Abela insists Malian delegation visited Malta despite denials from African state

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Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela confirmed that Mali officials had already visited Malta - accompanied by Frontex representatives - and interviewed the 24 Mali migrants whose asylum claims were never accepted and who were detained by the police earlier this month.

Abela told MaltaToday that the Mali officials were now investigating the 24 individuals before submitting a report back to the Maltese government as to which of the 24 – if any at all – the country would accept to take back.

When asked to comment on reports that the Mali foreign minister was denying the country had reached an agreement with the EU on the repatriation of Mali irregular immigrants, Abela insisted that the official government delegation from Mali had been to Malta – and some other EU countries – and interviewed the detainees.

“We are now waiting for them to conclude their investigations and indicate which migrants they want sent back,” he said.

Abela said that Mali was one of five priority third countries of origin and transit that the EU had identified for the purpose of elaborating “compacts” with.

Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Ethiopia were the other countries identified by the EU as part of the Partnership Framework with third countries under the European Agenda on Migration.

Abela said there was no established timeframe as to when the Mali authorities would be concluding their investigations.

“Some countries might be further ahead in the process, we don’t know,” he said. “We need to know which detainees will be deported, so we will be able to release the remaining ones, following a further investigation by the police.”

As to whether he felt it was right for the detainees to spend the holiday season locked up in Safi, particularly in light of the Republic Day speech by President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, Abela said he remained the country interior minister and would abide by the government’s and EU directives.

Mali denies having repatriation agreement with EU

The EU announced earlier this month that it had signed a deal with the Malian government to expedite the return of migrants to the North African country.

Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders was reported to have travelled to Mali on behalf of Federica Mogherini, the EU’s Commissioner for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, to negotiate the agreement.

Communiqué commun #Mali-#UE à la suite du dialogue de haute niveau sur la migration https://t.co/1Wry6OGtGO pic.twitter.com/kFkVjqKWtt

— Netherlands 🇳🇱 MFA (@DutchMFA) December 12, 2016

The Dutch foreign ministry said in a statement following the meeting that the deal represented the first time the EU had established “such a precise mechanism with an African country with regards to returning failed asylum seekers.”

Moreover, the ministry had said that “Malian civil servants will travel to EU member states to help determine the identity of migrants, in order to accelerate their return.”

However, Mali’s foreign minister Abdoulaye Diop has since denied the existence of such an agreement.

According to AFP, Diop was adamant in denying signing a compact with the EU.

“At no point was there any question of signing an agreement that would allow the expulsion of countrymen (living) in Europe illegally,” he said.

The foreign minister reportedly said that he was not aware of the agreement and only learnt about it through media reports, adding that the intention of Koender’s visit was never that of signing a deal.

“Mali does not intend to put a price on its dignity even if the EU is a development party,” he said.

The EU is currently negotiating a $160 million deal with Mali to expedite the return of migrants to the African country, a deal which will provide funds for job creation and assistance in stopping smugglers.

In Mali, Voice of America reported on Wednesday that negotiations on facilitating migrant returns “have caused a stir, following terms of the proposed deal detailing the presence of civil servants in Europe to help authorities identify Malians who are there illegally.”

The Mali government’s main concern is the safety and well-being of Malians abroad, Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop told reporters in Bamako. He said Mali’s civil servants would not travel to Europe to identify migrants who have had their asylum requests rejected.

Earlier this week, Abela told MaltaToday that the detained people are now down to 24 from the 33 arrested last month, explaining that some ‘failed asylum seekers’ were released after providing the necessary documents and in one case a man was released after showing proof that he is a father of a small child.