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From assisting British lawyers in Greece to a standalone initiative: Know Your Rights!

Recently, we’ve been requested by the Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association* (ILPA) to provide specific information about various elements of Malta’s asylum system.

*ILPA is a UK-based organisation aiming to promote and improve the advising and representation of immigrants, to provide information on domestic and European immigration, asylum and nationality law and finally to secure a non-racist, non-sexist, just and equitable system of immigration refugee and nationality law practice.

In 2017, ILPA started a pilot project aiming at sending volunteer experienced UK immigration and asylum lawyers to Greece to support refugees and Greek lawyers on-site. The lawyers sent to Greece are focusing on the initial stages of cases: preparing statements, advising on evidence and applications for family reunion.

So as to ensure a more effective implementation, ILPA asked several lawyers and/or organisations in Europe to provide detailed information about the specificities of national asylum systems, to help the lawyers in Greece with their work. This information is particularly useful for those asylum-seekers who might be relocated to Malta, and for those who – having family members present in Malta – might applying for family reunification under the Dublin III Regulation.

Acting in solidarity with our British and Greek colleagues, we are very committed to this project and have been developing several thematic Fact Sheets that cover essential elements of Malta’s asylum process.

We started developing #aditusFactSheets in our ATLAS project, since we understand that the starting point to securing human rights is knowledge of their existence and of the steps needed to enjoy them.

Topics covered include the asylum procedure, rights of beneficiaries of international protection, long-term residence status, Malta’s court system (civil and criminal), equality bodies, etc.

Our Know your rights! initiative is now in full swing, and we’ve churned out a number of useful, accessible and user-friendly documents that are not limited to asylum or migration.

All our #aditusFactSheets are publicly available on the Know your rights! page.

Please go ahead and download them…if you’d like to suggest further topics, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us!

 

Awareness Campus – aditus at a training in Italy

From 3rd to 16th July 2017, Teatro Stabile di Torino and Banca San Paolo with the support of the Regione Piemonte organised the Training Awareness Campus in Moncalieri, Turin, Italy, addressed to actors, cultural mediators, animators, dancers, social workers, doctors, psychologists, physiotherapists, trainers, gymnasts, singers and students, aimed at the consolidation of a group for conducting theatrical practices for the care of the person and in particular for the migrants.

Being also a Drama Trainer and Artistic Project Manager of programmes exploring themes related to vulnerable, marginalised and displaced people, I flew to Italy, to Turin and was one of the 50 participants.

The training provided a safe space in which everyone, young people up to the age of 85 years old, could express themselves freely and explore their creativity. The applied learning method was based on the constant and rigorous exercise of awareness and attention through the practice of physical, vocal and narrative action and on the practice of articulated instruments for building a way of reflecting on space and relationships with the others. The training focused on acting, interactive theatre, devising to bear witness, raise awareness, and build alliances and a cultural resistance movement at the core of a free and critical society.

During the training, the practical work was supplemented by several public talks of pedagogy, philosophy, history, and literature held by professors and doctors coming from the University of Milan, Bologna and Turin. Also in the evening, the social life consisted of cultural events organised by local organisations of refugees, volunteering associations for people with disability and migrant women groups.

Fonderie Limone, Moncalieri, Turin, Italy.  Ph credit: Giulietta Vacis

The training was very intense, from 9.00 in the morning till 8.00 in the evening. Living for 2 weeks with a very diverse group of people, sharing very personal emotions and stories helped us to develop an environment of inclusivity and integration in which every person is made to understand that she or he has a contribution to offer.

The trainers’ team worked hardly to facilitate and encourage our social interaction, collaboration, positive communication, mutual support and listening through very specific exercises and social games. I think that producing state of art and thought-provoking theatre and media products in order to strengthen collaboration, self-awareness, creativity and imagination is extremely important for working in our community and advocating good governance, accountability, equality, integrity and justice.

Fonderie Limone, Moncalieri, Turin, Italy.                                      Ph credit: Giulietta Vacis

Artistic expression is a strategy to build a sense of community, of unity, of shared values, an alternative world view, and a commitment to making the struggle for social justice an integrated part of our lives.

The cultural resistance campus in Italy aimed to raise awareness and critical sense that is able to analysis of the reality around us and challenge all forms of oppression.

Fonderie Limone, Moncalieri, Turin, Italy. Ph credit: Giulietta Vacis

Antonella Sgobbo, Programmes Officer

 

“Do I have a right to justice?” Improving access to legal assistance in Malta

The final event of the ATLAS project, held on the 28th April, 2017, provided speakers and participants alike the opportunity to discuss the issues relating to improving access to legal assistance in Malta.

Minister Helena Dalli, in her opening address, explained that legal aid is essential in order for individuals to have access to an effective remedy and that the current means threshold is effectively barring the majority from receiving such legal aid even in situations of abuse such as domestic violence. Mr. Tamietti, Deputy Section Registrar of the European Court of Human Rights, gave an in-depth commentary on the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights relating to access to legal assistance in the criminal (Salduz v Turkey; Borg v Malta; Ibrahim and others v the United Kingdom), civil (Airey v. Ireland; Steel and Morris v. United Kingdom) and immigration (Maaouia v France; Khlaifia and others v Italy) fields.

Dr. Marc Sant, Head Advocate for Legal Aid within the Legal Aid Agency, outlined the provision of legal aid services in Malta, including eligibility criteria and the procedure for applying. An overview of recent changes, such as the recent set-up of the Agency and statistical data, were also outlined. Dr. Sant’s presentation can be accessed through this link: Legal Aid Agency Malta – Presentation.

Carla, project coordinator and assistant director of aditus foundation, presented the results of the ATLAS project and the main findings and recommendations that are contained in the final report on Access to Legal Assistance in Malta.  The objective of the report was to analyse the availability and outline the importance of having access to legal assistance for individuals who cannot afford the costs of legal representation in Malta. The Report is divided into three Sections:

  • Section 1: highlights existing international and European human rights standards relating to access to legal aid and Malta’s obligations
  • Section 2: analyses the legislative, judicial and administrative implications of the Maltese legal aid system
  • Section 3: examines the provision of pro bono legal assistance and how it can support the formal legal aid system

Furthermore, together with the Report, a number of Factsheets were drawn-up which provide basic information on the right to legal aid, the right to a fair trial, the court structures and other equality bodies in Malta. These can be downloaded individually or as a package from aditus’ publication page under the Factsheet heading. Carla’s presentation can be accessed through this link: Access to Legal Aid Assistance in Malta – Assessment of the Legal Aid System in Malta.

aditus and The Critical Institute hope that the Report will stimulate the discussion for a continuing reform of the justice system in Malta. The aim is to increase access to justice for vulnerable and marginalised groups through a stronger and more efficient legal aid system and through better awareness and enthusiasm for pro bono work amongst lawyers.

If you believe that your institution, NGO or department would find hard copies of the report or the factsheet useful, please do not hesitate to contact us on carlacamilleri@aditus.org.mt 

 

This project has been funded through the Voluntary Organisations Project Scheme managed by the Malta Council for the Voluntary Sector on behalf of the Ministry for Social Dialogue, Consumer Affairs and Civil Liberties.

Malta Community Chest Fund Foundation in support of our work with refugees & migrants

We’re incredibly happy to announce that Project Integrated will be receiving support from the Malta Community Chest Fund Foundation, allowing us to extend our activities through till December 2018!

This was confirmed on 18 March during a ceremony held at San Anton Palace, where the President of Malta emphasised that this year’s MCCFF aims are to support the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The project, implemented with JRS Malta and Integra Foundation, provides integration support to refugees as well as migrants at risk of social exclusion.

We’re extremely grateful to the MCCFF for its constant support of our efforts, and for its commitment towards seeking to improve the lives of vulnerable or marginalised communities.

 

CONFERENCE REGISTRATION: “Protecting Stateless Persons from Arbitrary Detention”

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On 4-5 May 2017, the European Network on Statelessness will hold a major conference in Budapest to launch a new comparative report as well as to provide a platform for concerted region-wide advocacy aimed at protecting stateless persons from arbitrary detention.

The conference is intended to facilitate the sharing of information among stakeholders from across Europe – including lawyers, NGOs and academics as well as representatives from governments, inter-governmental-organisations, ombudspersons/monitoring bodies and other stakeholders mandated to work on issues related to immigration detention.

aditus foundation is a member of the European Network on Statelessness, having also researched and drafted the report on the risk of arbitrary detention for stateless persons in Malta. Our Director will be attending the conference, moderating one of the workshops.

You can find out more about the event and register online here. Registration deadline is 15 March.