MaltaMedia.com

The Ministry for Justice and Home Affairs said that the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention failed to appreciate the scale of the problem that Malta is facing with the number illegal immigration arriving on its shores, on Saturday.

The ministry was reacting to the harsh criticism of the UN working group where the situation inside the closed detentions centres in Malta were described as ‘appalling’ and ’sub-standard’.

The Ministry said that it was evident from the conclusions of the initial report communicated to the media, that the Working Group has failed to fully appreciate the scale of the problem that Malta, with its limited resources, limited land mass, and a population of just over 400,000 people is facing with the numbers of illegal immigrants arriving to its shores.

The 2775 illegal immigrants that arrived in Malta last year would be equivalent to more than 300,000 arriving in Spain during the same period, the Ministry said.

The Ministry said that full consideration was taken of the rights of asylum seekers.

The Ministry then went on to clarify certain point. The first was the detention period where it that by no means all the persons currently in detention have been or will be in detention for a total of 18 months.

It insisted that as a matter of fact, asylum seekers are detained for a maximum of 12 months – in other words if their case is not determined within 12 months they are released. However, most asylum cases are in fact determined well before the elapse of 12 months, and those who are recognised as refugees or beneficiaries of subsidiary protection are released immediately.

On the eight-year old child the Ministry said that the boy had in fact entered Malta less than two weeks ago and was released because he had obtained the required medical clearance – which is mandatory for the release of any illegal immigrant – not because it was ‘pointed out’ by the UN Working Group.

On the Somali man suffering from HIV and chicken box, the Ministry said that this person was not denied hospital treatment and was being kept alone and by no means inside a cell, to avoiding the spread of chicken pox to the other immigrants; while pointing out that Malta set the example in this matter because illegal immigrants are afforded all the medical treatment that is available to any Maltese citizen.

The Ministry said that illegal immigration in Malta has been de-criminalised. Thus, it can hardly be argued that they are in any way being criminalised. As a matter of fact the objective of the detention policy is to guarantee Malta’s security.

In this regard, it should be emphasised that illegal immigrants enter Malta undocumented, which means that they cannot be identified by the authorities, the Ministry insisted.

The Ministry also said that immigrants who are not recognised as refugees or beneficiaries of international protection have no right or entitlement to reside in Malta.

The authorities are, and have been, making efforts to have such persons repatriated to their respective countries. However, this was not always possible, which explains why a number of illegal immigrants did spend the stipulated maximum of 18 months in detention, although some accept to be repatriated voluntarily under a scheme offered by the Government of Malta, the Ministry said.

see: UN working group slams detention centres