International team dispatched to draft contingency plan on migration

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) will dispatch a team to Malta in order to identify the problems related to the huge influx of migrants.

The social solidarity ministry said that the decision was taken during a number of meetings which minister Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca had with the IOM Director General William Lacy Swing and with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres in Geneva.

Swing said that the IOM Team in collaboration with UNHCR and other relevant NGOs “to draft a contingency plan with benchmarks to be put in practice in Malta.”

The government said both IOM and UNHCR expressed their full solidarity with the Maltese’s particular situation with regards to immigration and promised their full support in initiatives condusive to the cause.

In a seperate meeting with Guterres, the lack of European solidarity with countries like Malta was discussed, the government said.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees committed himself to write a letter to the European Commission, highlighting the urgent need of find a particular approach to the singularity of the Maltese problems.

Meanwhile, Coleiro Preca attended a meeting with the Friends of Diplo Foundation. This Foundation is a Maltese-Swiss initiative aimed at providing innovative responses to the pressing needs of modern society. It has offices in Msida, Geneva, and Belgrade, and online staff in 14 countries from the Pacific Island states to Latin America.

“Diplo’s work on making diplomacy more inclusive and effective is a necessity of our time. We need to engage the broader society in crucial discussions on the future of our world,” Coleiro Preca explained.

The minister saluted former Labour minister Alex Sciberras Trigona for contributing to founding this remarkable global institution and participating in Diplo’s growth.

Coleiro Preca stressed the importance that Diplo’s innovative and effective approach in humanitarian diplomacy is particularly needed in regions such as northern Africa, which are facing turbulent times. 

She concluded that Diplo is a unique asset, not only for Malta and Switzerland, but for all those who would like to see more peaceful and harmonious international relations.