released.
Rejected asylum seekers and other irregular migrants who cannot be deported are detained for up to 18 months before being released. Asylum seekers deemed to be ‘vulnerable’ are exempt from detention after initial screening.
The detention system has been in the spotlight since last Tuesday when several rejected asylum seekers rioted at Lyster Barracks during a visit by four MPs.
Speaking to The Sunday Times of Malta, 10 NGOs had posited a radical overhaul of the system so that personal freedom was the rule and detention the exception.
They suggested that irregular arrivals would have their freedom limited during the initial screening stage, but only for a clearly defined time limit under the direct supervision of a judicial or quasi-judicial authority.
For many Maltese, the first black people they ever saw in substantial amounts were in handcuffs
UNHCR pointed out that Malta had already used alternatives to detention for asylum seekers in certain situations.
“For various reasons, several hundred people who arrived by boat during 2013 were either not detained at all or were detained only for a few days. Bail has also been accepted in a few cases,” Mr Hoisaeter said.
“We consider that these are valuable experiences that should be analysed further by the government with a view to considering realistic and achievable adjustments to the current system.”
Pointing out that detention was generally an expensive form of reception, UNHCR said it was ready to discuss with the authorities how alternatives could be tested further.
“We are encouraged to hear there are already discussions under way among relevant authorities as regards the most appropriate alternatives for unaccompanied and separated children arriving as asylum seekers,” Mr Hoisaeter said.
Alternattiva Demokrattika said that the detention system has harmed Maltese people as much as the immigrants. “For many Maltese, the first black people they ever saw in substantial amounts were in handcuffs,” AD immigration spokesman Robert Callus said.
“For the immigrants, detention is nothing less than a trauma which in many cases causes mental health problems. Most of them can’t understand why they’re treated like criminals when they aren’t – seeking asylum is not a criminal offence – while many start doubting if Malta is really a democracy that respects human rights,” Mr Callus added.
AD said the volatile situation at detention centres was neither the result of racist officers nor ungrateful migrants. “The cause is long-term detention itself.”
PN Home Affairs spokesman Jason Azzopardi acknowledged that “for many years our stand on migration was negative in our speech and did not positively contribute to perceptions of migrants”.
He attributed this to it being a new phenomenon Malta was not equipped to handle. Irregular migration by boats from North Africa sharply increased in 2002 and has remained consistent since then.
Dr Azzopardi said a review commissioned by former Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi in 2012, which the new government shelved last year, reflected a more positive approach.
“It looked at beating negative perceptions. Migrants were to be looked at as an opportunity while they were in Malta and not necessarily as a threat. If one is reasonable about the issue, crime rates among irregular migrants are relatively low, when compared to citizens of some Eastern European countries, for example,” Dr Azzopardi said.
The PN still supported mandatory detention as a “national security measure”.
“Detention does not create [a negative] perception. It is the perceived security that one gets from detention that the Maltese look at. While this may not always be based on fact, it is nonetheless important to recognise that fears of change and the unknown are always daunting. This has to be and is factored into the overall policy direction,” Dr Azzopardi said. The government said it is in the process of improving conditions at detention centres but was not considering a radical overhaul of the system.
Detention will be the focus of discussion on TimesTalk tonight at 6.55pm on TVM.