A black migrant who is repeatedly barred from setting foot in Paceville nightclubs left a racism conference still unclear what Maltese law states on discrimination.

From the back of a conference room, Dicko Osman, 31, from Ivory Coast asked Justice Minister Chris Said if he could explain what the law says, “because I can’t understand why I am always refused entrance at clubs in Paceville”.

Dr Said urged him to report the incident to the police. However, a baffled Mr Osman told The Times it would be totally pointless to report the incident, as invariably it would be witnessed by police officers who would nod and ask him to go home.

Ali Konale, 28, a migrant from Mali, had a similar story to tell. Whenever he tried to report the matter, the police always told him clubs were private businesses and they could not interfere. “Perhaps this is the Maltese law? I don’t know,” Mr Konale said.

Maltese law is in fact very clear on the matter. Chapter 456 of the Laws of Malta and Legal Notice 85 (2007) advocates the implementation of the principle of equal treatment of people irrespective of their race or ethnic origins.

But not many migrants are aware of this and a new National Commission for the Promotion of Equality project, entitled I’m Not a Racist, But..., aims to address this lack of information.

African minority migrants will be given two sessions of training on how to make their voice heard, how to advocate for their rights and how to report discrimination.

Although NCPE strives to raise awareness on racial equality, the rate of complaints is very low.

“We need more migrants to come forward and report discrimination,” NCPE executive director Romina Bartolo said.

How will training help, if immigrants faced a wall when it came to reporting these incidents to the authority?

Dr Bartolo paused and said: “As part of NCPE’s ongoing work we train police cadets. But it might be that we need to be carrying out more police training.”

A research study two years ago showed that a good number of discriminatory incidents in Malta went unreported.

Part of this project, co-funded by the EU, will also include research on ­housing discrimination.

“Little is known about the experiences of immigrants and ethnic minorities in accessing and inhabiting housing. We hear a lot about their difficulties in finding accommodation but we need more research, we can’t act on perceived perceptions,” Dr Bartolo said.

“This project will give us an insight into how to address these situations and safeguard the people who are reporting discriminatory incidents,” said Dr Said.

Although mainly targeted at the migrant society, the project will also run an anti-racism theme day for the public, focusing on raising awareness on discrimination and promoting diversity.