Former Parliamentary Secretary Franco Mercieca has called for a temporary suspension of the EU's Schengen agreement on the free movement of persons to enable EU member states to tackle risks associated with migration.
Speaking at a conference in Mongolia, Dr Mercieca argued that politicians have to shoulder their political responsibility and take the necessary action to protect the lives of thousands of vulnerable people who are compelled to flee from their homeland due to war, persecution and fear of death.
Migration has to be addressed from a national security point of view as well as the international.
Politicians, he said, have a responsibility to protect their citizens from potential risks as not all those who claim to seek asylum abroad have good intentions.
He called for the temporary suspension of the Schengen Agreement to give states time to improve their screening procedures to eliminate such risks.
Dr Mercieca made his comments during a meeting of the Parliamentary Association of the OSCE (Organisation on Security and Cooperation in Europe).
The Maltese parliamentary delegation for the conference is being led by Parliamentary Secretary for Planning Michael Falzon. It also includes Nationalist MP Frederick Azzopardi.
Parliamentary Secretary Michael Falzon spoke about the linguistic shift that took place over the years, which manifests a broader understanding of the issue. Some years ago, asylum seekers used to be referred to as irregular immigrants, now, they are called refugees. Dr Falzon praised the efforts which are being made for the relocation of migrants from states which are hosting large numbers of asylum seekers.
In the recent past, Malta used to be on its own in taking action to solve the migration challenge, he remarked. Nowadays, bigger and more influential states were also doing their part to find solutions.
Mr Azzopardi spoke on the issue of religious tolerance. He said that the right of freedom of thought, conscience and religion is enshrined in the Helsinki Final Act which was signed in Helsinki 40 years ago. This right is essential to protect and enhance the human dignity of everyone.
In some OSCE Member States, religious intolerance and discrimination are on the rise and these could have a negative effect on the states' stability and security.
It was particularly worrisome, he said, that some OSCE members forbid their citizens from manifesting their religion or belief in public. Mr Azzopardi also linked the right of freedom of religion to the right of freedom of expression which, however, should not be an absolute right. Religious freedom must go hand in hand with tolerance and all societies worldwide should strive to achieve this. This could be done by strengthening inter-religious dialogue and inter-religious contacts such as through voluntary work.