Human rights must be upheld

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi told the national conference on immigration (February 7, 8) that asylum seekers landing on our shores are human beings first and their dignity and rights must be respected. He could have fooled me.

The government policy of mandatory detention of asylum seekers is completely incompatible with human rights. NGOs said as much at the conference, joining asylum seekers in calling for an end to detention. However, they added, if the government must detain, let it be for the shortest time possible, 18 months is far too long.

NGOs were taken to task in the media for being "naïve", although their appeal echoed a stand taken by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, by international human rights organisations and by eminent associations of psychiatrists, social workers, lawyers and others who represent detainees worldwide.

In Malta, NGO workers are among the few who have frequent access to detention centres. Asylum seekers are above all their friends. NGOs are in a position to talk about detention rather better than most people on this side of the fence because they have seen what detention does to asylum seekers. And, make no mistake, what detention does is pretty awful, especially to people who have already suffered multiple traumatic experiences. It has been described by one researcher as the ideal system to drive people crazy.

If the criterion by which we judge treatment of asylum seekers is respect for their humanity, we are failing miserably. Why? Dr Gonzi gave the answer when he qualified his declaration for asylum seekers' rights, adding that there had to be a balance with the common good.

A fair point. Illegal immigration is an undoubtedly onerous burden for Malta to bear. Many people are apprehensive of asylum seekers because of population density, lack of resources, cultural and religious differences. These concerns are justified, at least to some extent, and they must be realistically addressed.

No one is suggesting there should be no limits on immigration and that people can come and settle how and whenever they please. What NGOs are calling for is a fair and efficient asylum process which respects our traditional laws and values. Detention is not part of due process, it is harsh imprisonment without charge.

It is difficult to see how Malta's legitimate worries about accommodating asylum seekers justify a policy of mandatory detention.

It is not as if community alternatives do not exist. There are several options which have been successfully adopted abroad, which allow asylum seekers to live with dignity and a degree of freedom.

Detention exists in other countries too. But this does not make it right. The benchmark of our policies should be international legal standards and not the deplorable breach of such binding principles by democracies which should know better.

Nor can the government use Malta's lack of resources as an excuse to violate asylum seekers' rights. It is a self-evident reality that a balance must be found between the interests of the Maltese as host population and asylum seekers and refugees. The difficulty sets in when upholding the "common good" becomes an excuse to infringe the rights of a group of marginalised people, especially when this group is implicitly accused of causing a national crisis.

In such a scenario, our search for solutions becomes compromised, clouded by a lack of realism, by myths, stereotyping and by racism. International human rights standards are surreptitiously swept under the carpet because they are no longer relevant to us in our special circumstances.

Countless governments and non-state actors reason this way, fondly imagining they are uniquely justified in being above the law. It is easy to start believing there is a compelling reason why certain people must be deprived of some or all of their rights. Nothing can justify depriving people of their rights. By their very nature, human rights are universal, they apply to each and every person without distinction.

Malta's immigration policy must respect the rights of all. I do not doubt Dr Gonzi is genuine in his belief in asylum seekers' rights but his declaration must be reflected concretely in government policies.