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Matthew Vella
Less migrants were awarded refugee status or any other form of protection this year, confirming a decrease in the protection offered by the Office of the Commissioner for Refugees since it was first constituted in 2002.
Less than half of all asylum seekers, 46%, whose application for protection was decided this year were awarded either refugee status or temporary humanitarian protection – and just 28 out of 550 justified claims were recognised as refugees, while the rest were given temporary protection. Another 637 claims were denied.
The latest figures however confirm a decreasing pattern in the award of refugee status since the Office of the Commissioner for Refugees was first set up, when Malta introduced the Refugee Act back in 2002 as part of its obligations to become an EU member.
As the scale of migrants seeking protection increases with more applications lodged every year, a constant decline in the award of refugee protection in favour of temporary protection can be noted in the last four years.
This year marks the lowest number of recognised refugees out of a total of 1,187 decisions – just 28 people constituting 2.3% of the total claims processed this year. And less than half of processed claims were awarded temporary protection, which is a special permit for a person to stay in Malta until they can safely return to their country of origin or move on to another country.
The figures in fact fly in the face of extreme-right pressure groups who continue to push forward the myth of increasing numbers of “undesirable” migrants, who are mainly fleeing persecution and wars in sub-Saharan Africa.
The increase in rejections this year also confirms that more than half of asylum claims in Malta are denied by the Commissioner for Refugee, amid an increase in applications for asylum.
And despite shows of strength across the Mediterranean with EU countries promising to strengthen maritime patrols to intercept undocumented migrants, the Office of the Commissioner for Refugees was significantly responsible for the decline in refugees and protected migrants since 2002.
In total, the Office this year processed 1,421 claims – 149 were pending from last year, and another 1,272 commencing this year. 550 were awarded some form of protection and 637 were denied. A small number, 23, were repealed by the applicants, and another 211 cases are currently pending.
In the last four years, the Office processed 4,477 claims, recognising 186 refugees and 2,005 migrants with temporary protection. A total of 1,949 had their claims denied.
Commissioner Charles Buttigieg said many of the difficulties encountered in processing the claims were due to the absence of documentation of asylum seekers; long interviews to determine claimants’ nationalities, ethnicity or religion; detailed interrogations to verify allegations of persecution and beatings; lack of interpretation facilities; the organisation of interviews in closed detention centres; and the time needed by case workers to process the claims.
No information was given by the Office on the major factors and causes for the migration flows to Malta.
mvella@mediatoday.com.mt
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