The year 2013 will remain known for the threatened pushbacks to Libya which was stopped by an interim measure of the European Court of Human Rights on July 9, according to the Malta Human Rights Report 2013, launched by the People for Change Foundation, a human rights think tank, today.

The year would also be remembered for the the incident involving the MV Salamis which was instructed by the Maltese and Italian authorities to return rescued migrants to Libya. Both incidents raised concerns regarding human rights and maritime migration, most notably relating to the principle of non-refoulement.

The report says that, throughout the year, Malta’s policy of mandatory detention continued to come under severe criticism from various national and international entities, most notably, the European Court of Human Rights, which found Malta to be in violation of the right to liberty.

Of particular concern was the detention of children, a point that was raised by the Committee on the Rights of the Child in its review of Malta.

Efforts were made by various stakeholders with regards to the integration of migrants despite the lack of an integration policy.

In the area of human trafficking, significant steps were taken to combat this human rights violation, particularly through the implementation of the national Action Plan on Combating Trafficking in Persons

The report is the first of its kind and covers a year of human rights events in the country. Despite highlighting a number of specific events and judgements, it points at a number of issues that have been, and remain, ongoing; and demonstrates the need for a stronger and more comprehensive debate on human rights.

The report may be read in the pdf link below.