Today, 25 local organisations are calling on the Maltese authorities to prevent further human rights violations and deaths in the Mediterranean Sea.

The Mediterranean Sea remains one of the deadliest border spaces in the world. Tens of thousands of people have died or gone missing attempting to cross the Med. At least 3,041⁽¹⁾ people died in the Sea in 2023, making it one of the deadliest years on record. The Central Mediterranean Route, from Tunisia and Libya to Malta and Italy, is especially dangerous. Eleven⁽²⁾ children die every week, just on our horizon, along this route.

Maltese authorities, alongside the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, continue to contribute to these deaths by playing politics with people’s lives at sea, delaying rescue, and using their platforms to espouse the rhetoric of being hard on migrants. These policies undermine our values, spread fear and hatred and endanger the lives of innocent people.

The Maltese authorities have also pursued a policy of externalizing the border to North Africa. Neither Libya nor Tunisia have robust legal frameworks that protect the rights of refugees or migrating people. Human rights violations in Libya, including torture, extortion sexual violence and enslavement, are well documented and especially shocking.

Nevertheless, the Maltese authorities collaborate with quasi-legal entities, such as the Libyan Coast Guard and militias to have people forcibly returned from within our search and rescue zone to Libya. For example, in 2023 the authorities began providing coordinates of vessels in distress in Malta’s search and rescue zone to the Tariq Bin Zayed Brigade, a Libyan militia with a well-documented track record of human rights violations. Consequently, hundreds of people, many of them children, were intercepted in our waters and forced back⁽³⁾ to detention and degradation in Libya.

These actions amount to a violation of the legal principle of non-refoulement, enshrined in the 1951 Refugee Convention, the European Convention on Human Rights, and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights which prohibits the transfer of anyone to a place where they would face a real risk of persecution, torture or other serious harm.

The organisations are calling on the Maltese authorities to:

Conduct and coordinate timely rescue of people in distress in our search and rescue zone
Enact policies and espouse rhetoric that upholds the value of all human life.
Immediately end the policy of coordinating pushbacks from Malta’s search and rescue zone.
Cease support for and collaboration with actors that violate human rights, such as the Libyan Coast Guard and the Tariq Bin Zayed Brigade.
Stop criminalising humanitarian rescue organisations and start coordinating with them to save lives at sea.

References

⁽¹⁾ Latest Mediterranean deaths highlight need for safe migration routes | UN News
⁽²⁾ Eleven children die every week attempting to cross the Central Mediterranean Sea migration route – UNICEF
⁽³⁾ Torture, murder, humiliation: Meet the militia carrying out pullbacks in Maltese SAR zone – MaltaToday

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Stqarrija Stampa Konġunta – 18/02/2024
Baħar Ċimiterju 2024

Illum, 25 għaqda lokali qed jagħmlu sejħa lill-awtoritajiet Maltin biex jipprevjenu aktar ksur tad-drittijiet tal-bniedem u mwiet fil-Baħar Mediterran.

Il-Baħar Mediterran jibqa’ wieħed mill-aktar spazju bejn il-fruntieri fatali fid-dinja. Għexieren ta’ eluf ta’ nies mietu jew sfaw nieqsa meta ppruvaw jaqsmu l-Mediterran. Mill-inqas 3,041⁽¹⁾ persuna mietu fil-Baħar Mediterran fl-2023, li għamel din is-sena waħda mill-aktar fatali. Ir-Rotta tal-Mediterran Ċentrali, mit-Tuneżija u l-Libja għal Malta u l-Italja, hija partikolarment perikoluża. Ħdax-il tifel u tifla ⁽²⁾ imutu kull ġimgħa fit-traġitt tagħhom tul din ir-rotta, proprju fuq ix-xefaq tagħna.

L-awtoritajiet Maltin, flimkien mal-Aġenzija Ewropea għall-Gwardja tal-Fruntiera u tal-Kosta, ikomplu jikkontribwixxu għal dawn l-imwiet billi jużaw il-politika biex jilagħbu b’ħajjet in-nies fuq il-baħar, idewmu azzjonijiet ta’ salvataġġ, u jużaw il-pjattaformi biex iħaddnu retorika iebsa kontra l-migranti. Dawn il-politiki jxejnu l-valuri tagħna, ixerrdu l-biża’ u l-mibegħda, u jipperikolaw il-ħajja ta’ nies innoċenti.

L-awtoritajiet Maltin segwew ukoll politika sabiex jesternalizzaw il-fruntiera sal-Afrika ta’ Fuq. La l-Libja u lanqas it-Tuneżija m’għandhom oqsfa legali li jipproteġu d-drittijiet tar-refuġjati jew ta’ persuni li qed jemigraw. Il-ksur tad-drittijiet tal-bniedem fil-Libja, inklużi t-tortura, l-estorsjoni, il-vjolenza sesswali u l-iskvjavitù, huma ddokumentati sew u huma partikolarment xokkanti.

Minkejja dan, l-awtoritajiet Maltin jikkollaboraw ma’ entitajiet kważi-legali, bħall-Gwardja tal-Kosta Libjana u milizzji biex iġiegħlu nies li jkunu jinsabu fiż-żona ta’ tfittxija u salvataġġ tagħna jirritornaw lura bil-forza lejn il-Libja. Pereżempju, fl-2023 l-awtoritajiet bdew jipprovdu l-koordinati ta’ bastimenti li kienu jinsabu f’diffikultà fiż-żona ta’ tfittxija u salvataġġ tagħna lill-Brigata Tariq Bin Zayed, milizzja Libjana li t-track record tagħha ta’ ksur tad-drittijiet tal-bniedem huwa magħruf sew. Minħabba f’hekk, mijiet ta’ persuni, ħafna minnhom tfal, ġew interċettati fl-ibħra tagħna u mġiegħla jirritornaw⁽³⁾ f’ħajja ta’ detenzjoni u degradazzjoni fil-Libja.

Dawn l-azzjonijiet jammontaw għal ksur tal-prinċipju legali ta’ non-refoulement, li huwa stabbilit fil-Konvenzjoni tar-Refuġjati tal-1951, fil-Konvenzjoni Ewropea dwar id-Drittijiet tal-Bniedem, u fil-Karta tad-Drittijiet Fundamentali tal-Unjoni Ewropea, u li jipprojbixxi t-trasferiment ta’ kwalunkwe persuna f’post fejn tista’ taffaċċja riskju reali ta’ persekuzzjoni, tortura jew periklu serju ieħor.

L-għaqdiet qed jappellaw lill-awtoritajiet Maltin biex:

1. Iwettqu u jikkoordinaw salvataġġ mingħajr dewmien ta’ persuni li jkunu jinsabu f’diffikultà fiż-żona ta’ tfittxija u salvataġġ tagħna.
2. Idaħħlu fis-seħħ politiki u jħaddnu retorika li jirrispettaw u jsostnu l-valur tal-ħajja umana kollha.
3. Iwaqqfu minnufih il-politika li permezz tagħha jikkoordinaw pushbacks miż-żona ta’ tfittxija u salvataġġ ta’ Malta.
4. Iwaqqfu l-appoġġ għal u l-kollaborazzjoni ma’ entitajiet li jiksru d-drittijiet tal-bniedem, bħall-Gwardja tal-Kosta Libjana u l-Brigata Tariq Bin Zayed.
5. Jieqfu jikkriminalizzaw l-għaqdiet ta’ salvataġġ umanitarji u jibdew jikkoordinaw magħhom biex isalvaw il-ħajjiet fuq il-baħar.

Referenzi:

⁽¹⁾ Latest Mediterranean deaths highlight need for safe migration routes | UN News
⁽²⁾ Eleven children die every week attempting to cross the Central Mediterranean Sea migration route – UNICEF
⁽³⁾ Torture, murder, humiliation: Meet the militia carrying out pullbacks in Maltese SAR zone – MaltaToday

L-għaqdiet huma:

1. aditus foundation
2. African Media Association
3. Azzjoni Kattolika Maltija
4. Blue Door Education
5. Caritas Malta
6. Dance Beyond Borders
7. Humanists Malta
8. Jesuit Refugee Service Malta
9. Kopin
10. Malta LGBTIQ+ Rights Movement, MGRM
11. Men Against Violence
12. Migrant Women Association Malta
13. Moviment Graffitti
14. Office of the Dean – Faculty of Education UOM
15. Repubblika
16. SAR Malta Network
17. Segretarjat Assistenza Socjali (AKM)
18. SPARK15
19. The Gender And Sexualities Department, University of Malta
20. The Justice and Peace Commission
21. The Migrants Commission
22. The People for Change Foundation
23. Women’s Rights Foundation
24. Young Progressive Beings
25. YMCA Malta