Detention policy changes in place by July – minister

Recognising the trauma suffered by asylum seekers attempting to cross the Mediterranean, Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela said legislative changes to the current detention policy would be implemented by July.

By then, rules on detention conditions would be amended to improve asylum seekers’ rights in line with new EU directives, although other logistical needs, such as the building of new facilities, might need a longer period of time, Mr Abela told Times of Malta.

The period of time asylum seekers will spend in detention will have to be reduced, as laid out in the Reception Conditions Directive.

It states access to employment for an asylum seeker must be granted within a maximum period of nine months. At the moment, national legislation says that irregular migrants can be detained for up to 18 months while those who lodge an application for asylum stay for up to a year. Mr Abela confirmed Malta would be abiding by the conditions laid down in the new directives.

The whole journey is a trauma for people forced to leave their homes to seek a better future

He said he noted the emotional testimonies of migrants given to the Social Affairs Committee earlier this week, which showed that longer detention periods were resulting in mental health problems in some cases.

“The whole journey is a trauma for these people forced to leave their homes to seek a better future in another country because of the difficult situation they face. The fact that they then end up in a country they know nothing about, and are locked up, is an additional stress,” he said.

He said a revision of the policy was in progress and a draft would be presented for public consultation in the near future.

He would rather wait for the draft to be complete before speculating on the new timeframes for detention.

“I have to stress that there are European directives we are obliged to follow. We definitely have to introduce amendments to address the current situation to come in line with these directives. Certain changes can already be anticipated because they are laid out in the law,” Mr Abela said.

A directive regulating reception conditions will come into force on July 21 and sets common standards of living conditions for asylum applicants. The directive includes an exhaustive list of detention grounds to avoid arbitrary detention practices and limits detention to as short a period of time as possible.

It restricts the detention of vulnerable persons, in particular minors, and includes legal guarantees such as access to free legal assistance and information in writing when individuals lodge an appeal against a detention order.

The directive also introduces specific reception conditions for detention facilities, such as access to fresh air and communication with lawyers, NGOs and family members.

“Changes to the law must be in place by the deadline but we are then anticipating other changes will be required, even from a logistical perspective. Things like the building of new facilities would take longer,” Mr Abela said.

In an interview on Super One radio yesterday, Mr Abela said the country had to move from the idea of detention to reception. He stressed, however, that irregular migrants would still be held for a period of time.

He appealed for empathy, saying Malta was a nation of migrants: “We went through this in our past... most of us have family members who emigrated. The fact that it was legal is not the point: why did they leave? They saw no future here. Now the situation has changed.”