On 15 February the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Duna Mijatovic, released a report detailing her findings on the human rights situation in Malta. She had visited Malta between 11 and 16 October 2021, conducting several key meetings with Maltese authorities, journalists, and human rights organisations.

The report focuses on media freedom, women’s rights, gender equality, and asylum and migration. Regarding the latter, the report makes several observations on Malta’s alarming migration and asylum situation. Although the country has made positive changes to its migration and asylum legislation in recent years, in practice there is poor compliance with relevant measures. In particular, detention facilities in Malta are neglected and do not conform to appropriate living standards. In some cases, their poor conditions and lack of hygiene are even deemed to constitute inhuman and degrading treatment under Article 3 ECHR. Further, it must be noted that Libya is not a safe place for disembarkation, and Malta must not cooperate with Libyan authorities to support the return of refugees when they have the right to apply for asylum in Malta.

The commissioner provides five key recommendations in this report:

• Malta must step up its efforts in ensuring adequate rescue capacities. In addition to a reduction in search and rescue efforts, the commissioner has observed that migrants rescued by NGO vessels did not receive assistance from Maltese authorities to ensure their safe arrival. She states that the current restrictive disembarkation policies are a threat to human rights.
• Maltese authorities should avoid a repetition of the human rights violations that occurred as a result of the temporary closure of the ports in 2020, must make efforts to comply with its non-refoulement obligations, and must ensure a fair and effective process for lodging an asylum application.
• Maltese authorities are urged to suspend any co-operation activities with the Libyan authorities, including the Libyan Coast Guard, until it can be guaranteed that such cooperation does not lead to human rights violations. 
• Malta must take immediate measures to avoid the arbitrary detention of asylum-seekers and migrants. The commissioner suggests investing in alternatives to migrant detention, improving safeguards against the detention of vulnerable persons, and ensuring that any detention of minors is immediately ended.
• Maltese authorities are urged to improve reception conditions and assist asylum-seekers in finding accommodation after the detention period. Further, the state is encouraged to respect children’s rights in light of the vulnerability of unaccompanied minors.