11/07/05
JRS Malta: the following article appeared in the Times of Malta on 11th July 2005

"Illegal immigration - Malta proposes resettlement in EU countries" >
by Herman Grech

Malta has proposed resettling a number of refugees to other EU member states, in a desperate attempt to share the burden of illegal immigration.

During a briefing at the Foreign Affairs Ministry, ambassadors of EU countries residing in Malta were presented with a 17-point document underlining the unique and critical dimension faced by Malta in dealing with migration.

While Malta is prepared to shoulder its share of responsibility, it cannot do so effectively alone, Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo said.

The document states that the severe strains on Malta's health, employment and social services, its internal security and public order, its social fabric and on the labour market cannot be underestimated.

It notes that Malta has been generous in its response to illegal immigration as it possessed the highest rate of acceptance in the EU when it came to granting refugee or protected humanitarian status to illegal immigrants.

The principles of solidarity and burden sharing that were at the heart of any community were surely applicable in this instance, Dr Frendo said, adding that Malta was requesting support from EU members in a number of ways.

The government called for support in the resettlement of those who have been granted asylum or protected humanitarian status, particularly in the case of member states where controlled legal immigration is beneficial and indeed required.

The resettlement of just a "relatively small number" of Malta's refugees in each of the major EU countries would have an exponential beneficial impact on the island, Dr Frendo said.

"We are cautiously optimistic that we will manage to convince our partners to help us. We do recognise that this is an issue that affects most EU countries but our problem is far more acute," Dr Frendo told The Times.

The problem of illegal migration was now shifting from the detention camps to the open centres.

Malta also asked to be associated with the decision by France, Italy, Spain, the UK and Germany to carry out joint flights of repatriation of illegal immigrants to their countries of origin, within the parameters of international law.

The government requested assistance for adequate logistical support and other facilities for the reception and efficient administration of illegal immigrants, to build adequate accommodation facilities and to cover the annual running costs of such an operation.

It also called for security cooperation particularly in the maritime field through an enhanced naval presence south of the EU borders.

The document called for support for points raised in the Maltese-Libyan joint paper on immigration endorsed by the 5+5 ministerial meeting held in Malta late last month.

The facts:

Malta is the smallest and most densely populated country in the EU and the second most densely populated country in the world.

The 3,000 illegal immigrants that have landed in Malta since 2002 are equivalent to 420,000 landing in Italy and 615,000 in Germany over the same period of time.

Over 800 refugees and those with humanitarian protection now live in open centres.

Being at the southernmost tip of the EU, Malta is inevitably in the front line of illegal migration.

Malta's search and rescue regions of about 250,000 square kilometres of open sea stretches from Tunisia in the west to Crete in the east. The security and humanitarian responsibilities stretch well beyond those encountered anywhere else in the EU.

Historically, Malta gave refuge and assisted in the resettlement of about 800 East African Asians who had been expelled from Uganda by its former leader, Idi Amin, and to just under 1,000 Iraqis fleeing from Saddam Hussein's regime.
___________________________________________