Maltese government has 'no plans' to deport children or Eritreans

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has played down concerns that the government plans to deport the children of failed asylum seekers or people hailing from Eritrea. 

He told MaltaToday that the government “has no plans to deport children”, a softer tone than that adopted by home affairs minister Carmelo Abela – who warned on Sunday that a government policy on the non-deportation of migrant children “would send the wrong message” to potential asylum seekers.

An Eritrean family, who chose to remain anonymous, told MaltaToday last week that they fear they will be deported to their country of origin together with their Malta-born children once their Temporary Humanitarian Protection –N(ew) expires in August 2017.

When asked by MaltaToday whether any Eritrean migrants could be deported to their home country – where torture, arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, indefinite military conscriptions and forced labour are commonplace – Muscat suggested that this would not be the case.

“I stand to be corrected, but from the information I have Eritrean migrants have the right to qualify for asylum,” he said. “I admit that this is not set in stone and if [MaltaToday] forwards me the details of the family in question, then I could give you a more clear answer.”

However, the Eritrean mother told MaltaToday on Sunday that her problem stems from the fact that she has no documentation to prove her country of origin. No relatives can testify on her behalf – given that her parents are dead and she has lost contact with her children – while sworn testimony given by a family friend who had flown in from Italy specifically to help her out was deemed unsatisfactory evidence by the Refugee Commissioner.

The mother said that their asylum application was rejected more than once, with the latest rejection coming in 2015. Now that the government has decided to stop issuing Temporary Humanitarian Protection –New (THP-n) certificates, she fears that they will be deported once their THP-n expires next year.

However, while Muscat claimed not to have no knowledge of the details of this case, he said that the government “never had plans to deport children”.

“Our intention is simply to take part in an EU procedure through which failed asylum seekers are deported to African countries, with which the EU has signed return agreements.”

He added that it is up to the EU – and not Malta – to ensure that the migrants’ human rights are safeguarded once they are sent back to their countries of origin.

Back in 2002, the government deported 450 Eritrean migrants who were either refused refugee status by the Refugee Commissioner or who refused to apply for asylum on the island. An Amnesty International report revealed that upon arrival the migrants were arrested by Eritrean army officials and subjected to horrific torture.