32. The Committee recommends that the State Party:
(c) Formally establish and empower a national preventive mechanism, in
accordance with the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, to ensure
independent, unannounced inspections of all detention facilities, institutions and migrant detention centres, and to verify the accuracy and completeness of detention records........34....(a) Immediately cease all practices of pushbacks or indirect returns to Libya
and ensure that all search and rescue operations prioritize the disembarkation of
migrants in safe locations, in full compliance with international human rights and
maritime law;.......42......(c) To guarantee systematic recording of all unaccompanied minors’
information and investigations into their whereabouts, as outlined in the Committee’s
general comment No. 1 (2023) on enforced disappearance in the context of migration.

21. Referring to its previous recommendation, the State party should:
(e) Guarantee that all detention orders based on the grounds of public health comply with the principles of necessity and proportionality, are subject to independent oversight and provide effective remedies for migrants or asylum-seekers found to have been arbitrarily deprived of their liberty;
22. Right to life and non-refoulement of migrants, asylum-seekers and refugees;
(b) Take all measures necessary to ensure that individuals in distress at sea within the search and rescue zone of the area over which the State party exercises power or effective control are rescued without delay and disembarked at a place of safety, with full access to their right to asylum and protection, in accordance with the principle of non-refoulement, and a complete interpretation of “distress phase”, in accordance with the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue, for the purposes of determining whether boats carrying refugees, asylum-seekers or migrants are in distress;
(g) Ensure that all migrants and asylum-seekers, including unaccompanied minors, have access to free legal aid and adequate interpretation services from the outset of proceedings, ensure access to interim measures for detention or removal orders and a fair and full status determination procedure and ensure that the best interests of the child are taken into account in age assessments;
33... It should improve living conditions for migrants and asylum-seekers held in reception or detention centres, while establishing effective complaint mechanisms and ensuring fair and transparent trials for migrants facing criminal charges in connection with demonstrations, including by providing free legal aid and interpretation services.
35. In accordance with rule 75 (1) of the Committee’s rules of procedure, the State party is requested to provide, by 23 July 2027, information on the implementation of the recommendations made by the Committee in paragraphs 23 (right to life and non-refoulement of migrants, asylum-seekers and refugees) above.

<p>§16 [...] (a) Guarantee that administrative detention for immigration purposes is justified as reasonable, necessary and proportionate in light of the specific circumstances and used as a measure of last resort for the shortest appropriate period;[...] (e) Establish in its legislation a specific time limit and alternatives for detention; (f) Ensure that administrative detention for immigration purposes is subjected to periodic evaluation and judicial review by an independent judicial body, in accordance with the requirements of article 9 of the Covenant.</p>

<p>§18 [...] The State party should strengthen its efforts to improve the living conditions in detention centres on a sustainable basis, including with regard to adequate health care- services and sanitary conditions, with a view to achieving full compliance with the requirements of article 10.</p>

2...In Safi, the experts visited a closed detention centre for migrants, and in Birżebbuġa, two open centres for migrants. The experts also met with police at a police station and visited shelters for women and child survivors of domestic violence...
88... In this regard, the Working Group recalls that according to international standards, the State should consider system-wide alternatives to detention for women, in particular for those who have dependent children...
89. At the closed immigration detention centre, women spoke of dignified conditions and treatment. Women detained at the centre often have limited possibility for successfully challenging a deportation order and seeking judicial recourse. In line with previous recommendations of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, 68 the Working Group encourages Malta to consider alternatives to immigration detention and in any case determine detention based on a judicial decision, and to facilitate and adopt judicial review of immigration-related decisions that also applies a gendered perspective....
96... (e) Consider system-wide alternatives to detention for women, in particular for those who have dependent children, according to United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules);

89. The Working Group welcomes the cooperation received from the Government of Malta during its follow-up visit and wishes to continue this cooperation. The Working Group would like to make the following recommendations:
1. In relation to migrant, asylum seekers and refugees
(a) To end the regime of mandatory and automatic detention regime for asylum seekers, refugees and migrants in an irregular situation and to replace it by a reception system;
(b) To end military presence in the management of the detention centres;
(c) To ensure that immigrants in an irregular situation, refugees and asylum-seekers are informed about their rights as well as the regulations and procedures since their arrival to Malta;
(d) To further reduce the duration of administrative detention of immigrants in an irregular situation. The Working Group recommends that detention should be applied when results necessary, reasonable in all the circumstances, proportionate to a legitimate purpose; non discriminatory and subjected to judicial review. The criteria of necessity and responsibility should always be respected. In addition, the Working Group recommends that less restrictive measures should be applied, such as bail; home curfew; deposit of documents; reporting conditions; community release or supervision designated residence;
(e) To extend free legal aid to immigrants in an irregular situation, refugees and asylum-seekers before the appeal stage of the review process. It should be not limited to recourse before the Immigration Appeals Board but be extended to appeals before the Civil, Constitutional and European Courts, as well as international human rights bodies;
(f) To design long-term planning for people living in open centres. The Government should explore alternative placement options. The Working Group suggests that the Government of Malta work together with civil organizations and religious bodies which have ample experience in providing community-based placement to create more opportunities for migrants, asylum seekers and refugees to reside in the community;
(g) To prioritise the cooperation of civil society organizations, particularly religious institutions with considerable expertise and experience in these areas. These organisations have a substantial contribution to make regarding the legislative drafts that the Government is preparing in order to design a new system of reception of immigrants, refugees and asylum-seekers not based on detention.

(b) Ensure that migrants are detained only when there is a reasonable basis to believe that they present a danger to themselves or others or would abscond from future proceedings, and always for the shortest time possible, and that non-custodial measures are always considered first as alternatives to detention; (c) Establish places of administrative detention outside of military facilities and expeditiously take measures to transfer the detainees to the non-military facilities. Such detention centres should not be managed by military staff; (h) Ensure that all migrants deprived of their liberty are able to promptly and easily contact their family, consular services and a lawyer, at all times and free of charge; (k) End the detention of unaccompanied migrant children. Additionally, migrant children require more culture and language support to help with integration at school and in society, more activities outside of the shelters to occupy them when they are not in school, and monitoring, for at least one year, to ensure an easy transition from shelters to open centres.

2...In Safi, the experts visited a closed detention centre for migrants, and in Birżebbuġa, two open centres for migrants. The experts also met with police at a police station and visited shelters for women and child survivors of domestic violence...
88... In this regard, the Working Group recalls that according to international standards, the State should consider system-wide alternatives to detention for women, in particular for those who have dependent children...
89. At the closed immigration detention centre, women spoke of dignified conditions and treatment. Women detained at the centre often have limited possibility for successfully challenging a deportation order and seeking judicial recourse. In line with previous recommendations of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, 68 the Working Group encourages Malta to consider alternatives to immigration detention and in any case determine detention based on a judicial decision, and to facilitate and adopt judicial review of immigration-related decisions that also applies a gendered perspective....
96... (e) Consider system-wide alternatives to detention for women, in particular
for those who have dependent children, according to United Nations Rules for the
Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders
(the Bangkok Rules);

110.111 Ensure respect for the rights of migrants in irregular situations in detention camps (Senegal); 111.21 Improve conditions in detention centres, including seeking alternatives to detention in accordance with international law, including human rights and refugee law, as well as existing European legislation (Sweden); 111.38 Ensure that migrants and refugees rescued at sea are promptly disembarked with full respect for their human rights, without arbitrary detention, and are given a genuine opportunity to seek asylum, and refrain from criminalizing persons involved in rescue activities at sea (Brazil);

19. The CPT recommends that the Maltese authorities take measures to ensure that no more
force than is strictly necessary and proportionate should be used to bring those migrants who
are being violent under control.
-- The alleged practices as described above of shaking the perimeter fence to cause those
migrants attempting to scale the fence to fall, and thereafter beating the migrants with batons,
could well be considered as amounting to ill-treatment; the CPT recommends that these
allegations be investigated, and wishes to receive a copy of the investigation report in due course.
-- The CPT also recommends that Detention Service staff, including private security
contractors, should not be equipped with batons, handcuffs or pepper spray as standard
equipment, and that the above allegations of the inappropriate use of pepper spray on migrants
should be investigated. It wishes to receive a copy of the investigation report in due course.
-- In addition, custodial staff, including private security contractors, should regularly be
reminded that foreign nationals should be treated with respect and that any form of deliberate
ill-treatment of detained persons is unacceptable and will be punished accordingly.
30. The CPT wishes to receive confirmation that
the water is indeed potable and to be informed on what steps are taken to ensure that the
migrants are informed that the water is potable.
33. The CPT recommends that the Maltese authorities act to improve the living conditions
at Marsa IRC. Material conditions and accommodation should be adequately furnished, clean
and in a good state of repair, and offer sufficient living space for each person (a minimum of
4m² per person). Call bells should be installed in all detention areas where staff are not
continuously present. Further, steps should be taken to ensure that there are separate showering and toilet
areas for men, women and children. Each migrant should be provided with lockable space in
which to keep personal belongings. In addition, the CPT recommends that all migrants be offered free access to outdoor
exercise throughout the day, and outdoor exercise areas should provide sufficient space for the
number of migrants therein detained, and be appropriately equipped with shelter and means
of rest.
The CPT also recommends that families with children and unaccompanied and
separated minors, including those who are awaiting age assessment results, and women, should
be accommodated separately from unrelated men, from the outset of their deprivation of liberty
until their transfer is effected to an open centre (see also Vulnerable Persons Section 5).
36. The CPT wishes to be informed where the four extra persons in the Isolator Block slept at night.
46. The CPT notes positively that some refurbishment works are now being undertaken.
Nevertheless, in the light of the above findings, the CPT calls on the Maltese authorities to take
broader action to:
- transfer vulnerable persons (including families with children, pregnant women, etc.)
to suitable open reception facilities, where they can receive appropriate care for their
specific needs;
- not to detain women and children; if exceptionally, they are detained for very short
periods (hours) they should not be held in the same room as unrelated men. Further, the CPT calls upon the Maltese authorities to renovate Safi Detention Centre’s
Warehouses and B-Block, Hermes Block (Lyster Barracks) and China House to ensure that:
- they provide an appropriate environment which is not carceral;
- the official occupancy rates are revised so as to offer a minimum of 4 m² of living
space per detained person in the multiple-occupancy accommodation; preferably the
rooms should be divided up into smaller living units;
- the building infrastructure is regularly maintained and litter and debris cleared
(notably at Hermes Block, Lyster Barracks and Warehouse One, Safi detention
Centre);
- all dormitories have adequate access to natural light and sufficient artificial lighting,
ventilation and heating/cooling;
- all detained persons are offered a clean bed, mattress, blanket and bedding;
- all dormitories are equipped with tables and chairs and all detained persons provided
with personal lockable space;
- all dormitories and sanitary annexes are regularly maintained and disinfected and
have properly functioning toilets and showers designed to afford a degree of privacy,
and properly maintained wash-basins;
- all detained persons have access to hot water to wash and are provided with a towel;
and
- at least one additional set of clothing is provided to detained migrants, and especially
for the winter months, warmer clothing and adequate footwear.
In addition, the CPT calls upon the Maltese authorities to ensure that:
- unrestricted access to outdoor exercise is granted throughout the day;
- outdoor exercise areas are appropriately equipped (benches, shelters, etc.);
- a programme of activities (educational, recreational and vocational) is developed;
- at least one common association room, equipped with books, television and games,
and one multi-faith room are set up in each detention block; and
- the facilities are adequately staffed by a range of professionals who are equipped with
the necessary range of skills to work with migrants.

36. The CPT once again calls upon the Maltese authorities to ensure that detained persons are addressed by their name and not by a number. 37. The CPT recommends that steps be taken to improve the living conditions at B Block of Safi Detention Center, notably as regards: - the amount of living space afforded to each detained person within the dormitories; - the removal of surplus beds and the provision of new mattresses; - the equipping of the courtyard with a means to rest, a shelter and sports equipment; - the provisions of activities for those persons detained longer than a few days. Consideration should also be given to serving the evening meal later in the day. 39. The CPT recommends that the Maltese authorities consider developing the role and scope of duties of detention officers, as well as their skills and training, in light of the above remarks. 42. The CPT recommends that every detained person be systematically provided with written information, in a language they understand, on the house rules immediately upon their arrival in the facility. 43. The CPT recommends that the Maltese authorities introduce the right for detained persons to receive visits on a regular basis in an appropriate setting. Further, they should be allowed to have access to their mobile phones at set times.

§ 47: the Maltese authorities to take steps as a matter of priority to ensure the presence of at least one female officer around the clock at Lyster Detention Centre; § 48: the Maltese authorities to remind all members of staff working in detention centres for foreigners that disrespectful behaviour and racist remarks vis-à-vis detainees are not acceptable and will be punished accordingly; § 49: the Maltese authorities to put an end to the practice of staff calling detainees by their immigration file/tag numbers; § 52: a comprehensive inquiry to be carried out by an independent body into the manner in which foreign nationals were treated by police officers and soldiers in the context of the incident of 16 August 2011 at Safi Detention Centre; § 55: the Maltese authorities to take the necessary measures to ensure that all immigration detainees currently being held in the two Warehouses at Safi Barracks are transferred as soon as possible to Ta’ Kandja Detention Centre and that both Warehouses are in future only used for short-term detention in emergency situations; § 56: immediate steps to be taken to ensure that all immigration detainees at Lyster Detention Centre are offered at least one hour of outdoor exercise per day; § 57: the Maltese authorities to introduce a regime providing purposeful activities to foreign nationals held at Safi and Ta’ Kandja Detention Centres; § 59: the Maltese authorities to carry out a thorough review of the current arrangements for the provision of health care in the detention centres for foreigners. More specifically, steps should be taken to ensure that: the working hours of doctors are increased and that for each detention centre one doctor is designated to co-ordinate the health-care services withing the centre; the nursing cover is significantly increased in all centres. This should make it possible for a nurse to be present every day (including at weekends) and for the provision and distribution of prescribed medicines to be handled by nursing staff; someone competent to provide first aid is always present on the premises of all detention centres (including at night); all newly-arrived detainees benefit from comprehensive medical screening by a doctor or a fully-qualified nurse reporting to a doctor; whenever injuries are recorded by a doctor which are consistent with allegations of ill-treatment made by a foreign national (or which, even in the absence of allegations, are clearly indicative of ill-treatment), the record is systematically brought to the attention of the relevant prosecutor, regardless of the wishes of the person concerned; all detention centres are regularly attended by a psychiatrist and a psychologist; all medicines prescribed are promptly dispensed thereafter; the confidentiality of medical examinations and data is fully respected; § 61: the Maltese authorities to take steps to ensure that foreign nationals are allowed to receive visits on a regular basis and that specific facilities are set up for that purpose. Relevant information on the visiting arrangements should also be included in the information brochure “Your Entitlements, Responsibilities and Obligations while in Detention” which is given to detainees; § 64: the Maltese authorities to take steps to ensure that immigration detainees subject to the disciplinary sanction of “removal from association” have the right to be heard on the subject of the offences which they are suspected of having committed, to present evidence to defend themselves and to appeal to a higher authority against any sanctions imposed; Mount Carmel Hospital Living conditions: § 72: steps be taken in the Forensic Ward to ensure that: all patients are provided with a bed as well as with lockable space to store their personal belongings; toilets in double- and multi-occupancy rooms are adequately partitioned; the general level of hygiene is improved; § 73: the Maltese authorities to take immediate steps to ensure that all patients held in the Irregular Migrants’ Ward whose state of health so permits are offered at least one hour of outdoor exercise per day; steps to be taken to improve the artificial lighting in the cells of the Irregular Migrants’ Ward; § 73: steps to be taken to ensure that all foreign nationals are provided with more congenial and personalised surroundings (including a table and a chair) and are offered recreational activities.