The Danish Refugee Council is concerned about deporting asylum seekers and irregular migrants to Malta due to the conditions they face on the island.

“Some of the primary concerns about Malta are the arbitrary and unlawful detention of asylum seekers, the living conditions in the detention facilities and the situation for vulnerable persons,” Eva Singer, head of asylum at the organisation, said.

Under the EU’s Dublin III regulations, which came into force on January 1, the member State that first receives an asylum seeker remains responsible for processing their claim.

As in the previous Dublin regulations, asylum seekers and irregular migrants who leave the first member State and travel to another EU country without permission will be transferred back to the first destination.

However, a new clause has been introduced, saying that a member State is not allowed to deport asylum seekers to the first destination if there is a risk they will be subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment.

No asylum seekers and migrants have been deported to Greece over the past three years due to human rights concerns after a ruling by the European Court of Justice. The new clause obliges member states to make an assessment themselves and not wait for a court decision.

Malta’s system of detaining all asylum seekers has been severely criticised in recent years by human rights organisations.

Irregular migrants who apply for protection are detained until their asylum claims are determined, which usually takes months. If their claim is still pending after 12 months they are automatically released

Rejected asylum seekers and other irregular migrants who cannot be deported are detained for up to 18 months before being released into the community.

Exceptions are made for those deemed to be ‘vulnerable’, such as unaccompanied minors. They are released after medical screening, although the process can also take several weeks, if not months.

The human cost of the Dublin system is well documented and should be a trigger for its revision for all member states

Ms Singer told this newspaper the DRC had general concerns about the Dublin regulations and the lack of solidarity with countries like Malta, which received disproportionate numbers of asylum seekers and migrants, “too often resulting in a lack of capacity and poor conditions”.

Since 2002, more than 18,000 irregular migrants and asylum seekers have arrived on boats from Libya. The majority hailed from the troubled Horn of Africa. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has estimated that just 30 per cent of the arrivals still remained in Malta because many left for other EU countries through both legal and illegal channels.

The DRC raised its concerns about Malta in a recent country report, which made headlines in the Danish press.

It wrote reports on Malta and several other countries as it has been given the responsibility of providing free legal aid to applicants in the Dublin procedure and assisting them in filing complaints to the Danish authorities.

Ms Singer mentioned Bulgaria, Cyprus, Italy and Hungary as other member states where the situation facing asylum seekers was “somewhat problematic”.

The reports are a compilation of relevant information from NGOs, EU institutions and the UNHCR.

While the DRC has not formally called for the complete cessation of deportations to Malta, Ms Singer was hopeful that the Danish Refugee Appeals Board would take the “overwhelming background information” into consideration when deciding on individual cases.

Human rights NGO Aditus said it would be very cautious about recommending a complete halt to Dublin returns to Malta, although it had argued against deportations in individual cases.

“These cases usually involved extremely vulnerable persons who, because of their inability to effectively receive appropriate support, remain at high risk of increased or prolonged vulnerability,” Aditus director Neil Falzon said.

He mentioned LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex) refugees, people with mental health problems and victims of torture as examples.

“The human cost of the Dublin system is well documented and should be a trigger for its revision for all member states to ensure the full respect of the human rights of all refugees,” Dr Falzon added.