As of 1 July 2021, all asylum seekers and other non-EU residents in Malta became eligible for receiving a COVID-19 vaccination. Previously, only people who could provide a valid residence permit were eligible, according to the European Commission: “From 1 July only an identity document and provision of personal details (which are kept strictly confidential) […]
Malta: Covid-19 and Detention
Following its ad hoc visit to Malta in September 2020, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture has expressed serious concerns regarding the country’s detention of migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees–particularly during the pandemic. At the time of the visit (17-22 September), Malta was experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases while also witnessing increasing […]
Malta: Covid-19 and Detention
In a habeas corpus case, a Maltese court ordered the release of detained asylum seekers, describing their treatment as “abusive and farcical.” The four men, who arrived in Malta on 7 June 2020, had been detained in Safi Barracks and Lyster Barracks for 166 days and alleged that they had not been informed of any […]
Foreign nationals deprived of their liberty in Malta (from report of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture 2020 visit to Malta)
1. Preliminary remarks; (Read full CPT report) 8. Malta, a small densely populated Mediterranean island of around 515,000 people, measuringsome 246 km², is situated in a highly strategic location at the border of Europe, lying directly northby sea from Tripoli, Libya. For asylum seekers and migrants crossing the Mediterranean, some fromconflict-ridden home countries and others […]
Malta: Covid-19 and Detention
Having closed its ports to migrants in April, purportedly as a response to the Covid-19 pandemic (see 13 April update on this platform), Malta has continued to refuse permission for migrants rescued in the Mediterranean to disembark in the country. Since 5 August, 27 migrants rescued in the Maltese search-and-rescue area have been stranded on […]
Malta: Covid-19 and Detention
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, a non-governmental actor in Malta reported that immigration detainees in the country have not been released despite the Covid-19 crisis and detention orders are still being issued. The source, who asked to remain anonymous but whose identity was verified by the GDP, said that non-governmental actors have […]
Malta: Covid-19 and Detention
Global Detention Project Survey completed by the Aditus Foundation (Claire Delom) in Malta. IS THERE A MORATORIUM ON NEW IMMIGRATION DETENTION ORDERS BECAUSE OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC? No HAVE PEOPLE BEEN RELEASED FROM IMMIGRATION DETENTION BECAUSE OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC? Some asylum-seekers who could provide an address and justify a place to stay were released. […]
Malta: Covid-19 and Detention
As the country ramped up its response to the coronavirus pandemic in mid-March, the country’s Economy Minister announced that all foreign workers laid off during the pandemic would have to be deported from the country. Although he later apologised for the comments, explaining that “choice of words was unfortunate,” he has continued to face significant […]
Malta: Covid-19 and Detention
The Hal Far Open Migrant Centre was placed under quarantine on 5 April, after eight migrants contracted the virus. The facility currently houses approximately 1,000 persons in over-crowded conditions. According to media reports, those who tested positive were isolated and vulnerable persons will be transferred out of the centre to be cared for “in a […]
Last updated: June 2019
DETENTION STATISTICS
DETAINEE DATA
DETENTION CAPACITY
ALTERNATIVES TO DETENTION
ADDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT DATA
PRISON DATA
POPULATION DATA
SOCIO-ECONOMIC DATA & POLLS
LEGAL & REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
Does the Country Have Specific Laws that Provide for Migration-Related Detention?
Detention-Related Legislation
Regulations, Standards, Guidelines
Name
Year Published
Common Standards and Procedures for Returning Illegally Staying Third-Country Nationals Regulations
2011
Bilateral/Multilateral Readmission Agreements
Name
Year in force
GROUNDS FOR DETENTION
Immigration-Status-Related Grounds
Non-Immigration-Status-Related Grounds in Immigration Legislation
Criminal Penalties for Immigration-Related Violations
Children & Other Vulnerable Groups
Group
In Law
In Practice
Year
LENGTH OF DETENTION
DETENTION INSTITUTIONS
Custodial Authorities
Agency
Ministry
Typology
Year
Armed Forces of Malta/ Detention Service
Ministry of Home Affairs and National Security
Defence
2015
Armed Forces of Malta/ Detention Service
Ministry of Home Affairs and National Security
Defence
2015
Armed Forces of Malta/ Detention Service
Ministry for Home Affairs and National Security
Defence
2013
Armed Forces of Malta/ Detention Service
Ministry for Home Affairs and National Security
Defence
2013
Armed Forces of Malta/ Detention Service
Ministry for Home Affairs and National Security
Defence
2013
Armed Forces of Malta/ Detention Service
Ministry for Home Affairs and National Security
Defence
2013
Armed Forces of Malta/ Detention Service
Ministry for Home Affairs and National Security
Defence
2013
Detention Facility Management
Entity
Type
Year
PROCEDURAL STANDARDS & SAFEGUARDS
Procedural Standards
Name
In Law
In Practice
Year
Types of Non-Custodial Measures (ATDs) Provided in Law
Name
In Law
In Practice
Year
Access to Detainees
Lawyer
Family
NGOs
Int. Monitors
Consular Reps.
Year
Limited or Some Detention Centres Only
Limited or Some Detention Centres Only
Limited or Some Detention Centres Only
Limited or Some Detention Centres Only
Unknown
2024
Limited or Some Detention Centres Only
Limited or Some Detention Centres Only
Limited or Some Detention Centres Only
Limited or Some Detention Centres Only
Unknown
2023
COSTS & OUTSOURCING
COVID-19 DATA
TRANSPARENCY
MONITORING
Types of Authorised Detention Monitoring Institutions
Institution
Type
Year
European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
International or Regional Bodies (IRBs)
2023
European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
International or Regional Bodies (IRBs)
2014
NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MONITORING BODIES
NATIONAL PREVENTIVE MECHANISMS (OPTIONAL PROTOCOL TO UN CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE)
NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS (NGOS)
GOVERNMENTAL MONITORING BODIES
INTERNATIONAL TREATIES & TREATY BODIES
International Treaties Ratified
Ratification Year
Observation Date
ICPED, International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance
2015
2015
OPCAT, Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
2003
2003
CTOCTP, Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children
2003
2003
CTOCSP, Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime
2003
2003
CAT, Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
1990
1990
Ratio of relevant international treaties ratified
Ratio: 15/19
Individual Complaints Procedures
Acceptance Year
ICCPR, First Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966
1990
1990
Relevant Recommendations or Observations Issued by Treaty Bodies
Recommendation Year
Observation Date
Human Rights Committee
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.
2024
2024
2024
Human Rights Committee
§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.
§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.
2014
2014
2014
Committee on the Rights of the Child
§ 58: [...] the Committee urges the State party to: (a) Refrain from criminalizing children in irregular migration situations for their or their parent’s migration status and expeditiously and completely cease the detention of children in irregular migration situations; (b) Adopt legislation, policies and practices that subject all custodial accommodation relating to migration status to clear time limits and periodic reviews; and allow children to remain with family members and/or guardians if they are present in the transit and/or destination countries, and be accommodated in non-custodial, community-based contexts while their immigration status is being determined; (c) Improve and expedite age assessment practices by implementing multidisciplinary and transparent procedures and ensure that age assessments are undertaken only in cases of serious doubt; (d) Ensure that children are provided with accessible and adequate support and mechanisms for appealing age determination decisions in a timely manner; (e) Provide adequate human, technical and financial resources for ensuring that children in migration-related custody have access to adequate guardianship and legal representation; (f) Ensure that, while in migration-related custodial arrangements, children are provided with adequate opportunities and facilities for education, leisure and recreational activities in an open context; (g) Ensure the provision of adequate appropriate gender-separate accommodation, toilet and shower facilities in migration detention centres; (h) Respect the right to peaceful assemblies and protests by persons and children in migration detention centres and ensure that any use of force is subject to strict necessity standards and the principle of proportionality; and, (i) Ensure that adequate human, technical and financial resources are allocated to address the health needs of children and persons in migration detention centres.
2013
2013
2013
Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
§ 13: The Committee recommends that the State party strengthen its efforts to effectively guarantee the legal safeguards for all immigrants detained, in particular to inform them about their rights and available legal assistance, and to provide assistance to those seeking asylum. The Committee also recommends that the State party continue its efforts aimed at improving the detention and living conditions of immigrants and thereby comply with international standards, in particular by modernizing detention centres and placing families with children in alternative open accommodation centres. [...]; § 14: The Committee recommends that the State party take appropriate measures to improve detention conditions and refrain from resorting to excessive use of force to counter riots by immigrants in detention centres, and also to avoid such riots. [...]
2011
2011
2011
> UN Special Procedures
Relevant Recommendations or Observations by UN Special Procedures
Recommendation Year
Observation Date
Working Group on Discrimination Against Women and Girls
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);
2023
2023
2023
Working Group on arbitrary detention
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.
2016
2016
2016
Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants
(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.
2014
2014
2014
Working Group on arbitrary detention
§ 79: (e) Change its laws and policies related to administrative detention of migrants in an irregular situation and asylum-seekers, so that detention is decided upon by a court of law, on a case-by-case basis and pursuant to clearly and exhaustively defined criteria in legislation, under which detention may be resorted to, rather than being the automatic legal consequence of a decision to refuse admission of entry or a removal order; (f) Rule out immigration detention of vulnerable groups of migrants, including unaccompanied minors, families with minor children, pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, elderly persons, persons with disabilities, people with serious and/or chronic physical or mental health problems; (g) Provide in all cases for automatic periodic review by a court of law on the necessity and legality of detention; (h) Provide for an effective remedy for detainees to challenge the necessity and legality of detention at any time of the detention period and ex
post facto and define the circumstances; (i) Where there remains a regime of mandatory administrative detention for migrants in an irregular situation, legally define its maximum period rather than basing it on Government regulations or policy; (j) Provide for a system of legal aid for immigration detainees; (k) Appeal to the international community to assist the Government in bringing its immigration detention regime into conformity with applicable international human rights law and standards. The Working Group observes that Malta is carrying a disproportionate burden and does not have the necessary financial and other resources at its disposal. This does not detract Malta from its international human rights obligations undertaken voluntarily as a sovereign nation;
2010
2010
2010
> UN Universal Periodic Review
Relevant Recommendations or Observations from the UN Universal Periodic Review
Observation Date
Yes
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);
2024
4th
2024
Yes
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);
2018
3rd
2018
REGIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS
Regional Legal Instruments
Year of Ratification (Treaty) / Transposed (Directive) / Adoption (Regulation)
Observation Date
CPCSE, Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse
2010
2010
2017
ECHR, Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (commonly known as the European Convention on Human Rights
1967
1967
2017
ECHRP1, Protocol 1 to the European Convention on Human Rights (amended by protocol 11)
1967
1967
2017
ECHRP7, Protocol 7 to the European Convention on Human Rights (amended by protocol 11)
2003
2003
2017
ECPT, European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment of Punishment
1988
1988
2017
Regional Judicial Decisions on Individual Complaints
Relevant Recommendations or Observations of Regional Human Rights Mechanisms
Recommendation Year
Observation Date
European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT)
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.
2020
2020
2020
European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT)
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.
2016
2016
2016
European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT)
§ 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.
2013
2013
2013
European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI)
§ 81: ECRI recommends that the Maltese authorities amend their legislation in order to ensure that all persons held in the detention centres are provided with a speedy and effective judicial remedy to challenge the lawfulness of their detention; § 86: ECRI strongly recommends that the Maltese authorities provide non-custodial alternatives to detention and refrain from resorting to the detention of migrants and asylum seekers unless it is strictly necessary in the particular circumstances of an individual case; § 87: ECRI also recommends that third-country nationals who are detained with a view to deportation should be freed when it is clear that it is no longer possible to effect the deportation; § 88: It further recommends that the Maltese authorities provide under Maltese law a limit to the duration of the detention of migrants in an irregular situation in all cases, in line with Directive 2008/115/EC on common standards and procedures in member States for returning illegally staying third-country nationals; § 95: ECRI recommends that the Maltese authorities conclude as soon as possible all the inquiries and the criminal investigations opened further to the deaths of a Nigerian and a Malian national in 2011 and 2012, while in the custody of detention personnel and give the public full access to the results; § 96: ECRI strongly recommends the Maltese authorities to provide detention personnel with training on human rights, including provisions against racial discrimination. ECRI further recommends that the authorities raise the detention personnel’s awareness of the fact that abuse of power and the use of excessive force will be severely punished; § 101: ECRI strongly recommends that the Maltese authorities ensure that all unaccompanied minors and persons suffering from serious physical or mental conditions are promptly identified and transferred to an appropriate, non custodial setting, suitable for their vulnerable condition.
2013
2013
2013
European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT)
§ 33. 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). 33. 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. § 50. The Maltese authorities urgently review the legal basis for detention on public health grounds as its current application may well amount to hundreds of migrants being de facto deprived of their liberty on unlawful grounds. 33. Ensure that any detention on public health grounds is exceptional, individualised, specific, time-limited and regulated by the same safeguards as detention under immigration detention orders (i.e. RCD and RD orders). § 63. The Maltese authorities fundamentally revise their policy regarding the detention of unaccompanied children for reception and identification purposes and public health detention in places of deprivation of liberty – be it in IRCs or detention centres – in line with the principle of the best interests of the child. As a matter of priority, an end should be put to holding unaccompanied children in these establishments. 63. Ensure that children should only be accommodated in centres designed to cater to their specific needs with appropriately trained staff. In order to limit the risk of exploitation, special arrangements should be made for living quarters that are suitable for children, for example, by separating them from adults, unless it is considered in the child’s best interests not to do so. § 72. The Maltese authorities take urgent steps to address the aforementioned serious deficiencies in the health-care services at Marsa IRC, Safi Detention Centre, Hermes Block (Lyster Barracks) and China House. In particular, Marsa IRC, Safi Detention Centre, Hermes Block (Lyster Barracks) must be provided with adequate equipment (including life-saving equipment such as defibrillators, oxygen and nebulisers) in working order. § 78. the Maltese authorities develop a specific and comprehensive strategy which addresses their obligations in response to the Covid-19 pandemic in immigration facilities. Such a strategy should, inter alia, include awareness raising on Covid-19 infection prevention in such establishments and the methods that will be used by the State to guarantee that persons held or working in every establishment are provided with sufficient quantities of appropriate PPE (or additional funds to obtain it). Further, it should describe how it will be ensured that rapid, easily accessible and free PCR testing ongoing is available for every detained migrant or staff member of such establishments, should they develop symptoms suggestive of Covid-19 or be exposed to others suspected of having Covid-19. 78. Ensure that Covid-19 positive detained migrants and/or those migrants suspected of having Covid-19, even in quarantine and/or isolation, should have the right to at least one hour of access to outside exercise.
2020
2020
HEALTH CARE PROVISION
COVID-19
Country Updates
As of 1 July 2021, all asylum seekers and other non-EU residents in Malta became eligible for receiving a COVID-19 vaccination. Previously, only people who could provide a valid residence permit were eligible, according to the European Commission: “From 1 July only an identity document and provision of personal details (which are kept strictly confidential) is required in order to register for vaccination.”
Malta’s decision to ensure confidentiality of an individual’s identity documents during vaccination procedures appears to represent a firewall between health and immigration-related administrations. Erecting such firewalls has been urged by health professionals across the globe as a critical step for effectively addressing the pandemic even as many countries have refused to do so.
Despite these policy developments, Malta’s treatment of migrants and asylum seekers has repeatedly come under intense criticism. In February 2021, for example, the Jesuit Refugee Service issued a report detailing the impact of COVID-19 measures on immigration detention policies and practices in seven EU Member States where JRS has partners, including Malta, Spain, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Portugal, and Romania. Regarding Malta, JRS found that the situation for immigration detainees worsened as a result of the pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, it was legally possible to detain people arriving by boat for up to 70 days in Malta on public health grounds, with some exceptions for vulnerable groups. After the COVID-19 outbreak, the Maltese Superintendent of Public Health decided to detain for quarantine purposes all people arriving by boat until they were tested for COVID-19. In practice this meant that all new arrivals were held in detention for periods extending long beyond the 70-day limit. JRS also reported that detainees had their telephones taken away from them, cutting them off from vital communication with their families and the outside world.
Shortly after the JRS report was released, the European Court of Human Rights issued its judgement on the case of a Nigerian national, Joseph Feilazoo, held in immigration detention in Malta during the COVID-19 pandemic (Feilazoo v. Malta), which considered the lawfulness and conditions of detention and COVID-19 measures in detention centres. The court, in a 11 March 2021 ruling, found that Malta had breached Article 3 of the ECHR with respect to holding the applicant in an enclosed container, much of the time in excessive isolation, without fresh air, natural light or outdoor exercise for an unduly long period of time, without any likelihood of being removed to Nigeria; it also ruled that given the health risks, the applicant should not have been held in COVID-19 quarantine conditions with other newly arrived migrants; and that Malta had impeded Feilazoo's right to individual petition by restricting his communication with the court and failing to provide adequate legal representation.
After serving a prison sentence for drug-related offences, Feilazoo’s request to be returned to Spain was turned down as he was told he no longer had the right to reside in Spain and he was kept in immigration detention pending removal back to Nigeria. Feilazoo was moved from prison to immigration detention on 14 September 2019, where he was held for 14 months until he was released because the Nigerian authorities refused to issue him with travel documents and did not cooperate with the Maltese government’s request for his deportation.
In September 2020, the Times of Malta reported that a group of men from Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt (and other “Arabs”) held at Safi detention centre for between 3 to 11 months, were begging to be returned home because of the appalling living conditions and the long delays in processing their asylum applications. In a video sent to the Times of Malta, the men describe living in overcrowded, unhygienic living conditions, with a lack of medical care, clothing and nutritious food and the devastating impact this was having on their physical and mental health, including several suicide attempts. Asked to comment on the video, the Home Affairs Ministry justified some of these practices, arguing that a steep increase in irregular migration had led to unprecedented pressure on migrant reception centres and services and contributed to delays in processing cases.
Also in September 2020, Malta Today reported that a riot had broken out at the Safi detention centre and five detainees attempted to escape the facility. One of them was shot by a private security guard and sustained minor injuries. 27 detainees were later arrested and charged by police for causing damage during the riot and injuring police officers who tried to contain it.
Following its ad hoc visit to Malta in September 2020, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture has expressed serious concerns regarding the country’s detention of migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees--particularly during the pandemic. At the time of the visit (17-22 September), Malta was experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases while also witnessing increasing numbers of irregular sea arrivals.
Of particular concern to the committee was the fact that COVID-positive migrants had not been separated from other detainees--something that the CPT argued “may well raise issues not only under Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) but also as regards Malta’s positive obligation to protect life under Article 2 of the ECHR.” The committee thus urged Malta to ensure that all detainees who test positive are immediately isolated from non-positive detainees.
Describing Malta’s immigration detention system, the committee notes that it “purely ‘contained’ migrants who had essentially been forgotten, within poor conditions of detention and regimes which verged on institutional mass neglect by the authorities.” Migrants were found to be locked in facilities with little--if any--access to time outside, centres were reported to be severely overcrowded, and recreational activities were not provided to detainees. Noting this, the committee urged Malta to ensure that as a minimum during the pandemic, all detainees have at least one hour of outdoor exercise (and preferably more).
The committee also reported that many migrants were being detained for unlawful and arbitrarily long periods without review under public health orders: at the time of the committee’s visit, more than 90 percent of detainees were being detained on public health grounds. However, the CPT notes, “There were no registers of the detention orders or copies of the detention orders kept at the Detention Services or IRC establishments, and management did not appear to know who was being held on which grounds.”
In January 2021, a detainee held at Safi Barracks wrote to InfoMigrants, describing his detention: "We are in a miserable condition and … lack the most basic rights to live. …. We are held for 16 months… (some people) suffer from serious physical and psychological diseases to the extent that (they) tried to commit suicide several times. We have abstained from eating for several days.”
In a separate report recently published by the Council of Europe, Malta’s failure to assist migrants and refugees at sea was also condemned: “Failures to respond and delays in attending to distress calls, or to provide information to relevant bodies that could conduct the rescue, have risked jeopardising the right to life of people at sea.”
In a habeas corpus case, a Maltese court ordered the release of detained asylum seekers, describing their treatment as “abusive and farcical.” The four men, who arrived in Malta on 7 June 2020, had been detained in Safi Barracks and Lyster Barracks for 166 days and alleged that they had not been informed of any reasons or legal justification for their continued detention. Following their release, the asylum seekers were offered temporary accommodation by Maltese NGO, the Aditus Foundation. This decision came just one month after a similar case concerning the arbitrary detention of an asylum seeker for 144 days.
Until 2015, Malta automatically detained all individuals who entered the country irregularly. Despite amending its legal and policy framework--adopting its “Strategy for the Reception of Asylum Seekers and Irregular Migrants,” which provides that arrivals are to be placed in an “initial reception centre”--NGOs including Jesuit Refugee Services (JRS) and Aditus have argued that in practice, those arriving irregularly are often placed directly into detention. Since 2018, authorities are reported to have repeatedly detained asylum seekers on public health grounds, citing suspicions that irregular arrivals will spread contagious diseases, despite all asylum applicants undergoing medical screening upon arrival. Others have been detained due to a lack of space in open facilities. In an op-ed for ECRE, the Director of the Maltese NGO Aditus Foundation noted that “hundreds of asylum-seekers are currently illegally detained in Malta’s squalid detention centres.”
Frontline EU countries like Malta--including Italy, Greece, and Spain--often bear a disproportionate burden in terms of registration and reception of asylum seekers. In a draft resolution adopted on 1 December with 45 votes to ten (and 13 abstentions) the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee noted that the Dublin III Regulation imposes this disproportionate burden, and called for the establishment of a solidarity-based mechanism “to ensure the fundamental right of asylum in the EU and responsibility sharing among member states.” In the absence of reform, the committee argued that more resources should be sent to front-line countries.
Several groups of migrants and asylum seekers have been relocated from the country in recent months, amidst Malta’s calls for greater responsibility sharing across the EU. On 25 November, a group was transferred to Germany--reportedly the fifth relocation since September. In September, reports also emerged detailing government plans to charter a ferry to detain non-nationals offshore. Observers accused officials of devising the plan in an attempt to placate growing public frustration regarding the government’s handling of the COVID-19 crisis.
Having closed its ports to migrants in April, purportedly as a response to the Covid-19 pandemic (see 13 April update on this platform), Malta has continued to refuse permission for migrants rescued in the Mediterranean to disembark in the country. Since 5 August, 27 migrants rescued in the Maltese search-and-rescue area have been stranded on the Danish ship, Maersk Etienne, with Maltese authorities refusing to allow the group to disembark. Amongst the group are one child and one pregnant woman. Despite rapidly deteriorating conditions on-board the commercial shipping vessel, and reports that passengers have jumped overboard in attempts to escape, the Maltese government has denied any responsibility for those on-board the vessel. “While I understand the humanitarian access of migration, I have to understand the interests of the Maltese,” stated PM Robert Abela.
UNHCR, IOM, and ICS (the International Chamber of Shipping) have called for the migrants’ immediate disembarkation. The Secretary-General of ICS stated, “The shipping industry takes its legal and humanitarian obligations to assist people in distress at sea extremely seriously, and has worked hard to ensure that ships are as prepared as they can be when presented with the prospect of large-scale rescues at sea. However, merchant vessels are not designed or equipped for this purpose, and States need to play their part.”
Hours after UNHCR, IOM, and ICS called on Malta and the EU to end the stand-off, Amnesty International published a report decrying Malta’s treatment of migrants and asylum seekers. According to the rights group, ”Malta’s unlawful practices are the by-product of the European Union (EU)’s migration policies which have prioritized reducing arrivals at all costs, and of the EU member states’ continuing failure to agree on a fair system to share responsibilities for arrivals.”
Separately, the Maltese government appears to be moving forward with plans to establish a shipping vessel that will be used to detain migrants and asylum seekers. According to Maltese media outlet “The Shift,” the country’s government has agreed to hire a Cypriot flagged passenger vessel (the MV Galaxy) to use as an offshore detention facility. Reportedly, authorities pushed claims that irregular migrants are bringing Covid-19 to the island nation, presumably to direct attention away from the government’s mishandling of the pandemic. The press outlet reports that “the government tried to shift the blame of the mishandling of the situation on irregular migrants reaching Maltese shores, yet the figures show that the majority of cases started spreading as a result of the lax attitude adopted by the government when opening the airport and supporting massive events to attract tourists even when other countries had exercised caution.”
Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, a non-governmental actor in Malta reported that immigration detainees in the country have not been released despite the Covid-19 crisis and detention orders are still being issued. The source, who asked to remain anonymous but whose identity was verified by the GDP, said that non-governmental actors have been raising awareness regarding Covid-19 in detention centres by circulating posters, voice messages and videos to detainees as detainees are only tested for the disease if they exhibit symptoms. Malta has reportedly halted deportations and borders have been closed. According to the source, only vulnerable people arriving on boats from Libya via the Mediterranean route, such as pregnant women and children, have been allowed to disembark on the island.
The Maltese government is reportedly using private vessels, acting at the behest of its armed forces, in order to intercept migrant crossings and return refugees to Libyan detention centres. Evidence of Malta’s strategy to push migrants back to Libya was revealed by a woman who survived a Mediterranean crossing in which 12 people died in April. The woman stated that the boat on which she was attempting to reach Europe had been intercepted by a ship enlisted by the Maltese authorities, which took them back to Tripoli. Upon arrival in Libya, the passengers were moved to the detention centre of Tariq al-Sikka, where they remain. In a statement released on 15 April, authorities confirmed that it “coordinated the rescue of an immigrant boat assisted by a commercial vessel.” A spokesperson for Alarm Phone, a hotline service for migrants in distress at sea, said: “Twelve people have died while Malta and Europe were watching. We should never forget that these deaths are the direct result of Malta’s and Europe’s non-assistance policies, and their clear intention to let people die at sea. These deaths could and should have been prevented.”
On 20 May, it was reported that Malta’s armed forces allegedly turned away at gunpoint a boat carrying migrants from their waters, after giving them fuel and the GPS coordinates to reach Italy. One of the passengers told the Guardian that the armed forces explained that: “Malta has a virus called corona if you’ve heard about it. We can’t take you there because everyone is sick in Malta. And Malta is small and can’t take all of you.” The passenger added: “they gave us red life vests, a new engine and fuel and told us they would show us the route to Italy. Then they pointed guns at us and said: ‘We give you 30 minutes’.”
Global Detention Project Survey completed by the Aditus Foundation (Claire Delom) in Malta.
IS THERE A MORATORIUM ON NEW IMMIGRATION DETENTION ORDERS BECAUSE OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC?
No
HAVE PEOPLE BEEN RELEASED FROM IMMIGRATION DETENTION BECAUSE OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC?
Some asylum-seekers who could provide an address and justify a place to stay were released. No pre-return detainees were released. All new arrivals (boat disembarkation) are immediately detained under health regulation and are not released.
WHAT MEASURES ARE BEING TAKEN TO PREVENT SPREADING OF THE INFECTION AND TO ENSURE APPROPRIATE CARE FOR RELEASED DETAINEES? ARE “ALTERNATIVES TO DETENTION” (ATD) PROGRAMS USED?
No special measure is taken when people are released, they only have to provide an address. No ATD to our knowledge (please note most of these detentions were illegal).
ARE IMMIGRATION DETAINEES TESTED FOR COVID-19?
To our knowledge detainees are tested before being released.
HAVE DEPORTATIONS/REMOVALS BEEN HALTED BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC?
To our knowledge, no removal has been carried out during this period.
HAS THE COUNTRY ADOPTED NEW IMMIGRATION AND/OR ASYLUM POLICIES AS WELL AS BORDER CONTROLS IN RESPONSE TO THE COVID-19 CRISIS?
Malta closed its ports and does not accept any disembarkation. Borders are closed.
As the country ramped up its response to the coronavirus pandemic in mid-March, the country's Economy Minister announced that all foreign workers laid off during the pandemic would have to be deported from the country. Although he later apologised for the comments, explaining that “choice of words was unfortunate,” he has continued to face significant criticism.
On 19 March, Aditus issued a statement urging authorities to extend the residence permits of all foreigners, irrespective of their employment status; seek measures to provide housing to those made homeless; refrain from imposing entry bans on migrants made redundant during the pandemic; and to reconsider the use of detention. “Any public health measure must consider all community members,” the group stated, “including migrants and other persons who are vulnerable or marginalised.”
Malta has long been at the centre of a divisive debate in Europe regarding search and rescue operations in the Mediterannean and has repeatedly refused to permit rescue boats to dock and disembark in the country’s ports. On 9 April, authorities took further action when they announced that the country would not accept any future disembarkations from rescue boats. According to the government, this step was necessary in light of anti-epidemic measures stretching the country’s resources and the risk that refugees and migrants may bring the virus with them. In a statement to the European Commission explaining their action, authorities wrote, “Malta is not in a position to offer a safe place for these immigrants, especially at a time of great challenges in the health sector, and law enforcement. The situation today calls for all local resources, including the Armed Forces, to be focused on the fight against the spread of the coronavirus.”
Critics argue, however, that Maltese authorities are using the crisis to further shelve their obligations to protect those in need. As a group of 16 NGOs stated, “We fear that Malta is exploiting the public health emergency to deprive migrants of their human dignity, adopting measures veiled as public health protection but having the effect of sacrificing migrants for Malta’s safety.” Over 300 academics also slammed the government’s decision in a joint statement in which they called on EU member states to rescue migrants and assume joint responsibility for them, "The decision to close ports is unlawful. The absence of solidarity between the Member States in meeting their collective moral and legal obligations is reprehensible."The NGO AlarmPhone, meanwhile, has reported that Maltese military personnel attacked migrants at sea on 9 April and purposefully sabotaged the boat - which to-date, the Prime Minister’s office has failed to deny.
The Hal Far Open Migrant Centre was placed under quarantine on 5 April, after eight migrants contracted the virus. The facility currently houses approximately 1,000 persons in over-crowded conditions. According to media reports, those who tested positive were isolated and vulnerable persons will be transferred out of the centre to be cared for “in a more controlled environment.” With assistance from the Red Cross, the number of medical personnel at the facility will also be increased. The country’s Nationalist Party criticised the government for acting too slowly, “The nationalist party warned about the danger of the virus spreading at the open centre and in prison days ago. The government hoped for the best but failed to prepare for the worst, and now the worst is happening.”
Government Agencies
Government of Malta, https://www.gov.mt
Ministry of Home Affairs and National Security, https://homeaffairs.gov.mt/
Armed Forces of Malta, https://afm.gov.mt/
International Organisations
IOM Malta Country Information, https://malta.iom.int/
UNHCR - Malta, http://www.unhcr.org.mt/
NGO & Research Institutions
Aditus, www.aditus.org.mt
JRS Malta, www.jrs.net
Medecins Sans Frontieres, http://www.msf.org/en/country/malta
Red Cross Malta, http://www.redcross.org.mt/
