[MALTA] Times of Malta: Malta needs to prepare for migrant arrivals upsurge as Libya situation worsens - UNHCR representative

10 February 2015

The local representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Jon Hoisaeter has urged Malta to prepare for a potential upsurge in migrant departures from Libya as the situation in that country deteriorates.

Speaking before the Social Affairs Committee, he said the situation in Libya could see Libyans escaping from that country, and not just migrants.

Talks about the evolving scenario were being held at various levels with the Ministry of Home Affairs. However, there was no comprehensive discussion on any contingency plan for the various scenarios which may emerge.

Mr Hoisaeter regretted that different countries were doing different things about migration and there was no unified approach.

He stressed that Malta has to revise its laws to transpose the Reception Conditions Directive by July. Work in this regard was being done by the Ministry of Home Affairs. Malta also needed to amend its laws in line with judgement of the European Court of Human Rights. The Equal Opportunities Ministry was also working on a Comprehensive Integration Policy Framework.

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[MALTA] Malta Today: Malta allocated a further €12 million for Frontex equipment

4 February 2015

Malta has been allocated an additional €12,600,000 in EU funds for the purchase of an additional fixed wing aircraft.

Parliament secretary for EU funds Ian Borg said that Malta was allocated the funds following a call for proposals for the purchase of Frontex equipment under the ISF-Borders Specific actions.

This additional allocation will bring the total amount of EU funds earmarked for Malta for the period between 2014 – 2020 under the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund as well as under the Internal Security Fund to €92 million euro.

These funds will be used to continue to strengthen the Armed Forces of Malta, the Malta Police Force, the Civil Protections Department, Malta’s Security Services, Malta Foreign Affairs and the Customs Department in their fight against crime especially cross-border crime and in their monitoring of Malta’s borders.

Various pieces of equipment are envisaged to be purchased, such as an additional helicopter which will continue to enhance AFM’s air fleet which was recently improved through the procurement of a further 2 twin-engine helicopters part-financed through the External Borders Fund.

These helicopters will replace the Alouette IIIs which are operated by the AFM at the moment. Various surveillance systems will also be upgraded and procured to assist both the AFM and the Police Force.

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[MALTA] Times of Malta: Draft immigration policy to be issued for public consultation soon

27 January 2015

A draft immigration policy is to be issued for public consultation shortly, Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela said this evening.

Speaking in Parliament, he said that the concept of detention had to change in line with EU policy and EU court decisions. There would also be the introduction of the concept of reception.

Mr Abela said that the EU last year issued a letter of formal notice as to why the directive regarding immigration was not yet enacted. He said the government told the EU in June that the law was in the process of being discussed.

The minister said that prior to this letter of formal notice there had been other communication from the EU and Malta had never considered not adhering to the directive.

The law, he said, was aimed to bring into force the EU directive issued in 2011, with which both sides agreed.

The minister also spoke about the issue of a report on the detention facilities, saying the previous administration had been unenthusiastic to complete a report on a national detention policy for immigration.

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[Malta] Malta Today - 'Military should be kept out of migration issues'

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.

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[Malta] Malta Today - Migrants are not terrorists

When national security takes precedence over human and civil rights, society is on a very slippery slope. In some countries, this has led to the arrest of journalists and activists. In others it has resulted in citizens losing their right to privacy.

Before this week’s casual election to fill in the seat vacated by European Commissioner Karmenu Vella, Robert Henry Bugeja was a nobody on the political scene. But his xenophobe outburst on Facebook made it to the news pages.

In his latest Facebook tirade, Bugeja urged people not to donate to the annual charity fundraiser l-Istrina, claiming the money will be spent on “supporting illegal migration.”

This is the only the latest in a series of racist outbursts we’ve had from government and Labour’s ranks apart from Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s threat to push migrants back to Libya without granting them the right to apply for asylum coming only 18 months ago.

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[Malta] Maltatoday: Malta participates in Mos Maiorum, four irregular migrants apprehended

15 October 2014

A massive police operation dubbed ‘Mos Maiorum’ was launched by 25 European countries on Monday to detect, detain and possibly deport tens-of-thousands of so-called “irregular” migrants.

During the 14-day Operation Mos Maiorum, some 20,000 police officers will stake out border crossings, railway stations, bus depots, and highways throughout Europe to apprehend so-called irregular migrants – people living without permission.

The operation is the brainchild of the Italian presidency of the European Council.

No clear data exist on the number of irregular migrants in the European Union, but unofficial estimates range between 150,000 to 450,000 people.

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[Malta] Malta Today - 'Pushback’ migrants’ case declared inadmissible

9 October 2014

Irregular migrants who the government had threatened to send back to Libya last year should seek redress before the Maltese justice system rather than go to Strasbourg, the European Court of Human Rights has ruled.

An application 102 migrants had filed before the European Court claiming violation of their right not to be subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment and their right to an effective remedy was declared inadmissible by seven European judges including Chief justice Emeritus Vincent De Gaetano.

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[Méditerranée] Basta Mag - Lampedusa : faire s’écrouler cette broyeuse de mômes qui sévit de l’Érythrée jusqu’à Calais

3 octobre 2014

22 000 personnes ont péri en Méditerranée depuis quinze ans. Plus de 3000 rien que cette année, selon l’Organisation internationale pour les migrations. Leur faute : fuir la misère et des dictatures, et vouloir migrer vers l’Europe. Un an après le naufrage de Lampedusa, dans lequel ont péri plus de 300 Somaliens et Érythréens (le 3 octobre 2013), voici un billet du journaliste et écrivain Léonard Vincent, spécialiste de l’Afrique et de l’Érythrée.

Je voulais écrire un billet pour commémorer aujourd’hui le naufrage cauchemardesque de Lampedusa, l’année dernière, mais au fond je n’ai rien à dire. Du fond de la mer, les morts ne réclament plus rien. Les survivants pleurent encore, avec un bouquet de mains sur leurs épaules. Leurs amis s’élèvent et s’insurgent, dénoncent et accusent, à bon droit. Les politiciens relisent les notes interminables de leurs conseillers, qui leur expliquent depuis des années combien ils sont impuissants et pourquoi, pour être justes, ils doivent rester lâches [1]. Les trouillards des bureaux de vote, de toute façon, les menacent avec leurs fourches en forme de télécommande. Et les évadés d’Erythrée continuent de se masser sur les rivages de Libye, dans l’attente de la prochaine fripouille qui leur videra les poches et les enverra mourir les poumons pleins d’eau ou se sauver dans nos centres de regroupement.

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[Malta] Malta Today - Inquiry into Mamadou Kamara death remains under wraps

7 October 2014

The findings of an independent inquiry into the running of the Detention Services have not yet been made public, two years after the Office of the Prime Minister had ordered the inquiry in 2012.

It is unclear whether the inquiry has in fact been concluded, with Prime Minister Joseph Muscat confirming with MaltaToday that he “would have to check the status of the report”.

Mamadou Kamara, 32, died in the summer of 2012 while in the custody of Detention Services and Armed Forces of Malta personnel.

On the orders of then Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, an inquiry headed by retired judge Geoffrey Valenzia was appointed to establish whether there had been negligence, non-observance of procedures or abuse of power by any detention service officials involved in the case.

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Mamadou Kamara, 32, died in the summer of 2012 while in the custody of Detention Services and Armed Forces of Malta personnel.

[Deaths at sea - Mediterranean] Malta Today - Echoes of the Lampedusa tragedy

5 October 2014

The tragedy off Lampedusa in October last year – when an estimated 200 asylum seekers died after their boat capsized in Maltese search and rescue waters – has had a profound impact on the way immigration is now discussed and tackled at international level.

Although the death rate associated with perilous Mediterranean crossings has always been high, such large-scale loss of life in a single incident was met with almost unprecedented international outrage, shock and indignation. As a result, European governments – and in particular, the European Commission – were forced to acknowledge that a good deal more needs to be done to prevent similar tragedies in future.

The EU is now in the process of resuscitating its earlier (and not terribly successful) border patrol agency, Frontex. Perhaps more effectively, Italy has since unilaterally assumed responsibility for all migrant crossings in the central Mediterranean through its own programme, ‘Mare Nostrum’. Even private life-saving operations such as MOAS, recently launched in Malta, have responded to calls for assistance by (among others) Pope Francis.

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[EU policy] Press release- Commissioner Malström commemorates Lampedusa tragedy

Brussels, 2 October 2014

One year ago, I visited Lampedusa together with Italy’s Prime Minister Letta, Interior Minister Alfano and Commission President Barroso. We were standing in front of rows of coffins containing the bodies of the victims of the Lampedusa shipwreck, which happened on 3 October 2013. These images are still in my mind as a terrible reminder of how we must strive to keep Europe open to those who seek protection. For those escaping dictatorship and oppression, fleeing conflicts and wars, Europe is a shelter where they can find safety, or a new life far from tyranny and misery.

Today it is virtually impossible to come to Europe in a legal and safe way. Migrants are forced to put their lives in the hands of traffickers and smugglers who are making huge profits by exploiting their misery and despair. These merchants of death have no fear or pity, risking the lives of children, women and men by putting them at sea on what can only be described as wrecks. Only a few weeks ago, we learned that several hundreds of migrants lost their lives when smugglers deliberately sank a vessel.

Let me be very clear – when it comes to accepting refugees, solidarity between EU member states is still largely non-existent. This is quite possibly our biggest challenge for the future. While some EU members are taking responsibility, providing refuge for thousands of refugees, several EU countries are accepting almost no-one. In some countries, the number of yearly refugees barely exceeds a few handfuls. Last year, six whole countries of the EU accepted less than 250 refugees between them. All this, while the world around us is in flames. These EU countries could quite easily face up to reality by accepting resettled refugees through the UN system, but despite our persistent demands they are largely refusing. This is nothing short of a disgrace.

If all the promises after the Lampedusa tragedy are to mean anything, solidarity between EU countries must become reality. For this to happen, we must in the coming years develop a responsibility-sharing mechanism between all EU states. This is of course nothing that can be forced upon Member States. However, I believe it is an absolute necessity if the EU is to live up to its ideals.

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[Malta] Times of Malta - 'Patriots' protest against forced integration

Sunday, September 28, 2014

Some 200 people this morning walked from Christ the King Monument in Floriana through City Gate to Castille in Valletta, protesting against the “forced integration of foreigners in Maltese society”.

Holding placards saying “EU we are not your puppets” and Kemm fadal incarcru demm ghal vera helsien (how much more blood do we have to shed for real freedom), “No more illegal immigrants” Favur il-push back, Il Futur ta’ Uliedna Mhedded (Our children’s future is threatened) and “Multiculture no thank you, the protesters shouted that Malta belonged to the Maltese and not foreigners.

Alex Pisani from the Ghaqda Patrijotti Maltin, which organised the protest, warned participants not to be disrespectful, or racist saying the organisation wanted to put pressure on the EU and not the government.

Those who met for the protest, he said, were the true Maltese, they were patriots who loved their country and are proud to be Maltese.

“We don’t agree with integration and multiculturalism… There are so many immigrants on Malta that we will soon lose our identity… They are infiltrating our society little by little.”

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[Death at sea] Times of Malta - NGOs call on EU to explore possibility of humanitarian visas

Tuesday, September 23, 2014, 17:00

Ten Maltese non-governmental organisations this afternoon called on the European Union to explore the possibility of establishing humanitarian visas in a bid to prevent tragedies at sea.

In a statement, the NGOs expressed condolences with the families and loved ones of those who tragically lost their lives off the coast of Malta in recent weeks.

They also expressed solidarity with men and women working hard to save lives in the Mediterranean.

Aditus Foundation, the Foundation for Shelter and Support of Migrants, Integra Foundation, the Jesuit Refugee Service, KOPIN, the Malta Emigrants’ Commission, the Migrant’s Network for Equality, the Organisation for Friendship in Diversity, the People for Change Foundation and SOS Malta said that with very limited legal and safe ways of entering the European Union and availing themselves of the Common European Asylum System, thousands of refugees were driven to North African shores to embark on life-threatening journeys.

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[Frontex - Mediterranean] Malta Today - Frontex mission held up as Malta, Italy squabble

Wednesday, September 24, 2014, 09:49

A new Mediterranean border patrol mission planned by EU agency Frontex is still on the drawing board as Malta and Italy negotiate who would take the migrants rescued.

Malta and Italy have squabbled over this issue for years. While Malta insists that according to international law migrants should be taken to the nearest safe port, successive Italian governments have argued that they should be taken to the country coordinating the rescue.

Given the size of the search and rescue area that Malta is responsible for, stretching roughly from Tunisia to Crete, the Italian interpretation of maritime law would mean Malta would take practically all migrants picked up.

Frontex executive director Gil Arias-Fernandez told Times of Malta the agency would only ask for funds and assets after an agreement is reached.

“We feel that this question (of disembarkation) needs to be settled before we make a formal appeal for commitments to the member states,” he said.

The new mission is supposed to take over from Italy's Mare Nostrum operation.

More in Times of Malta and the e-paper on timesofmalta.com Premium.

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[Frontex - Mediterranean ] The Guardian - Sea patrols in Mediterranean extended as borders agency faces €2.3m shortfall

Massively increased numbers of migrants sailing to Europe this year is stretching EU border resources to breaking point

Operations to secure Europe's frontiers face potential cutbacks in order to finance extended patrols in the Mediterranean in the wake of a series of migrant deaths, including the apparent murder of around 500 people by traffickers, the EU's borders agency says.

Frontex says it faces a shortfall of €2.3m (£1.8) after extending operations off Italy, which were due to finish this month, until the end of November; this is a significant sum for an already hugely stretched organisation with an annual operational budget of just €42m.

The operation, covering waters to the south of Sicily and the Pelagie islands – among them Lampedusa, a common landing point for migrant boats from Africa – involves planes and crew provided by the Netherlands and Spain but is paid for by Frontex, and has already cost €13m this year. When the Dutch and Spanish mission finishes at the end of September they will be replaced by aircraft from elsewhere in the EU, something the agency says could affect operations elsewhere.

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[Naufrages Méditerranée] Rue 89 - Naufrages en Méditerranée : le système de sauvetage en bout de course

Sur 500 passagers, neuf auraient survécu au naufrage. Deux d’entre eux, des Palestiniens de Gaza repêchés par un porte-conteneur italien, ont témoignéauprès de l’Organisation internationale pour les migrations (OIM), apportant un début d’explication sur le drame.

Leur bateau est parti de Damiette (Egypte), le 6 septembre, à destination de Malte. A bord, des Soudanais, Syriens, Egyptiens et d’autres qui cherchaient à fuir leur pays pour l’Europe. Les passeurs les ont fait changer plusieurs fois d’embarcation avant de se heurter à un refus des migrants, qui craignaient pour leur sécurité à bord du dernier bateau proposé. Alors, les passeurs les auraient délibérément coulés.

D’après l’OIM, si ces informations sont confirmées, il s’agirait d’un « homicide de masse » et « du naufrage le plus grave de ces dernières années ». Encore plus meurtrier que celui qui a coûté la vie à 366 personnes près de Lampedusa, en octobre 2013. Les autorités italiennes ont ouvert une enquête.

Dimanche, un autre bateau a coulé avec 200 passagers à bord au large de Tripoli. La marine libyenne a sauvé 36 personnes.

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[Naufrages Méditerranée] Le Monde - L'Italie ouvre une enquête sur la disparition probable d'un demi-millier de migrants

Environ cinq cents migrants sont portés disparus au large de Malte, a indiqué lundi 15 septembre l'Organisation internationale pour les migrations (OIM). Si ce chiffre était confirmé, ce serait selon elle « le naufrage le plus grave de ces dernières années » en Méditerranée. Le centre de secours en mer de Malte a dérouté plusieurs navires marchands dans la zone et a coordonné les opérations de secours, en collaboration avec la marine italienne.

L'OIM s'appuie sur le témoignage de deux Palestiniens de Gaza, secourus par un porte-conteneurs panaméen puis conduits à Pozzallo, dans le sud de la Sicile. Selon leurs premières déclarations, recueillies par l'équipage du porte-conteneurs et transmises à la marine maltaise, le naufrage s'est produit mercredi après la collision entre deux navires, dont l'un transportait trois cents à quatre cents migrants et l'autre trente. Le petit bateau aurait vraisemblablement pris l'eau, et aurait tenté de forcer l'autre à s'arrêter, avant que les deux ne coulent.

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[Mediterranean - Italy] Times of Malta - MOAS saves more migrants

Some 245 migrants, including 45 children, were today rescued by the Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) after the station was directed to a wooden vessel by Italy’s Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre. The group consisted mainly of Syrians and Palestinians.

A second boat carrying around 250 migrants was shadowed by MOAS for a number of hours until the Italian authorities were able to attend to it. All migrants were transferred for eventual disembarkation in Italy.

MOAS, has in the two weeks it has been in operation assisted in the rescue of more than 1,500 migrants, all of whom were disembarked in Italy.

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[Malta-Italy]: Malta Today - AFM denies Italian media report claiming it pushed migrants away

The Armed Forces of Malta has denied a report in Italian newspaper Il Giornale, claiming allegations that it refueled a migrant vessel and then pointed in the direction of Italy were “completely unfounded.”

The Milan newspaper claimed that a boat carrying 279 migrants, including 66 women and 31 children and a newborn of 20 days, was directed to Pozzallo by the Maltese armed forces, while being monitored by two Maltese patrol boats.

The newspaper says migrants rescued from the boat said they were moving in Malta’s direction, but alleged members of the AFM provide the migrants with water and biscuits “and drove us into Italian territorial waters.”

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[Malte]: The Guardian - Good samaritans launch mission to save migrants in the Mediterranean

Two philanthropists are in the final stages of preparing what is thought to be the first privately-funded search and rescue operation for migrants in the Mediterranean. Regina Catrambone, a Malta-based businesswoman, told the Guardian she and her American husband were planning to launch their inaugural mission next month using drone technology and a boat once used for search and rescue in the United States. "These people are desperate," she said. "We just want to make sure that they do not die in desperation."

Catrambone said they had engaged a retired head of the Maltese armed forces to take charge of the operation. They are awaiting delivery of two Schiebel S-100 camcopters that would enable them to get a sighting of migrants in distress long before they could be reached by conventional search and rescue services. She said their Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) would not try to compete with Maltese or Italian rescuers. "We want to help them. We want to support them," she said. But Italian-born Catrambone acknowledged that "until they see the value of our work, they may have doubts".

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