More humane conditions for child migrants

Approved yesterday by the EP’s Civil Liberties Committee, the legislative text seeks more humane conditions for asylum seekers.

Among other things, it states that underage asylum seekers can only be detained “as a last resort” and kept separately from adults.

If approved by the EP’s plenary – something likely to happen by the end of the year – the text will then require EU Council approval before being passed back to the parliament and cemented into EU law.

Currently, all asylum seekers landing in Malta are automatically detained, with minors released once an age test confirms they are under 18. Minors are placed in the same detention centres as adults.

A recent report by the international human rights watchdog Human Rights Watch claimed that in Malta, unaccompanied minors spent significant periods in detention waiting for their age to be determined. The Government vehemently contested that assertion.

The EP proposal calls for these children to be kept in more suitable centres with staff and facilities adapted to their needs rather than in mandatory detention.

Aditus director Neil Falzon said the Government would be re­quired to amend its policies.

“The proposal makes it clear that the benefit of the doubt should lie with the child, not the State,” said Dr Falzon, who runs the human rights advocacy NGO.

Another provision calls for asylum seekers to be given access to the labour market after a maximum of nine months.

As things stand, asylum seekers are released from detention and given the opportunity to find work if their asylum application is not processed within a year of applying.

But significant improvements in the speed with which local authorities process asylum applications mean the proposed amendment is unlikely to have a significant impact, with most detainees’ applications being processed within a few months. The draft legislation also sets out the conditions under which an EU member state would be justified in detaining a migrant.

It allows states to detain asylum seekers to determine their identity, decide on their right to enter the country, protect public order, prepare for their repatriation and verify their asylum application.

Dr Falzon felt the proposal was too lenient in this regard. “The European Parliament seems to ignore the fact that international human rights law only allows detention under exceptional circumstances,” he argued.

However, he welcomed the proposal and augured that it would eventually lead to improved conditions for asylum seekers. According to the proposal, detained asylum seekers should be provided with information explaining their rights and obligations in a language that they understood. The Reception Conditions Directive, as it has been named, is one of the five Acts forming the backbone of the Common European Asylum System.

Questions sent to the Home Affairs Ministry concerning the government’s position on the directive remained unanswered at the time of writing.

(2012-09-20/timesofmalta)