Detention of irregular migrants in Malta has undergone drastic improvement in the last six years, but there remain serious concerns over access to legal aid and long-term planning for migrants in open centres, according to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.
Only a very small number of migrants are currently in detention, with the number of arrivals having dropped sharply in the last few months.
UN delegates have been in Malta over the last two days to assess progress since their initial visit in 2009, when a series of 13 recommendations were made to the government concerning criminal justice, juvenile justice and detention of migrants.
Vice-chair Setondji Roland Adjovi said the majority of the issues raised during the initial had been successfully followed-up by the government, with a number of positive changes to legislation already carried out.
He noted with satisfaction reform to the quasi-automatic nature of detention, as well as proposed amendments that will establish a maximum detention period of 18 months for irregular migrants and nine months for asylum seekers.
“We consider this limitation reasonable as long as the detention can be challenged both on its substance and on the parameters of each individual case,” Mr Adjovi said.
The working group also welcomed the introduction of a reception centre for children. The centre hosts minors with up to two family members upon arrival, for medical clearance, age assessment and registration before a transfer to an open centre.
However, Mr Adjovi said the working group had noted that migrants in detention were still not clearly aware of their status, while access to legal aid was very limited. In addition, effective and expedient remedies were lacking when migrants appealed against their status.
While the working group was satisfied that there had been considerable improvement in the physical conditions of the closed detention centre, he said that conditions at the open centre were still well below international standard.
“Given the limited resources and job opportunities in Malta, many migrants are experiencing difficulties in integration in Maltese society, and this precarious condition can only be a challenge for all the years to come,” Mr Adjovi said.
“Effective liberty and humane conditions for these open centres are critical in any assessment of whether they are not indeed a new form of deprivation of liberty.”
Vice-chair Mads Andrenas said that on criminal justice, the access to effective legal aid needed to be improved, particularly for foreigners, for whom communication problems often existed.
Moreover, he said, it was essential that the amount of time spent in detention before trial was shortened.
Mr Andrenas welcomed the raising of the age of criminal responsibility from nine to 14, but criticised the fact that children between 16 and 18 were still being tried as adults and subject to criminal law.
“Malta should consider extending the scope of its juvenile legislation to include all children under the age of 18 years to bring it fully in line with international standards,” he said.