Human rights report highlights botched migrant pushback attempt

The People for Change Foundation, a human rights think tank, today published the Malta Human Rights Report 2013, which highlights key developments in the areas of migration, racism and children's rights over the course of last year.

The think tank noted that 2013 will remain known for the threatened pushbacks to Libya which was stopped by an interim measure of the European Court of Human Rights on 9 July, as well as the incident involving the MV Salamis which was instructed by the Maltese and Italian authorities to return rescued migrants to Libya.

"Both incidents raised concerns regarding human rights and maritime migration, most notably relating to the principle of non-refoulement," the People for Change Foundation said.

Moreover, the report pointed out that in 2013, Malta's policy of mandatory detention "continued to come under severe criticism from various national and international entities. Most notably, the European Court of Human Rights found Malta to be in violation of the right to liberty. Of particular concern is the detention of children, a point that was raised by the Committee on the Rights of the Child in its review of Malta."

Acknowledging that efforts were made by various stakeholders in regards to the integration of migrants, despite the lack of an integration policy for Malta, the think tank said that significant steps have been taken to combat human trafficking, particularly through the implementation of the national Action Plan on Combating Trafficking in Persons

The report is the first of its kind and covers a year-long term of human rights events in the country. Despite highlighting a number of specific events and judgements, the report points at a number of issues that have been, and remain, ongoing; and demonstrates the need for a stronger and more comprehensive debate on human rights.

The Malta Human Rights Report is a new initiative of The People for Change Foundation. It aims to provide a snapshot of some of the most pertinent developments in the field of human rights in Malta, particularly those which are of direct relevance to the work undertaken by The People for Change Foundation. As a result, the report largely focuses on issues of migration and racism, as well as children's rights.