Human rights organisations are not being consulted on policies related to their work, a group of NGOs said in submissions to the United Nations’ Universal Periodic Review.

The UN reviews all member states by analysing what they did to fulfil their human rights obligations within the framework of the Human Rights Council’s work to address violations. The next review exercise for Malta is set to take place on November 14. As part of the process, NGOs can also make general comments and recommendations.

The Platform Human Rights Organisations Malta said they were “generally less consulted and involved in the discussions of policies”, noting that those working on migration-related issues had a “particularly difficult if not hostile” relationship with the Ministry of Home Affairs and National Security.

It said that, besides being seen as “a symptom of an unhealthy democratic system”, the exclusion of NGOs from consultation processes risked undermining the capacity of the government to develop policies taking into account the fundamental expertise of NGOs and all interested stakeholders.

Hate speech and hate crimes continued to be concerning

In recent years, the group added, NGOs reported an increase in expressions of hatred towards both their activities and their members, insisting that hate speech and hate crimes continued to be “concerning priorities that need to be addressed adequately on both a legal and cultural level”.

The NGOs commented that the weakening of the democratic system, “resulting from bad governance may dangerously lower the standards and accessibility of rights, generate more poverty and create public distrust in the institutions responsible for protecting rights”.

Human rights NGOs feared, the Platform Human Rights Organisations Malta remarked, that the true perpetrators behind Daphne Caruana Galizia’s murder would not be investigated or brought to justice.

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