Success in the fight against human smuggling activities is a necessity and a moral duty, Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici said this morning.

Opening the UNODC conference on Promoting Law Enforcement and Judicial Cooperation among Source, Transit and Destination Countries in Response to the Smuggling of Migrants, Dr Mifsud Bonnici said:

“Our objective is not an easy one; however a collective effort will help us address the problems we are facing more effectively.

“I consider that Italy and Libya have shown us the way forward in this regard.”

The minister stressed that human smuggling could be addressed by any single state on its own, but rather through effective cooperation in the Mediterranean and European region.

Malta, he said, experienced very significant influxes of smuggled migrants between 2002 and 2009.

This phenomenon peaked in 2008 when up to 2,775 irregular immigrants reached Malta.

Even though there had been a decrease in the number of arrivals in 2009 when compared to 2008, the number of arrivals remained high, with 1,475 irregular migrants reaching the country.

Moreover, the pressures borne by Malta as a result of arrivals experienced over the previous years remained high, not least because practical difficulties were experienced in returning irregular migrants to their respective countries of origin.

Practically all irregular migrants entering Malta were undocumented, Dr Mifsud Bonnici said.

He noted that this year, the number of irregular migrants arriving in Malta decreased significantly primarily due to cooperation between Italy and Libya.

Malta, he said, welcomed the recent agreement between the EU and Libya which promised to not only assist Libya in improving the management of its borders, but also better access to international protection for asylum seekers.