21 December 2014
Irregular immigration should be taken out of the military’s hands and be run by a civilian-run agency, a review of Malta’s detention policy had recommended two years ago, following the death of two migrants in custody.
The National Detention Policy review was concluded in October 2012. However, it remained unpublished and though it had started being implemented, the process got stuck after the March 2013 general election when the Labour Party was elected to government.
The main aim of the report’s recommendations, which are being published for the first time in The Sunday Times of Malta today, is to “civilianise” the care of migrants, both in closed and open centres.
The document, penned by the former head of the Strategic Policy Secretariat, Mikela Fenech Pace, recommends keeping the mandatory detention policy but says the maximum incarceration period should be brought down from 18 months to one year.
