Human rights organisations have welcomed the news that migrants born at sea will be given a legal identity in Malta.

The UN High Commissioner of Refugees and Aditus Foundation said the proposed amendment to the law to allow children born on board sea craft to be registered in Malta was a positive step.

Speaking to Times of Malta, the Ombudsman said yesterday his office had reached an agreement with the Home Affairs Ministry for the Civil Code to be amended.

He said there were a number of cases of children born at sea who could not be registered in Malta because of “a lacuna in national legislation”.

The ministry has yet to confirm or deny this information but ministerial correspondence sent to the Ombudsman’s office, and seen by this newspaper, confirms the process to enact the required legislative amendments has started.

Registration in this case does not mean the children will be given citizenship.

As things stand today children born in international waters may in some cases be at risk of statelessness

At the moment, migrant children born at sea remain without a legal identity, depriving them of their right to access even fundamental social protection and entitlements as well as education.

UNHCR said the issue of the legal status of children born at sea had been raised by a number of stakeholders and welcomed any initiative that could improve the situation of children born in international waters and disembarked in Malta.

“As things stand today children born in international waters may in some cases be at risk of statelessness,” UNHCR said.

Human rights lawyer and Aditus director Neil Falzon referred to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Malta is a State party, which emphasises the right of all children to be registered immediately after birth.

“Registration of a birth is of crucial importance to the child because it implies formal recognition of his or her very existence,” Dr Falzon said.

“Without registration, children remain invisible or on the fringes of society, facing serious obstacles when trying to access all other fundamental human rights, such as education, health services, social welfare, family life, voting and so on.

“We also feel it is important to stress that registration does not imply citizenship, although the latter option is also strongly recommended for those refugees and migrants who make impressive efforts in making Malta their home,” Dr Falzon added.

The Commissioner for Children, Helen D’Amato, raised the problem several times, including in proposals submitted to the Commission on Justice Reform last May so “that children born at sea on unregistered vessels are registered at the first port of call”.

The process of amending the Civil Code is ongoing, as confirmed in correspondence sent by the office of the permanent secretary at the Home Affairs Ministry to the Ombudsman.

This states: “The idea is that the Civil Code will be amended in the coming weeks to allow the director to accept these kinds of registrations after the necessary verifications are made.

“The amendments have already been drafted and a Cabinet memo has been sent for consideration by the same Cabinet.”

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