Jesuits insist on revamped immigration policy

The Jesuit Refugee Service has again called on the government to revamp its immigration policy and to scrap mandatory detention of asylum seekers in favour of other valid alternatives.

The appeal was made as the government kicks off its much-anticipated national conference on immigration today.

JRS Malta has published a document for the conference which outlines urgently needed changes in the government's reception policy of asylum seekers.

"The main thrust of our recommendations is the same as it has always been: for us, mandatory and long-term detention of asylum seekers is completely unacceptable. If the government must detain, then confinement must be short-term, limited by law and in conditions fit for human beings. We have been saying these things for years but as yet little improvement has been made," Fr Pierre Grech Marguerat, JRS director, said.

JRS said it welcomed the government's decision to hold a national conference and to publish a policy document on immigration. However, it was imperative that the conference moved beyond discussion towards concrete decisions and an improved policy.

"The government has made substantial steps forward to handle immigration and asylum policy on a professional basis which respects human rights," Fr Grech Marguerat said.

JRS maintains that recent events, such as the protest at Safi Barracks on January 13, have shown that sweeping changes are needed in official immigration and asylum policy, chiefly as regards reception of asylum seekers and detention.

The JRS policy document sketches the situation facing asylum seekers at the moment, both those living in detention and others in the community.

It was amply clear that all asylum seekers in Malta faced severe survival problems and that the government had a legal obligation to cater for their basic needs, Fr Grech Marguerat said.

"The plight of asylum seekers requires immediate attention. However, we do not expect the government to shoulder the responsibility alone. Let us look at the experience of other European countries and arrive at ways of working together so as to enable asylum seekers to earn their living with dignity."

The JRS document is comprehensive, taking in all aspects of the plight of asylum seekers from the conditions they live in when detained to the lack of resources available for their survival in the community as well as the procedures for the determination of asylum applications.