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Matthew Vella
The Council of Europe’s human rights commissioner Alvaro Gil-Robles, who visited Malta back in 2003 to survey its detention centres, has reiterated that the current periods of detention for asylum seekers and illegal migrants “still appear excessive and inappropriate”.
Reporting on a follow-up visit held in December 2005, Gil-Robles delivered his verdict on the state of Malta’s asylum seekers in administrative detention, and that of prisons in Malta. Welcoming several improvements in the field of immigration, the human rights commissioner was however still critical of the current situation.
While detention periods were no longer unlimited, but carry a maximum period of 18 months, Gil-Robles said the systematic arrest and detention still resembled “a prison sentence in all but name”.
He also said considerable efforts still need to be made urgently for migrants in detention to have decent conditions in buildings protected from the outside elements and with clean and working sanitary facilities. He said that despite the effort made by the authorities since 2003, “sanitary conditions had scarcely improved, and in some cases had even deteriorated.”
Gil-Robles also recommended the establishment of a permanent medical service in the detention centres, along with the provision of psychological care at Corradino Prison. He noted there was no on-the-spot psychiatric care for migrants, and only the most serious conditions were treated.
Gil-Robles also invited the authorities to take administrative measures over the report by retired Judge Franco Depasquale into the 13 January 2005 incidents “as speedily as possible” and prosecute those identified as responsible for excessive violence and “conduct a thorough investigation with the view to persecuting any additional culprits which have not yet been identified… The publication of Mr Depasquale’s report should likewise prompt the authorities to improve raining and supervision of members of the armed forces dealing with detention of foreigners.”
The commissioner expressed reservations about changes to the Refugees Act which now include new admissibility critera for asylum requests, giving power to the Commissioner of Refugees to decline “manifestly ill-founded” applications. Gil-Robles said the refugee commissioner will have to apply criterion in accordance with the principles governing individual treatment of asylum requests and with the rights guaranteed by the Geneva Convention on Refugees and the European Convention on Human Rights.
The Council of Europe delegation found the situation at Corradino Correction Facility “quite satisfactory”, although it noted that no substantial changes had been made to improve the living and detention conditions of sexual offenders who are kept in the former women’s wing to avert any risk of attack from other prisoners. The cells there receive no direct light and are extremely damp.
The commissioner welcomed the establishment of the detention services unit, calling it a “genuine step forward in improved provision for foreign detainees”. Gil-Robles said it was now up to the authorities to recruit professionals to maintain decent detention conditions. He also congratulated the authorities on their efforts to accommodate migrants at open centres, and asked them to open further centres and develop the accommodation of these persons in private apartments to further their integration into Maltese society.
mvella@mediatoday.com.mt
Links: www.coe.int
Detention
Administrative detention has been changed to 18 months from unlimited detention, with speedier release for families, sick persons and pregnant women only after medical certification states they are free of any contagious disease. Gil-Robles however says the 18-month period is still “a prison sentence in all but name”.
Judicial review
Detainees still cannot challenge their detention before a court, although the Immigration Appeals Board can rule on unreasonable duration of detention. Gil-Robles says there is no definition of what constitutes “unreasonable” and that the Immigration Appeals Board is not part of the Maltese court system but a political body.
Detention conditions
Two new warehouses have been opened at Safi, but conditions are still those of overcrowding and cramming, with no real privacy for detainees, who also complained of the cold and damp. Occupants had limited access to an outside area for just two hours a day, and sanitary facilities were “in poor condition and seemed unimproved since 2003. The delegation was also told the tented area near the hangar was empty and would not be used in the future, although at present there are detainees in the tents who have also refused to move into a new warehouse.
Medical situation
“Poor care arrangements” for those at the detention centres but the detention services unit was hoping to outsource medical services by the first half of 2006. There is insufficient attention paid to detainees’ mental health. One of the most worrying aspects was that four migrants with TB were not being held physically apart from other detainees despite the army having written instructions.
Army and police
The authorities set up a special unit under the army and police manned by 170 officers and military personnel responsible for guarding detention centres. More staff is expected. However, systematic handcuffing was still in place, as well as collective punishment and shock tactics. “There is no intellectual, language, cultural or educational activity on offer, and the detention service does not have any social workers.”
Open centres
Shortly after 2003 new open centres were opened to host released asylum seekers and families. Conditions are describe as decent but rooms are small and sanitary facilities “seem inappropriate” to the number of people living there. English-language courses and courses on European cultures, and a cyber-café are also available, and 360 of the 400 residents were in registered employment. Gil-Robles described it as “the first stage towards integration in Maltese society.” |
