The return of irregular migrants to their country of origin through EU-sponsored flights is expected to become more humane, following new recommendations issued by the EU border agency Frontex.

Immigrants should no longer be handcuffed on the flight and independent monitors should accompany them to make sure their fundamental human rights are fully respected, according to some of the recommendations, made by a consultative council within the agency.

Security officers should bear identification tags

Among those who contributed to the recommendations were humanitarian organisations such as UNHCR and the Jesuit Refugee Service.

All irregular migrants arriving on Maltese shores have the right to file an asylum application.

However, if this is turned down, the authorities have the right to send the failed applicants back to their countries.

In order to facilitate the return process, the EU’s agency organises and sponsors joint return flights from different member states. Malta takes part in this scheme although the flights are still a rare event.

The recommendations granting more rights to the returnees are now expected to be become part and parcel of the code of conduct for these flights.

For instance, the returnees should be free of handcuffs or other restraining measures when handed over.

The use of coercive measures must be subjected to necessity and proportionality and should be documented and reported to Frontex.

Security officers accompanying the migrants should bear identification tags, while independent monitors should become obligatory on all flights and should be paid by Frontex.

Effective measures also need to be taken to enable returnees to exercise their right to lodge complaints and they must be informed about this right in a language they understand. Officers accompanying the returnees should be given the right training and made aware of this code of conduct.

Return flights are still few and far between, particularly due to the complications of organising them and the difficulties encountered in roping in the countries of origin, mainly from sub-Saharan Africa. Malta is pressing the EU to make them more regular.

According to the latest available information, more than 100 failed asylum seekers have been repatriated from Malta since 2009 in 17 joint return operations.