Trolling, threats, and harassment of social and political activists in Malta must be addressed, the Council of Europe warned on Tuesday.  

In a joint statement, two CoE co-rapporteurs working on a review of Malta expressed their concern at “the deeply-rooted political and social polarisation which permeates nearly all aspects of Maltese society.”

This polarisation, they said, endangers the functioning of the country’s democratic institutions. 

The rapporteurs said they were struck by the number of social and political activists, “irrespective of their political affiliation”, as well as journalists that they had met who had experienced harassment and trolling on social media, and had even received outright threats to themselves and their families. 

This the two co-rapporteurs said, was as a result of the activists’ work and opinions.

“Such behaviour has no place in a democratic society and should be addressed as a priority by the authorities,” the statement reads.  

The two co-rapporteurs, George Loukaides of Cyprus and Bernard Fournier, of France, were in Malta between October 25 to 27 representing the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe’s (PACE) Legal Affairs Committee. 

A culture of impunity 

PACE said it welcomed progress made in Malta in recent months but called for further systematic reforms to strengthen checks and balances, including an overhaul of parliament.

The co-rapporteurs said that additional systemic reforms and changes are necessary to address the deficiencies and shortcomings highlighted by the public inquiry into the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Concluded earlier this year, the inquiry found the state should bear responsibility for the journalist’s death.  

Malta, the co-rapporteurs said, has a culture of impunity and of tolerance for corruption and conflict of interest, which cannot be addressed by legislative changes only, but requires a change of attitude and behaviour on the part of all concerned.

Parliamentary reform needed

The Council of Europe rapporteurs said it is time for a deep-rooted reform of the country’s parliament. 

They suggested reforming Malta’s parliament to make it one with full-time MPs, noting the current local custom of MPs holding jobs and functions in state institutions and agencies that they are supposed to oversee. 

This, they said, poses risks of conflict of interest and corruption. 

They, therefore, urged the drawing up of a clear list of positions and functions that are incompatible with the position of MP. 

Plans to reform electoral rules to improve the gender balance within parliament were welcomed by the rapporteurs, but concerns about Malta’s system of so-called ‘persons of trust’ continue to rankle. 

Use of such appointments remains widespread across the civil service, with the rapporteurs describing it unflatteringly as “a system of patronage with the evident risks of conflict of interest and corruption". 

The number of people appointed as persons of trust should be restricted to a small number of clearly defined and regulated positions, they said. 

The rapporteurs also expressed some concern about the way in which irregular migrants and refugees are handled, noting that conditions at reception and detention centres “remain of concern”. 

They urged Maltese authorities to implement all recommendations made by the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights following her recent visit to Malta, but also acknowledged that, given the relative number of migrants reaching Malta, issues could only be definitively resolved “with the solidarity and assistance of other EU member states.” 

The Council of Europe rapporteurs will finalise their report in early 2022 and then present it to their parliamentary assembly colleagues in April of that year.