Director

Joint Statement: NGOs call on Member States and European Parliament: Go no Lower: Reject the Use of Legal Loopholes in EU Asylum Law Reforms

The Member States and European Parliament, the EU’s co-legislators, are moving forward with a reform of EU asylum law in the form of the Pact on Migration and Asylum which reduces protection standards and undermines human rights of asylum seekers in Europe. But not only.

Some EU Member States are seeking to revive an additional proposal on “instrumentalisation” launched in 2021, which would allow them to derogate from their obligations in cases of alleged “instrumentalisation of migrants”, thereby undermining harmonisation and the common system. For more detail, see this analysis and statement.

Statement From Civil Society Supporting A Public Inquiry Into The Circumstances Of Jean Paul Sofia’s Untimely Death

Today, 12th July 2023, Parliament will be voting on the motion to initiate a public inquiry into Jean Paul Sofia’s death, after he was killed in a building collapse in Kordin. Civil society organisations will be supporting Jean Paul Sofia’s family from the public gallery in Parliament.

Regardless of the outcome of the criminal investigations and the magisterial inquiry, without a public inquiry that questions the circumstances of Jean Paul’s death, more people will be killed or injured on construction sites. These deaths and injuries can be prevented if the Maltese State learns lessons from Jean Paul’s death. The questions that must be asked include whether Jean Paul Sofia’s death could have been prevented; whether there were and are systemic and administrative failures that are contributing to fatalities and injuries on construction sites; and how action can be taken to prevent such fatalities and injuries.

We’ve just published Malta’s asylum statistics for 2022

We are publishing a table with Malta’s asylum statistics for 2022. It should not be an NGO doing this, but neither the International Protection Agency nor the Home Affairs Ministry publish asylum statistics, either annually or on a regular basis.

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What are we publishing?

In the AIDA report for Malta covering 2022, we included data relating to Malta’s asylum procedure. The report contains information on new applications and decisions taken. For the sake of brevity and to provide the most relevant information, the AIDA report only provides a snapshot of the entire information. It is only here that you will find the full Malta asylum statistics for 2022.

In the table you will find the full statistics presented by Country of Origin of applicants. You will find information on applications (new and subsequent), and decisions broken down by the kind of decision taken.

World Refugee Day 2023: How can Malta be more welcoming to refugees?

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Malta Refugee Council statement on World Refugee Day 2023

Every year, World Refugee Day invites us to remember the men, women and children who were forced to flee their homes in search of safety. This year, to mark Malta’s forthcoming launch of its second National Integration Policy and Action Plan, the Malta Refugee Council wishes to urge Malta to develop a clear and inclusive pathway towards refugees being accepted and welcome.

Refugees who have settled here need better guidance on what it takes for them to be truly welcome in Malta. From the moment of their arrival, they are repeatedly told that Malta can never be their home. This harsh message follows them along their paths, where they are constantly subjects of criticism, discrimination and exclusion. After years of life in Malta and despite their best efforts, they remain on-lookers of Malta’s social and cultural life, burdened with the knowledge that Malta will never really be home.

‘I receive much more than I give’

Emmanuelle Gautier (55) lives in a small village of 300 people in the Beaujolais region in France. The web journalist and author of podcasts is a volunteer at Forum réfugiés, a non-profit organization that – amongst others – supports the integration of refugees into French society.

‘Two years ago, the return of the Taliban to Afghanistan really moved and shocked me’, Emmanuelle says. ‘It was then that I decided to offer my help to refugees. In my opinion, it is essential to offer linguistic and cultural bridges to these people, so they can get a foothold in France.’