Jesuit Refugee Service disputes AFM's version of events of Libyan 'rescue'

“Given the numerous credible reports highlighting the harsh treatment of migrants caught trying to leave Libya illegally and the impossibility of obtaining effective protection there, we cannot but question whether Libya can legitimately be considered ‘safe’”, said Fr Joseph Cassar SJ, JRS Malta Director.

Although the facts surrounding the rescue operation are still unclear, the JRS said, it would seem that the 55 migrants on board the dinghy were arbitrarily divided between the two boats, without any assessment of their personal situation or protection needs.

According to the Armed Forces of Malta, 27 from a boatful of 55 migrants ‘voluntarily’ opted to be returned to Libya on board a Libyan flagged patrol boat. This statement has been criticised over its credibility, with UNHCR Italy spokesperson Laura Boldrini insisting that throughout her long years working with migrants in the Mediterranean, “not once have I met one single migrant that expressed his wish to be returned to Libya.”

“We find it hard to accept without questioning the assertion that, having risked everything to leave Libya, half the migrants meekly volunteered to go back, as is being reported. This especially as it seems that families were separated in this operation, with one member of the family in Malta and the other in Libya; a situation which naturally causes great distress and which no one would willingly choose,” Fr Cassar said.

JRS said that while it is clear that irregular immigration poses particular challenges for Malta, it believes that attempts to limit the number of irregular arrivals should never be at the cost of human rights. 

The organization called upon the government to ensure that from now on, asylum seekers within Malta’s effective jurisdiction are not sent to Libya, where they cannot obtain the protection they require and where they risk suffering serious violations of their fundamental human rights.