Minister reacts to newspapers’ plea and doubles down on deportation of detained migrants

The home affairs ministry has reacted to a joint editorial by MaltaToday, The Times and The Malta Independent on the status of temporary humanitarian protection for rejecting asylum seekers – by upping the ante to return rejected asylum seekers as part of Malta’s presidency of the European Council.

Carmelo Abela has insisted that rejected asylum seekers who are now facing deportation had an opportunity to return to their countries under an assisted returns programme.

And while admitting that the Maltese system would benefit from further reform, the minister said the editorial only presented a one-sided “if not misleading view” of the asylum scenario in Malta.

Disintegrating the integrated | A joint editorial by MaltaToday, Times of Malta, the Malta Independent

The status known as THPN (Temporary Humanitarian Protection – New) was first introduced in 2010, by means of a policy decision of the then Home Affairs Ministry.
This regularisation is granted in cases where these people cannot be removed from the country, but are allowed a one-year, renewable residence permit subject to documented evidence of “their integration efforts and employment history in Malta”.
Until last year, there were just under 1,000 such people with THPN. While all had their asylum claims rejected at appeal stage, they remain in Malta because the authorities have not been able to return them, through no fault of their own. In many cases, this is due to the lack of diplomatic relations between Malta and the state of origin and lack of cooperation from national authorities in the migrants’ state of origin.

The three newspapers have been guided in their stand by the researched opinion of NGOs working with migrants, and called on the Maltese government to regulate the situation of rejected asylum seekers which the government was previously unwilling or unable to return.

“The editorial does raise a number of valid points, particularly as regards the need for a move away from a culture of concessions to a culture of rights. In principle, Government is in agreement with this view, although it would also have to be emphasized that rights also entail duties,” Carmelo Abela said.

“THPN, in fact, may well be thought of as part of a culture of concessions, as opposed to rights. What the editorial fails to mention is that THPN was not withdrawn without any alternative being given.”

Abela disagreed that the detention of the Malian migrants whose THPN had been removed, was “guided by opportunistic politics rather than reasoned policy”.

And he also defended Malta’s laws as being in line with the EU’s Returns Directive and part of an EU-wide effort to return rejected asylum seekers.

“The fact that Malta currently holds the Presidency of the Council, which on the other hand is mentioned by the editorial, actually places even greater responsibility upon the Maltese authorities to intensify their efforts to return irregularly present third-country nationals,” Abela said.

Abela suggested that the rejected asylum seekers who were now in detention had not taken the opportunity to apply for the IOM’s assisted voluntary return and reintegration scheme in 2007, which gave returning migrants a financial package to return home.

“It is understood that the discontinuation of such status would have posed cause for concern [but] THPN was part of the very system that the editorial itself brands a ‘system of concessions’ and that, in any case, an alternative was offered to those concerned,” Abela said.

The three newspapers outlined how the culture of concessions prevailing under THPN was not buttressed with real rights for people who had now becoming integrated in Maltese society.

Abela said the objective now was to “mainstream” THP holders who are gainfully employed and effectively integrated, into a residence permit system operated by Identity Malta.

Abela said that who don’t qualify under such a system, but who are in a situation that calls for humanitarian protection, will still avail of THP from the Office of the Refugee Commissioner if they have specific humanitarian needs.

Abela also insisted that Malta was among the first member states to relocate persons from Italy and Greece (46 and 34 relocated so far, respectively). “Malta has consistently ranked very high, often first, in the implementation of this project, and is currently on schedule in the implementation of its commitments. Moreover, Malta’s rates of protection – counting both refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection – have remained high over the years.”