Updated 5.15pm

An inquiry has been opened into the death of a seven-year-old Nigerian girl, who last November was noticed as absent from school and whose two siblings are now in the care of the State, Times of Malta is informed.

Sources close to the case said yesterday the child protection team was alerted late last year about the siblings’ absence from school, and all professionals consulted agreed they would allow the family some time to address the shortcoming before issuing a care order.

The possible care order was being discussed on the grounds that the children had been denied the right to education, as they were not being sent to school.

However, no care order was ever presented to the Family Minister for the girl, whose cause of death on Sunday has not yet been published.

Media reports referred to possible malnourishment, but accor-ding to the sources, the professionals handling the case do not seem to have been alerted to that possibility. It was only the school absenteeism that was being looked into, the sources added.

A risk assessment was conducted after the death, and the minister signed a care order for the two siblings – aged 10 and 12 – on Tuesday. This was the first the minister had become aware of the case, the sources noted.

Possibility of a care order was discussed

The girl’s family was asked to vacate the Ħal Far tent village in June 2016 to move to their current Żabbar residence, with the parents resisting the move, this newspaper learnt.

In protest, the father threatened he would sleep outdoors, and the children were taken in by Appoġġ for the night. They were returned the following day, as the parents were cooperating.

The girl died in a residence in Żabbar lent to her family by the Dominican nuns following a request in 2016 by the Agency for the Welfare of Asylum Seekers.

The family was living there independently and was not under the care of any Church entity, the Emigrants’ Commission said.

Experts in the sector who spoke to this newspaper raised concerns about systematic failure that put parents’ rights above the protection of children’s welfare.

The Platform of Human Rights Organisations in Malta called upon the authorities to ensure a “prompt and thorough investigation” into the circumstances leading to the girl’s death.

“It is imperative to clarify whether any preventive measures could have been taken to avoid this loss,” the organisation said, noting its “extreme shock”.

Referring to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, it insisted it was the primary duty of the State to ensure a child enjoyed the necessary protection and care for their well-being.

When the State made arrangements for children, with or without their families, to be accommodated in non-State institutions, such as those run by NGOs, the government was not relieved of its duties towards those children, the organisation insisted.

In a statement last evening, the Family Ministry said it had ordered an independent investigation to look into the case, to be led by Judge Emeritus Philip Sciberras. This is separate from the ongoing magisterial inquiry.

UNCHR calls for system review

UN refugee Agency UNHCR said it hoped the inquiry would identify gaps in the system that would need to be addressed in order to prevent similar tragedies in the future.

It calledd for a holistic approach and collaboration between government agencies supporting refugee children.

"The lack of such collaboration has grave repercussions on the child’s safety, especially since refugee children are generally living in vulnerable situations. It is in the best interest of the child to have the required safety structures provided by the State right from their arrival in Malta," it said.

PN says tragedy raises many questions

The Nationalist Party said the tragedy had raised many questions, and that there had been too many anomalies, including the fact that the government tried to imply that the girl was under the care of the Dominican nuns, rather than of government agency Appoġġ.

It asked whether the girl had received timely care for her chronic condition, and whether the recommendations of her care workers had been followed

The party concluded by asking who would be shouldering responsibility for what had happened.