UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon yesterday washed his hands of the recent diplomatic deadlock between Malta and Italy over who should take a group of migrants stranded on the high seas.
Mr Ban said he was not in a position to intervene in the issue. He was speaking at a press conference, following a meeting with Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi at Castille, not long after he arrived for a two-day visit.
Mr Ban avoided comment when asked whether Italy had acted in line with international conventions when it initially refused permission for the migrants to land in Lampedusa, the nearest port to where the migrants were rescued.
The immigrants, 140 in all, were rescued by Turkish cargo vessel Pinar E in Malta's search and rescue area just off the island of Lampedusa. According to international conventions the ship had to take the survivors to the nearest safe port of call.
Malta stressed that this meant they should have been taken to Lampedusa but Italy initially refused and only reversed its decision after a four-day stand-off which ended on Sunday.
While Mr Ban avoided the question about the stand-off he did delve into the treatment of refugees and asylum seekers.
Aknowledging the "challenges" Malta faced in dealing with illegal immigration, he said he asked Dr Gonzi to take measures to safeguard the well-being of refugees and improve the conditions in detention centres according to international humanitarian laws.
"I sympathise fully with the challenges facing the government and the people of Malta but much more needs to be done to accommodate refugees properly and to provide assistance in line with international conventions," Mr Ban said.
Dr Gonzi acknowledged that Malta needed to do more to improve the situation of asylum seekers but added that the island had its limitations.
After the press conference, the Prime Minister accompanied Mr Ban for a visit to the Upper Barrakka gardens. Mr Ban then paid a courtesy visit to President George Abela and later met Opposition Leader Joseph Muscat before being taken on a tour of Mdina.
Mr Ban is expected to address Parliament this morning.
The last time a UN Secretary General was in Malta was when Javier Perez de Cuellar visited 21 years ago.
ksansone@timesofmalta.com