Allow me to congratulate the Prime Minister on his stand with regard to the problem of people flows triggered by the multiple tragedies in recent days in our waters.
His description of the Mediterranean turning in to a cemetery has certainly caught the attention of the media and his trip to Libya shows his desire to take practical measures to address the phenomenon.
But, as I warned the then Home Affairs Minister in 2001, this is not going to stop. It is only going to get worse.
This is a problem of international proportions and it will continue to get worse unless meaningful international action is taken. There is no domestic or regional solution. Each country – Malta included – is alone in trying to manage the quota of people who make it to its shores.
Except that, whereas other countries have more flexibility in absorption, in Malta’s case – as the Prime Minister has rightly pointed out – it is a matter of national security, given our size and numbers. Nowhere is the anguish between respecting the obligation to assist others in misery and safeguarding one’s own people more poignant.
The avowed intention to strengthen Frontex cannot be taken seriously. European Commissioner Cecilia Malmström’s statement that she will be presenting a ‘plan’ to the Commission is simply too little, too late even if more boats were added to the current impossible few.
Even if the Libyan government were genuinely interested, it will simply not be capable of stemming the flow.
It is time for Malta to again take to the international stage. Its initiatives between the 1960s and 1980s made it possible to address issues of international dimension, in the law of the sea, the provision for the ageing and climate change.
Malta has done it before; it can do it again
All three are now firmly on the UN agenda and issues in the three areas are the subject of serious reflection and action. The UN does not have an international agency that deals with migration. The UNHCR does the best it can to protect refugees under a virtually extinct convention (the 1951 convention designed for refugee flows totally different from the people flows that are coming to our shores). The High Commissioner for Human Rights has not seriously engaged with the issue, neither has the Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
This problem is international. It has woven itself into the Australian domestic political scene, bringing out the worst in Australian politicians. In spite of these shameful political stances, people continue to drown in scores in the seas between Indonesia and Australia and the number of asylum seekers keeps growing.
The eastern borders of Europe are not spared, with South Asians and others arriving in large numbers.
We all know about the problems of France and Britain and ‘illegal migration’ across the channel. The US has spent fortunes building fences and taking other measures to stem the flow of people from crossing into its territory from Mexico.
The solution cannot but be international, not only because of the physical dimensions but also because of its substantive complexity, conveniently labelled as conflict and poverty but much deeper.
The solution requires focused and serious action consistent with established international norms and new norms that are clearly essential.
Malta has done it before; it can do it again. The international community needs it, if anything to help the people who are losing their dignity and their lives so needlessly.
John Pace is an international human rights and humanitarian law expert with over 40 years experience.