New site identified for detention centre

Another site has been identified to accommodate illegal immigrants in Hal Far, which would reduce the number detained at the police headquarters, Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg said yesterday.

He also said the office of the Commissioner for Refugees needed to be strengthened in order to shorten the detention period for illegal immigrants seeking refugee status. The government would be doing its utmost to reduce the detention period and speed up the process for asylum demands throughout the summer.

The minister was speaking in the wake of an escape of 20 illegal immigrants from the Ta' Kandja detention centre on Sunday night, just over a week after 54 broke out of the detention centre at police headquarters in Floriana.

Dr Borg, who yesterday had "positive" talks with Italian Home Affairs Minister Giuseppe Pisanu - with discussions on illegal immigration topping the agenda - said the existence of a high number of immigrants in detention centres for a long period was a "time bomb" for the police.

Strengthening the office of the Commissioner for Refugees, which was set up to cope with lower numbers and was now inundated by applications for asylum status, was not simple and required trained human resources, Dr Borg added.

But he augured that the adequate staff would be recruited in the coming weeks.

Dr Borg said the government would be continuing its "serious" detention policy, rather than letting immigrants loose on the streets, creating problems for Malta and for neighbouring countries.

The price of having detention centres was the possibility of escape, but the number of immigrants who escaped was a "very small percentage" of the number in detention over the past 18 months, he said.

Last year, 1,680 illegal immigrants, most from countries with problems, landed in Malta, and another 2,204 were refused at the point of entry.

There are currently 593 persons, not including the 43 who were brought to shore on Sunday, in both detention and open centres - 376 in the former and 217 in the latter.

Following his meeting with Mr Pisanu, who arrived in Malta on Sunday, Dr Borg said that among the Italian government's proposals, which Malta agreed with, was to share the burden of illegal immigration among all European countries and not just those on the periphery.

The problem was not confined to Italy and the Mediterranean: of every four illegal immigrants in Italy only one stayed there; the rest infiltrated other European countries, Dr Borg said.

The Italian EU presidency was doing its utmost to ensure that existing EU funds, related to borders, would be moved towards the Mediterranean region.

These would translate into improved monitoring of movement in the Mediterranean, and Dr Borg augured that they could also be used to create one detention centre, rather than many spread about. Malta had limited resources and the EU would be able to assist it.

The Italian presidency was fighting for extraordinary funds, but others were already available and could be used for the Mediterranean area, he said.

Other propositions, which Malta agreed with in principle, included participation in joint patrols, details of which would be discussed at a later stage, Dr Borg said.

Another initiative that Malta strongly supported was joint repatriation, through which countries joined forces to repatriate illegal immigrants. But Malta was not interested in creating a detention centre for the Mediterranean - one of the proposals that had been floated.

Malta has also pledged its support for the conclusion of readmission agreements with individual countries on behalf of the EU, which had a strong political clout.

"On joining the EU, Malta would automatically benefit from these treaties. It would no longer be fighting alone and could participate in the readmission agreements," Dr Borg said.

He said Malta, which currently had only one readmission agreement, with Italy, was in the final stages of concluding an agreement with Libya.

The discussions had taken almost two years and talks were also under way with other countries, he said.

Dr Borg said the Italian government has had successful talks with the Libyan government on controlling the problem at the point of origin, which Malta would benefit from.

In the coming weeks, Malta would be ratifying the Palermo Convention against transnational organised crime, including three protocols on human smuggling, human trafficking (for slavery, prostitution and organ transplants) and arms trafficking, Dr Borg announced.

On September 24 and 25, Malta would be hosting a forum for home affairs ministers of the western Mediterranean to discuss terrorism, organised crime and illegal immigration. The forum would be an excellent, one-off opportunity to gather together the ministers of Libya, Tunisia and the EU, he said.

During the day Mr Pisanu also called on President Guido de Marco at the Palace, where he said Malta could carry out an important role for the integrated management of Europe's external borders for the control of illegal trafficking and for the development of the Mediterranean region.

He was in Malta not only in the role of Home Affairs Minister, but was also representing the country that currently holds the EU presidency, which would conclude the so-called "Mediterranean cycle" and would offer an opportunity for the Mediterranean countries to leave their mark.

Foreign Minister Joe Borg and the parliamentary secretary in the Justice and Home Affairs Ministry, Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici were present at the meeting with Mr Pisanu and Dr Borg.