20 November 2015
A report from the European Network on Statelessness and ECRE member aditus Foundation, has outlined the pernicious effects that the widespread use of administrative detention has on stateless persons in Malta. With no statelessness procedures to identify and recognise people in this predicament, stateless persons end up in detention, which, in a number of cases, are in breach of Malta’s human rights obligations.
The report includes testimonies from a number of stateless persons in Malta that outline the difficulties faced, such as the conditions of detention and the length of such detention. Furthermore, stateless persons live in Malta without any form of legal or social protection, nor have any procedures available to them in which they can present their claims for protection.
In order to improve the lives of these stateless people, the report makes a number of practical recommendations. These focus on arrangements that could be made by the Maltese authorities, and include calls to ensure effective access to protection for stateless person through the provision of legal stay status and the formal recognition of their rights.
For further information:
- European Network on Statelessness, aditus Foundation, Protecting stateless persons from arbitrary detention in Malta
This article appeared in the ECRE Weekly Bulletin of 20 November 2015. You can subscribe to the Weekly Bulletin here.