The long time it is taking for Sudanese asylum seekers to be given an answer on their application for protection is doing them psychological harm and driving some to try and flee the island, Times of Malta has been told.

UNHCR data shows that in the first six months of 2023, asylum seekers in Malta had waited, on average, for over two years to get a reply to their application for protection. Sudanese people meanwhile waited an average of nearly three years to be told their application had been rejected.

Calls for protection for Sudanese nationals are not something new: the country has been dealing with conflict and displacement since the start of the Darfur crisis in 2003. Beth Cachia from JRS noted that 4.5 million Sudanese people were already displaced before April of this year.

But the escalation of fighting last April has created a humanitarian emergency in the neighbouring region too, which was already struggling to cope with mass displacement, economic turmoil and climate shocks, the research and advocacy coordinator told Times of Malta.

Last May, the government told Times of Malta that the island had temporarily halted its decisions on asylum sought by Sudanese nationals and that none had been forcibly returned to Sudan since April 15.

The government’s position came just as UNHCR called on all countries to grant civilians of all nationalities fleeing Sudan non-discriminatory access to their territories.

Nine months on, Cachia says Sudanese nationals are feeling “insecure about their future”, faced as they are with the developing situation in their home country and with the delay in decisions over granting them protection.

“Consequently, several Sudanese asylum seekers attempt to flee Malta in search of safe places. Then they get arrested and end up in prison. This makes Malta an active market for smugglers.

Although in Malta they are away from the war, Sudanese people cannot feel safe as they have no protection

“Others who remain here waiting for a decision on their application deal with increasing mental health problems due to their dark future.”

Rejecting protection en masse

In 2022, Malta rejected Sudanese asylum seekers en masse. According to the UNHCR, the International Protection Agency issued 602 decisions: 342 were “otherwise closed”, 258 were rejected, and two were granted refugee status.

This makes for a recognition rate of 0.3 per cent compared to the European average of 40 per cent for requests from Sudandese asylum seekers.

The IPA is Malta’s agency for asylum status determination and international protection.

“We noticed that the IPA relied on outdated Country of Origin (COI) Information published by the UK Home Office in 2016 and limited its assessment to Khartoum.

"Updated COI indicates that the situation in the whole country, and in particular Khartoum and Darfur, has degraded drastically following a 2021 coup. While the number of officially recorded human rights violations has decreased, this is probably due to lack of access to reporting,” Cachia said.

“Moreover, IPA has often relied only on the number of deaths… what about the number of people abducted, arbitrarily detained, tortured and displaced,” she asked.

‘Cannot feel safe with no future in sight’

Hadia Bashir, a Sudanese lawyer and cultural mediator with JRS, noted that as they wait for a decision on their application for protection or their appeal, Sudanese nationals can continue working or studying in Malta.

“However, they cannot travel, not even for family emergencies. If they are granted protection, this is often subsidiary protection, which does not allow for the reunification of family members. Although in Malta they are away from the war, Sudanese people cannot feel safe as they have no protection.

“This lack of protection adds to the psychological stress that is already prevalent because of the war, ongoing for years and which escalated in April, leaving relatives of those in Malta dead, displaced or out of touch.

“As any person can understand, a main driver is our future: we all strive, study and work for a better future. But for most Sudanese nationals in Malta, the future is bleak”.

Fellow Sudanese national Umayma Elamin, who also works in the migration sector, “strongly” believes mental health should be considered when it comes to measures for the integration of third-country nationals. On a European level, no migration measures taken so far are suitable for Sudan’s current crisis, she said.

Elamin, president of the Migrant Women Association, has two children aged 24 and 26. They lived in Malta for six years before they returned to Khartoum during the pandemic.

But they have now been displaced and, despite Elamin being in Malta legally, she is not eligible for family reunification.

She is trying to find a safe place to legally protect her family from the crisis and avoid any possibility of them being forced to risk their lives.

“Facing difficulties in obtaining protection in Malta hurts the mental health of both Sudanese migrants and immigrants. For migrant Sudanese nationals, it is essential to consider that compliance requirements for third-country nationals have become more burdensome than ever, especially when it comes to family reunification or obtaining long-term resident status.”

Questions were sent to the Home Affairs Ministry and the police.