When the first ‘riot’ of the year happened at Lyster Barracks detention centre last Tuesday, it was met with predictable outrage from a large section of the general public.

The usual recriminations followed: Why weren’t the instigators sent to jail? Were the police too heavy handed? But perhaps there is a bigger question: do we need to detain irregular migrants and asylum seekers at all?

The two main political parties say ‘yes’.

Speaking on TVM programme Dissett last week, Home Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia went as far as saying that detention was necessary for security reasons, as irregular arrivals could possibly be part of “cells sent for ulterior motives”.

He added that the government was improving conditions at detention centres, but made it clear there would be no radical overhaul of the system.

Nationalist spokesman for Home Affairs Jason Azzopardi told The Sunday Times of Malta that “national security should always remain the mainstay of any detention policy”.

“The PN’s position on detention today is what it was during the last year of our time in government,” Dr Azzopardi said.

“It is the way in which it is implemented, in full adherence to the principles of human rights and our international obligations, which has to be held to account,” he continued.

Dr Azzopardi noted that former Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi had called upon the Strategic Policy Secretariat within the Office of the Prime Minister to come up with a comprehensive review of the detention policy following the death of a Malian citizen in 2012.

“Upon being elected in 2013, the Labour Party disbanded the Strategic Policy Secretariat and all the documents within its remit. All those who were leading the process were removed or transferred,” Dr Azzopardi said.

Alternattiva Demokratika sees it differently.

“AD opposes long-term mandatory detention. It believes detention should only be used when strictly necessary for monitoring purposes (security and health) with six months being the maximum,” immigration spokesman Robert Callus said.

“Also, it is crucial that if people need to be detained, they shouldn’t be left idle all day but given educational and training opportunities,” Mr Callus added.

These alternatives would replace the entire reception system as we have it today

In a statement last week, six NGOs working in the fields of human rights and migration accus­ed the Home Affairs Ministry of ignoring their requests for engagement on detention policy.

Speaking to The Sunday Times of Malta, those same NGOs and several more posited some practical alternatives to detention.

“These alternatives would replace the entire reception system as we have it today with one that is based on an assessment of 10 years experiences of a failed system, and on the human rights standards Malta is legally bound to abide by,” Aditus director Neil Falzon said on behalf of the NGOs.

The NGOs aligned themselves with a model in which personal freedom is the rule, and detention the exception.

“On the basis of individual assessments, a state would establish which reception process is most appropriate and most suited to each individual, on the basis of clearly established grounds and criteria which must also reflect what the state is allowed to to do and not to do,” said Dr Falzon, a human rights lawyer.

The NGOs were Aditus, Foundation for Shelter and Support to Migrants, Integra, JRS Malta, Kopin, Malta Emigrants’ Commission, Migrants’ Network for Equality, Organisation for Friendship in Diversity, People for Change Foundation and SOS Malta.

“Instead of a detention regime that locks everyone up automatically, our suggestion would be to limit – not deprive – people of their freedom for these initial screening stages, for a clearly defined time limit under direct supervision by a judicial or quasi-judicial authority,” Dr Falzon said.

“Following this initial processing, and dependant on it, people are channelled to the best-suited procedures. Detention, as specified in the law, is only used as a means of last resort, under those circumstances allowed by human rights law, and procedural guarantees remain in place to protect personal freedom,” he added.

Detention tells the general public that asylum seekers are dangerous and unwanted

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ long-standing position is that the practice of detaining all asylum seekers who arrive in an irregular manner is unlawful and arbitrary in terms of international and European law.

“Most states in Europe and beyond do not utilise a comprehensive detention regime for all asylum seekers who arrive without documents,” a spokesman for UNHCR Malta said.

He pointed out several examples of alternative arrangements overseas, namely:

• Regular reporting requirements, with repercussions for non-compliance;

• Mandatory residence arrangements, including at open or semi-open reception centres;

• Provision of a guarantor/surety or release on bail/bond;

• Special arrangements and a separate track for children and families.

AD suggested that requiring asylum seekers and irregular migrants to sign in at police stations and undergo mandatory health checks would be a more humane and cost-effective means of reception.

The PN said that “for the time being, detention is here to stay as a national security measure”.

“What we feel is that detention as a concept needs to be changed and more focused on care rather than security,” Dr Azzopardi said.

Many proponents of the detention policy argue that it acts as a deterrent to people considering making the perilous sea crossing from North Africa.

This argument does not hold water, according to the NGOs.

“People don’t want to come to Malta due to its size and limited opportunities for a future,” Dr Falzon said, although he noted that the island did offer the possibility of being resettled in the US, something rarely mentioned in public discourse.

AD felt it was “very unlikely” that detention was a deterrent, as the vast majority of arrivals are in need of protection, and most intend to reach Italy, not Malta.

The PN also acknowledged that the deterrent argument was no longer valid.

“Over the years it has been proven that, irrespective of detention and conditions within the detention centres, an average of 1,500 irregular migrants would reach our shores in search of a better life,” Dr Azzopardi said.

“The deterrent needs to be tackled at source,” he added.

Stressing that Malta’s dtention policy was illegal, the NGOs also made a strong argument that it was harmful to the country.

“Detention tells the general public that asylum seekers are dangerous and unwanted. Listening to public discourse is sufficient to see how the general public has an automatically negative idea of refugees, possibly without ever having spoken to one,” Dr Falzon said.

Who are the irregular arrivals?

Eighty-two per cent of asylum seekers last year were granted some form of protection. Of those granted international protection, 38 per cent were Somalis, 32 per cent were Eritreans and 24 per cent were Syrians .

What is Malta’s detention policy?

Irregular migrants who apply for protection are detained until their asylum claims are determined, which usually takes months. If their claim is still pending after 12 months, they are automatically released.

Rejected asylum seekers and other irregular migrants who cannot be deported are detained for up to 18 months before being released. Asylum seekers deemed to be ‘vulnerable’ are exempt from detention after initial screening. Currently, nine migrants are still in detention after more than 12 months. A total of 158 have served more than six months.

Very few failed asylum seekers are deported within 18 months.

“Deportation requires sound diplomatic relations with countries of origin, and agreements on the identification of nationals, procurements of documentation and acceptance of deported people,” Dr Falzon explained.

Who rioted last week?

Six Nigerians and one Ghanaian aged between 31 and 17 were given suspended jail terms.

All had been in Malta less than six months and had been refused asylum, meaning they were facing at least another year in detention before being released if they could not be deported.

Times Talk will be discussing the issue of detention on Tuesday at 6.55pm on TVM.