Maltese NGOs launch the Malta Migration Archive to document dangerous migration policies

The Malta Migration Archive has announced its official launch in Valletta, bringing to light how Malta’s migration policies and inaction at sea have placed thousands of lives at risk.

“Malta only rescued between 2% and 3% of distress cases,” the Archive states. “Avoiding and delaying rescue has become normal practice. These refusals are deadly.”

The Malta Migration Archive documents the ways the Maltese state restricts movement and blocks settlement. It brings together data, testimonies, and case studies to highlight the link between the violence at sea and the discrimination many faces once they arrive in Malta.

An interactive map on the site tracks more than 1,800 distress cases in Malta’s search and rescue zone between 2020 and 2024, involving nearly 80,000 people. According to their data, Malta rescued only a small number. During the same period, over 5,000 people were pushed back to Libya, despite well-known human rights abuses there.

The Archive also details how Maltese authorities refuse to coordinate with rescue vessels, including NGOs and merchant ships. It accuses Malta of increasingly allowing Libyan militias to operate in its rescue zone, violating international law.

This initiative is a joint effort between Maltese and international groups, including Aditus, the Association for Justice, Equality and Peace, the Coalition for the El Hiblu 3, Moviment Graffitti, SAR Malta Network, and Spark 15. International organisations such as AlarmPhone, Sea-Watch, and the Civil Fleet SARchive provided much of the data.

The team behind the archive stresses that numbers alone cannot explain the full picture. They combine statistics with personal testimonies to show the realities of people on the move and the community efforts that support them.

Speaking at the launch event last Sunday, Hela Kanakane from AlarmPhone described Malta’s slow response to distress calls as a deadly norm, saying that when they reach out for help, “we usually get a recorded song or a quick ‘We are busy’.”

Christine Cassar from Moviment Graffitti emphasised the importance of solidarity, saying that more Maltese people need to stand with migrant communities and reject the idea that Malta belongs to some and not others.

Regine Nguini from the African Media Association Malta said that pushbacks are rooted in racism and colonial thinking, and that the Archive provides vital evidence for change.

Closing the event, Human rights defender Amara Kromah, one of the El Hiblu 3, called for an end to the practice of sending people back to Libya. “Rescue is not only a legal duty,” he said. “It is a matter of humanity.”

The Malta Migration Archive is open to contributions from the public and aims to grow as a shared tool for documentation, research, and action.

For more information, visit maltamigrationarchive.org.