The Maltese authorities should exercise caution when returning migrants to their home countries as some may still be at risk of persecution and other serious human rights violations, the UNHCR said today.

The statement comes one day after NGOs broke news that police had rounded up 33 men, most of whom had been living in Malta for more than a decade, and kept them in detention without explanation.

The roundup came after failed asylum seekers were told that their 'temporary humanitarian protection (N)' status (THPN) - a form of regularised stay status - would not be renewed, pending a review. 

In its statement, the UNHCR said that effective return policies and practices for persons who were not refugees were essential in maintaining credible asylum systems and to prevent onward movement.

“Malta has, over the years, rightly developed capacity and allocated resources for its asylum procedure, which remains however only partly efficient due to some deficiencies in the second instance procedure... the Refugee Appeals Board, is in need of reform.”

It said it was aware of a number of cases where persons were in need of international protection because they faced persecution in their country of origin and, to this day, had not been properly identified and recognised as such by the Maltese authorities.

Some of these persons were given THPN. UNHCR intervened in some cases of individuals it considered to be refugees but who were not granted a form of international protection, or who were later granted THPN.

The UNHCR said that, regardless of status, any return to one's country of origin should take place in safety and in dignity, in line with international and European human rights standards.

It urged the authorities to consider voluntary return options for persons who were found to not be in need of international protection and to organise information campaigns on return options.

UNHCR also urged the authorities to initiate a dialogue with the relevant civil society organisations on the review of THPN status and to conduct a review of the Refugee Appeals Board mechanism, in particular the need to establish a body that was able to work on a full-time basis with more persons who had a professional expertise in matters relating to refugee law and status determination.

“Any credible asylum system needs to have appropriate safeguards and oversight to ensure that those persons who are in need of international protection are not at risk of return to their country of origin.”