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The Council of Europe publishes a CPT (Committee for the Prevention of Torture) report on its last visit to Malta on September 26-30, 2011. Among other things, the CPT report highlights major shortcomings in several areas of the Corradino Correctional Facility and noted very poor conditions under which foreign nationals were being held in the two Warehouses at Safi Barracks. Malta's government strongly reacts to the report.
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Malta has called for assistance from the European Union after rescuing 291 migrants from a drifting boat. The vessel was intercepted by Maltese patrol boats after coming from Libya. Among the 243 men and 48 women on board, at least two had gunshot wounds and others were nearly unconscious. Malta's Prime Minister Muscat said "Malta would not leave its doors open wide and welcome boats from Libya and elsewhere as if nothing happened".
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Muscat warns EU that Malta expects solidarity on immigrationn reply to a question by the media, he prime minister said that he was not excluding push-backs of immigrants </a>intercepted at sea, “especially” if Libya is declared to be a safe country. The practice had been utilised by Italy, which promptly earned the <a href='http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/sites/eng/pages/search.aspx?i=001-109231#{"itemid":["001-109231"]}' >condemnation of the European Court of Human Rights,</a> which ruled that such push-backs violated human rights if people are returned to countries where they may face persecution or serious harm.
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In a press release, 11Maltese NGOs state that returning forced migrants to Libya or failing to rescue them from sinking boats
would put them at serious risk of inhuman and degrading treatment and could threaten their very lives. They also remind last week Court of Appeal ruling that the forced return of two Somali nationals to Libya in 2004 violated their human rights, the already mentioned Hirsi v Italy ECHR judgement, and accounts/reports of degrading treatment suffered by migrants in Libya. -
In his first visit outside Rome since becoming pope, Francis visited recently arrived migrants on the island of Lampedusa on Monday, lambasting the rich world for its lack of concern for their suffering and inveighing against a "globalisation of indifference". "We have become used to the suffering of others. It doesn't affect us. It doesn't interest us. It's not our business," he said.
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The European Court of Human Rights has issued an interim order to block a government pushback of 45 migrants after NGOs filed a prohibitory application.
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A group of 102 migrants was brought to Malta early this morning, bringing to 400 the number of arrivals in a week. The new group included 41 women and two babies.
The migrants were spotted on a dinghy close to the Delimara coast and escorted to the AFM Maritime Base by a patrol boat at about 6 am. -
Two Air Malta flights for Mitiga to return an unspecified number of migrants back to Libya have been scheduled for tonight.
The flights will carry a total of 90 police officers and 45 migrants who were denied the right to seek asylum in Malta.
NGOs, Nationalist Party and UNHCR react strongly against the government decision. -
In an official statement, EU Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Mallstrom says: "I have learnt with great concern the statements from the Maltese Prime Minister about the possibility to send back persons recently arrived to Malta. I would like to stress that according to EU and international obligations, all people arriving in the EU territory are entitled to file an asylum request and to have a proper assessment."
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After stating that government must not return migrants to Libya, Maltese NGOs request that the European Court of Human Rights order Malta to refrain from deporting the 103 migrants to Libya, as this would result in a breach of their human rights. The case is open though a fax sent at 4.45PM, 15 minutes before the deadline.
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With Maltese Prime Minister threatening an hardline approach on irregular immigration, Sundaycircle.com re-publishes a report by human rights organisation Amnesty International about 220 Eritrean migrants. deported from Malta. "Upon their return to Asmara, they were rounded up and imprisoned, suffering inhumane treatment and systematic torture."
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In view of the on-going controversy relating to push backs of asylumseekers, aditus foundation has presented its resignation from the LGBTI Consultative Council, with immediate effect. The decision is explained in a strong press release
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ECHR has taken an interim decision to stop the repatriation of migrants from Malta, at the request of 11 Maltese NGOs. Two repatriation flights to Tripoli, due to have taken off at midnight and 4 a.m. were called off. Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Home Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia said this evening that they would respect the Court's decision.
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Prime Minister Joseph Muscat today said the European Union had to "wake up" to Malta's immigration burden. Speaking about the intended pushbacks of 45 migrants, blocked by an interim measure from the European Court of Human Rights, "We considered all options and we took this decision, to consider all options, because we wanted Europe to wake and smell the coffee, and I believe we managed because finally this humanitarian and Mediterranean tragedy is back on the agenda," Muscat said.
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In a press release, the Maltese NGOs who turned to the ECHR commend the government's decision to refrain from deporting migrants back. They also urge Mr. Van Rumpoy, who is visiting Malta today, to work to ensure that the Member States of the EU put solidarity into practice by providing effective support for Member States facing particular pressures, such as Malta.
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In the case Suso v Malta, ECHR advised Malta to improve the conditions at detention centres to avoid being found guilty in future similar cases. Neil Falzon, a human rights lawyer representing Mr Suso Musa, said: “This judgment confirms the need to radically revise the way Malta insists on treating asylum-seekers upon their arrival.
In the case Ahmed v Malta, the court found a violation of Art.3 (prohibition of inhuman and degrding treatment.
These judgments will become final in three months. -
In the evening, the Italian rescue coordination centre ordered MT Salamis, operated by Greek shipping company Mantinia, to rescue 102 migrants and take them back to the nearest port of call. The migrants' dinghy is still in the Libyan search and rescue zone at just 45 nautical miles off the Libyan coast.
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The tanker - named Salamis - carrying gasoil destined for Malta, rescued the migrants but proceeds toward Malta. During its voyage, the Maltese government informes the captian access to Maltese waters would be denied. At 24 nautical miles off the Maltese coast, the Armed Forces of Malta interceptes the vessel and refuses it entry.
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Human rights NGOs called on Italy and Malta to ensure that all decisions involving the fate of the migrants aboard the MT Salamis give top-most priority to the preservation of their lives. "Whilst legal and political sensitivities are of course central to the determination of responsibilities and obligations, these should not override or ignore the need to ensure the safety of all rescued persons and of the rescuing crew," the NGOs said in a press release
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Malta's government says a patrolling Italian navy ship ordered the tanker to take the migrants back to Libya The tanker was instructed by the government itself to turn back and take the migrants to the closest safe port of call, which was Libya. The tanker's owner denies that it was instructed by the Italian authorities to head back to Libya and urges the Italian and Maltese authorities to "urgently provide clear instructions for disembarkation of the rescued people.
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While the opposition supports government's decision of not allowing disembarkation of migrants in Malta, the EU Commission says the EU state has a humanitarian duty to take in the migrants. Among those aboard the tanker are an injured woman, four pregnant women and a five-month-old baby. since the ship was now closest to Malta, the island must allow the migrants to disembark as soon as possible. Any dispute over which country should legally take them should be resolved later.
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An immovable home affairs minister Manuel Mallia insists that Salamis will not enter Maltese territory. "The shipmaster violated international law and did not give a toss about the orders he received from a sovereign state," Mallia said. Asked whether Libya was a safe port for the migrants rescued at sea, Mallia said: "Libya is a safe place because the migrants had just left from Libya so they must have felt safe there because they lived in Libya."
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Home Affairs Minister Mallia says that "Cecilia Malmstrom had not been informed correctly about the events, it seems she was not aware of the entire picture". In the meanwhile, vulgar insults appear on Cecilia Malmstrom Facebook profile.
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The crisis is resolved overnight when Italy gave permission for the Salamis to travel on to Syracuse. BBC titles "Italy takes in migrants MALTA REFUSED". EU Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem welcomed news of the migrants' arrival in Italy, tweeting: "Thank You Italy."Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat,thanked his Italian counterpart Enrico Letta.
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Finally, Maltese NGOs can celebrate the disembarkation to safety of the 102 migrants. Nevertheless,they remain concerned at the lengthy process involved in reaching a decision in this case. We would like to urge relevant stakeholders such as coastal states, the European Union, the Council of Europe and the International Maritime Organisation to work together to formulate concrete initiatives to prevent similar incidents from occurring and from processing them as swiftly and humanely as possible.
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In an address at 9:15pm, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said the incident was "another wake up call for Europe".
"How many more people have to die before action is taken? Malta and Italy are working together and we feel abandoned on this operation. This is a European problem.
Malta Today -
The shipwreck on Friday was the second recent tragedy in the waters where more than 300 migrants travelling from north Africa to southern Europe lost their lives on 3 Oct
The official toll for that tragedy – in which a boat loaded with about 500 migrants caught fire and sank in one of the worst disasters to hit the area in recent years – rose to at least 339 on Friday .
The Guardian -
12 October 2013 – Following reports of a second ship capsizing off the coast of the Italian island of Lampedusa, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called on the international community to protect the rights of migrants and take action to prevent such tragic incidents.
UN News Centre -
The Maltese armed forces' patrol boat P-61 brought 147 shipwrecked asylum seekers, after a 10-hour journey from where tragedy struck at a point 61 nautical miles south of the Italian island of Lampedusa. Maltatoday
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A tiny coffin with a teddy bear fixed poignantly to the lid is lowered into an anonymous vault - the final resting place for one of the youngest victims of Italy's worst ever refugee tragedy.
The unknown child was among more than 300 Eritrean and Somali asylum-seekers who drowned when their fishing boat caught fire and sank.
Dailymail -
Earlier this month, Italy granted citizenship to 143 foreigners. It won’t be much use to them, though: The new posthumous Italians all died on Oct. 4, when the boat carrying them from North Africa to Lampedusa, an Italian island, caught fire and sank. Some others survived, but as Pablo Ordaz writes in El País (Spanish), their welcome was somewhat colder.
QUARTZ -
Italy - IOM Director General William Lacy Swing today called for urgent action and intensified cooperation in the wake of the latest boat tragedy near the islands of Malta and Lampedusa, where 21 people lost their lives at the weekend. At least other 200 people are still missing.
IOM -
The disaster has precipitated much discussion about what the European Union (EU) and its members states should be doing to prevent further loss of migrant lives at sea, even as the death toll in the Mediterranean continues to mount, with dozens of Syrian and Palestinian refugees losing their lives on 11 October when another boat capsized between Malta and Lampedusa.
Irin news -
GENEVA, October 18 (UNHCR) – With growing numbers of Syrians seeking safety in Europe, the UN refugee agency said on Friday it is concerned about severe difficulties these displaced people face during their passage and at borders. This includes the risk of drowning at sea and incidents where Syrians have been dangerously hindered in their journeys.
UNHCR -
Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmström has described the migratory pressures faced by Malta, Italy and Greece as a "European problem" requiring a sound management of migratory and asylum flows at national level, supported by initiatives at EU level.
Maltatoday -
Malta requests the Euroean Court of Human Rights to refer the case of Suso Musa v. Malta (23rd July) to the Court's Grand Chamber.
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The aim of the European Border Surveillance System (EUROSUR) is to reinforce control of the Schengen external borders.
Council of the European Union -
(Brussels) – European Union heads of state meeting in Brussels on October 24 and 25, 2013, should urgently adopt measures to improve sea rescues of migrants and asylum seekers trying to reach Europe, Human Rights Watch said today. The summit should also pledge more measures to facilitate access for refugees from Syria and protect their rights as they increasingly turn to dangerous boat migration.
Human Rights Watch -
Speaking at the European Parliament prior to the start of the two-day summit meeting this afternoon in Brussels, President Barroso said that the EU should do more to prevent tragedies as the one off Lampedusa a few days ago.
Times of Malta -
In his statement after the October European Council, President Barroso outlined discussions which had taken place on access to finance for SMEs, regulatory fitness, the trade agreement with Canada, the forthcoming Eastern Partnership Summit, and the issue of migration and refugees.
European Commission News -
The Italian navy ignored rescue calls from the sinking fishing boat that claimed the lives of over 260 Syrian and other nationals 11 October at sea, to "pass the buck" to Malta - according to Italy's investigative journalism magazine l'Espresso.
Maltatoday -
Survivors were told to cal Malta after calling Italian authorities. A rapporteur of the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly has called for an investigation into alleged delays in a sea rescue operation when up to 200 migrants were feared dead.
Times of Malta -
BRUSSELS—European officials proposed allowing people to apply for asylum in Europe from abroad, part of a package of measures intended to discourage dangerous, illegal journeys like the one that cost the lives of hundreds of immigrants off the coast of Italy in October.
The Wall street journal -
The Armed Forces of Malta yesterday categorically denied what it said was ‘insinuated’ in The Malta Independent on Sunday’s front page story, which asked if Malta tried to act alone in rescuing Syrian migrants on a sinking boat near Lampedusa.
The Malta Independent
