Critical report by Council of Europe likely

Malta is likely to be criticised in a report the Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights, Alvaro Gil-Robles, is expected to publish by the end of the year on the detention of asylum seekers.

At a news conference yesterday, Mr Gil-Robles refrained from saying whether Malta was breaching human rights, telling journalists to "wait and see".

"In comparison to your prisons, the detention centres here in Malta are shocking. This is an area which needs urgent action," Mr Gil-Robles said.

The commissioner, who is on a tour of EU candidate countries, was here on a two-day visit during which he went to all the detention centres and held meetings with various ministers and representatives.

The sudden influx of illegal immigrants over an 18-month period had put considerable strain on Malta's resources, leading to overcrowded centres and massive delays in document processing.

The heavily overcrowded detention centres were leading to difficult living conditions and the asylum seekers were living in these conditions for an excessively lengthy period of time, the commissioner said.

However, on a positive note, the commissioner noted that asylum seekers were being treated well, especially by the Armed Forces.

"But why, for example, should they be taken to hospital like criminals," he asked.

Mr Gil-Robles said it was unacceptable for illegal immigrants to be detained in Malta for one to two years before their application was processed. Such processes should not take longer than a year to settle, which could only be done by reinforcing Malta's Commission for Refugees, a sector he described as grossly undermanned.

He called on the public and the authorities to realise that asylum seekers were not criminals but were in the vast majority of cases individuals who were forced to flee their war-torn countries.

Mr Gil-Robles said the Maltese authorities were aware of the difficult situation and had expressed their intention to rectify it.

He confirmed he had been presented reports drawn up by NGOs about the conditions of illegal immigrants but insisted his report would be based on what he witnessed himself.

Asked whether he felt Malta should be entitled to any special funding because of its size and geographical position, Mr Gil-Robles said countries like Spain and Italy were also being overwhelmed by asylum seekers. "We need to tackle this issue from a European perspective. We need a Common European Policy which limits the time limit for detention," he said.

Speaking about the judicial system, Mr Gil-Robles said Chief Justice Vincent De Gaetano was conscious of the sometimes lengthy proceedings.

The report will be presented to the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly of the CoE.