A third of Malta’s prison inmates are awaiting trial, with the lengthy detention described as a “problem” in a new US report on human rights in the country.
The report also flags the limited access that survivors of sexual violence have to government sexual and reproductive health services.
The annual report looks at adherence to internationally recognised individual, civil, political and worker rights.
Looking at 2021, it notes that lengthy pretrial detention remains a “problem” in Malta: the “authorities occasionally confined foreign suspects for more than two years pending arraignment and trial, normally due to lengthy legal procedures.
"Approximately 34 per cent of the prison population was in pre-trial detention”.
It also claims that while local courts normally grant bail to citizens, they “rarely” granted bail to foreigners.
'Limited access to reproductive health'
Separately, the document says that when it comes to reproductive rights, in 2021 there were no reports of coerced abortion or involuntary sterilisation by government authorities.
It adds that the country’s ban on abortions allows no exceptions for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest or when a pregnancy threatens a woman’s life or health.
“Social barriers and government policies adversely affecting the supply of contraceptives limited individuals’ ability to exercise birth control.
"The government provided limited access to sexual and reproductive health services for survivors of sexual violence. Emergency contraception was available as part of management of rape.”
Staying on the topic of women’s rights, the report notes that despite a growing proportion of female higher education graduates and employees, women remain underrepresented in management and generally earn less than men.
The report notes that despite a growing proportion of female higher education graduates and employees, women remain underrepresented in management and generally earn less than men
Overall, the report warns that “significant human rights issues” in 2021 Malta included “credible” reports of detention of migrants under inhuman and degrading conditions, serious government corruption and violence or threats of violence against migrants from Africa.
It acknowledged that the government, however, took steps to identify, investigate, prosecute and punish officials who committed abuses and corrupt acts and had mechanisms in place to identify and punish those who committed human rights abuses.
'High-level government corruption'
On corrupt practices, the report flags “allegations of high-level government corruption” throughout the year and rule-of-law concerns over the government’s lack of criminal prosecutions and convictions for tax evasion and money laundering.
Among others it homes in on allegations of “high-level government corruption stemming from international investigations into Pilatus Bank” and the work of the slain Daphne Caruana Galizia and also remarks by the auditor general on correspondence “that indicated collusion between government officials and representatives of the company Vitals Global Healthcare regarding a government contract”.
The ‘informal’ economy
Workers in the informal economy, particularly those in construction, could file complaints against companies that failed to provide a safe work environment.
However, many are unaware of their rights and of social welfare programmes, and avoid state-run agencies for fear of being detained or deported because of their migration status or lack of work permit, the report claims.
Commonly referred to as undeclared employment, the informal economy in 2021 made up some five per cent of the country’s workforce.
“Reports of abuse of migrants attracted by the country’s unskilled labour shortage continued during the year. Abuses included health and safety matters, workers found living in substandard conditions, and low wages.
“Authorities did not stringently enforce standards in the informal economy.”
Migrant workers, who make up a small but growing percentage of the workforce, worked in some cases under conditions that did not meet the government’s minimum standards for employment, the report adds.