NGOs have called for a clear pathway to regularise rejected asylum seekers still living in Malta today, saying that the law does not provide certainty for asylum seekers.
Rejected asylum seekers were granted Temporary Humanitarian Protection (THPN) in 2012, but the government threatened to strip people of this status last year when a review process of the system was announced, JRS director Katrine Camilleri said. The threat was subsequently shelved, amid appeals from the President and the media, among others.
The review process highlights the instability of the system, and the uncertainty experienced by people under THPN status, she said.
JRS, Aditus and Intregra are therefore calling for a legal pathway to regularise all asylum seekers who have been living in Malta for over five years and who are unable to return to their country.
Authorities know about people living in their unstable situation and have afforded them a “tolerated stay,” Dr Camilleri said.
“It is difficult for us to relate to the fear of these people,” she continued.
THPN makes it difficult for people to access basic services, such access to bank accounts and travelling rights.
Researcher Kristina Zammit recounted episodes of fathers being unable to see their children being born because THPN did not grant them travelling documents.
The precarious situation in which rejected asylum seekers live has made Malta "a bigger prison," where they leave in fear that they will never belong, Dr Camilleri insisted.
The NGOs also lambasted the lack of clarity in the eligibility criteria, saying that a person's employability should not be the only criteria that grants citizenship.
Currently, there are no legal rules to regulate the decision-making procedure, meaning that asylum seekers are unsure whether the decision granting them THPN is fair, independent and impartial, the NGOs wrote on their website.
The rights granted by THPN remain unclear, they insisted, saying that the humanitarian protection still fail to allow people to work towards more permanent forms of residence.
The NGOs' appeals came a day after the government launched Malta's first Migrant Integration Strategy and Action Plan, introducing frameworks aimed at helping improve the integration of migrants. Contrary to THPNs, the strategy was targetted towards recognised migrants.