Access to the territory and push backs

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The PIO confirmed that in 2024 238 persons ‘arrived irregularly’ at Malta’s borders:

47 beneficiaries of protection were resettled from Malta by the end of 2024 (45 from Somalia, one from Eritrea and another from Sudan) whilst 60[1] were relocated to other EU MS (20 to France, 7 to Romania, 33 to Portugal).

In 2022 and 2023, the number of sea arrivals reaching Malta  steadily decreased. UNHCR reported 380 arrivals in Malta in 2023, compared to 444 in 2022, 832 in 2021 and 2,281 in 2020. The Agency also reported on the nationalities of those who reached Malta via sea: 62% were Bangladeshi, 9% were Syrian, 7% were Guinean, and the rest were composed of various nationalities.[2] As highlighted by UNHCR, this decline continued in 2024, as UNHCR reported 238 sea arrivals.

Access to the procedure was hindered to some applicants in 2023 through a speedy channelling into the Home Affairs Ministry’s voluntary return procedure. Lawyers visiting detention reported that at least one group of Bangladeshi nationals voluntarily returned to Bangladesh without having been informed of the possibility of seeking asylum. This situation was made possible due to a number of factors, including: limited information to detained persons on the right to seek protection, challenges for NGOs and other information-providers to access and monitor detention centres, active presence in detention of Ministry officials promoting voluntary return including by informing particular nationalities of their limited chances of receiving international protection with the consequential detention for a number of months. See relevant section on Procedural safeguards for detention.

In May 2023 a Maltese delegation visited Eastern Libya to hold diplomatic talks with representatives of Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar. Malta’s delegation met with various entities, including representatives from the Armed Forces, the Coast Guard and the Interior Ministry. Talks included security and migration issues, including new cooperation possibilities following the renewal of the 2020 MOU.[3]

In relation to the latter MOU, although it contains reference to the establishment of two coordination centres funded by Malta (one in Libya and one in Tripoli), a Freedom of Information request revealed that no further information exists on these centres and their regulation. The request confirmed that three persons are engaged as coordinators with the Malta-Libya Coordination Centre.[4]

In January 2025, the Parliamentary Ombudsman severely criticised Malta’s special envoy to Libya sitting on the Malta-Libya Coordination Centre, Alexander Dalli, for incident occurring when he headed Malta’s prison.[5] The Ombudsman’s investigation revealed gross institutional mismanagement and highlighted a number of incidents that could amount to inhuman and degrading treatment, including against migrants. Following publication of the report, several calls were made for the resignation of the Home Affairs Minister and for Dalli to be arrested and removed from his position overseeing search and rescue policy and operations.[6]

Arrivals by boat

Throughout 2023 and 2024, it was reported on several occasions that Malta continued its policy of preventing access to its territory for persons arriving by sea. Furthermore, in 2023 the Home Affairs Ministry strengthened its negative rhetoric against NGOs rescuing people at sea, indirectly associating them with human trafficking networks and attributing to them the responsibility for deaths of people at sea.[7] The Government vehemently denied having adopted such an approach.[8]

This situation seems to be an escalation of practices adopted in previous years, within Malta’s broader policy goal of reducing the numbers of arrivals by sea. A 2021 OHCHR report confirmed numerous incidents of pushbacks orchestrated by the AFM and Malta’s failure to provide prompt assistance to migrants in distress in the central Mediterranean[9], whilst the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights made the same observations in her 2022 report on her visit to Malta.[10]

In 2022, the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) and Sea-Watch filed a Communication to the International Criminal Court (ICC) calling for an investigation of Prime Minister Robert Abela and his predecessor Joseph Muscat, among others, of the commission of crimes against humanity against migrants and refugees who have been intercepted at sea and systematically returned to and detained in Libya.[11]

Throughout 2024, UNHCR was able to maintain its presence at all disembarkations, monitoring the registration process.

In its 2024 Concluding Observations on Malta[12], the UN Human Rights Committee expressed severe concern about reports of activities potentially resulting in ‘unlawful deprivations of life that have not been investigated’ and refers to reports of Malta’s failure to respond to distress situations at sea and Malta’s instructions to private vessels not to respond. It flagged the MoU with Libya as a serious concern and also Malta’s attitude towards rescue NGOs.

The main case regarding criminalisation of rescue at sea was the El Hiblu case, going on since 2019.

El Hiblu

In March 2019, a group of 108 migrants escaping Libya were rescued by the merchant vessel ‘El Hiblu 1’ within the Libya SAR zone, but outside its territorial waters. At first, the ship continued towards Libya but changed its course shortly before reaching the Libyan coast and headed instead towards Europe. A Maltese special operation unit boarded the ship and disembarked the migrants in Malta. Upon arrival, the authorities arrested five asylum-seekers and subsequently charged three of them – all teenagers – on suspicion of having hijacked the ship which had rescued them, so as to prevent the captain from returning them to Libya. The three teenagers were immediately detained in the high-security section of prison for adults and charged with very serious offences, some falling under anti-terrorism legislation and punishable with life imprisonment. The three teenagers were released on bail in November 2019 and remain in Malta, pending their criminal proceedings.

The case is followed closely by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights which urged Malta to reconsider the severity of the charges, and by Amnesty International which publicly stated that ‘the severity of the nine charges currently laid against the three youths appears disproportionate to the acts imputed to the defendants and do not reflect the risks they and their fellow travellers would have faced if returned to Libya. The use of counter-terrorism legislation is especially problematic’.[13] This case was taken up by Amnesty International as part of their international campaigning,[14] as well as by several other Maltese and international NGOs.[15]

On 6 November the Office of the Attorney General filed Bill of Indictment No. 49/2023 before the Criminal Court, including the same list of nine accusations as defined in the preliminary charges, namely: committing acts and activities of terrorism; illegally arresting or detaining the ship’s Captain and crew; unlawfully removing the ship’s Captain and crew to another country; committing private violence; causing fear that violence will be used against the ship’s Captain and crew.

Following the Bill of Indictment, in November 2023 the accused filed preliminary pleas mainly claiming the lack of jurisdiction of the Maltese courts. These pleas were rejected by the Criminal Court and, in January 2025, also by the Court of Criminal Appeal. In 2024 one of the accused fled Malta and was eventually arrested in the United Kingdom in early 2025.

In 2024, the UN Human Rights Committee expressed concern at the charged brought against the three, urging Malta to ensure a fair and transparent trial.[16]

The case remains ongoing, including extradition proceedings in the UK.

Reported incidents in Malta’s Search and Rescue Zone[17]

On the basis of a policy of “prevention, return and relocation”,[18] many reports attested to the fact that people at sea attempting to reach safety were met with the same obstacles as in previous years: pushbacks and pullbacks, delayed assistance, and refused assistance. Additionally, these incidents remain shrouded in mystery as to their facts and decision-making processes since the authorities repeatedly refused to divulge relevant details or open investigations, including when the incidents involved deaths.

For detailed information on incidents in previous years, see previous updates to this country report here. The following information details the situation in 2024.

Longstanding issues in Malta’s SAR operations, with continued reports of unresponsiveness, pushbacks, and lack of transparency remained prevalent during 2024. The issue of lack of transparency on these incidents’ facts and decision-making processes has remained prominent. Local NGOs are largely left to rely on other organisations’ reports, news reports and clients themselves to gather information about Malta’s Search and Rescue operations. For the most part, rescue operations in the Maltese SAR zone are ultimately conducted by foreign NGOs or the Italian Authorities; there is little information available that would confirm Malta’s fulfilment or coordination of these rescue operations.

When rescue operations were conducted or coordinated by the Maltese authorities, it remains difficult to access information including through official channels. A spokesperson for NGO Alarm Phone, which provides hotline support for boats in distress, said the Maltese authorities “rarely respond on the phone and, if they do, they do not provide any relevant information.” [19]

The UN Human Rights Committee has also, in 2024, raised concerns regarding Malta’s search and rescue practices, citing specific incidents where Malta failed to respond promptly to calls of distress within its SAR zone. The Committee also raised concern on the Memorandum of Understanding signed with Libya, which presents risks of illegal returns of asylum applicants, placing them at risk of serious human right violations. Malta has consistently denied these allegations on pushbacks.[20]

Unlike Italy, Malta has not enacted legislation or policies hindering or criminalizing the search and rescue activities of NGO actors.

NGOs working in the Mediterranean repeatedly reported in 2024 that Malta (as well as Italy), aided by Frontex, systemically outsourced rescue operations to the Libyan Coast Guard. This was sometimes accompanied by instructions not to rescue sent to vessels in the vicinity or for them to transfer the rescued persons to the Libyan Coast Guard. Sea-Watch and other NGOs report that Frontex’s intelligence-sharing primarily enables interceptions by Libyan and Tunisian authorities rather than rescues, leading to forced returns to conditions of torture and abuse.[21]

According to UNHCR by the end of 2024 there were 238 persons arriving by sea in Malta.[22] Leaked documents about Malta’s SAR reported that Malta rescued 92 migrants in the period of January to October 2024 which is significantly lower than the neighbouring Italian and Libyan authorities’ rescues in the same period, which together was over 20,000 people.[23]

Throughout 2024, SeaWatch’s Airborne operations spotted 221 boats carrying around 10,929 persons in distress in the Mediterranean.[24]

Below is a detailed list of information available as to people in distress at sea and SAR:

January

• 1 January – 108 persons were reported by Alarmphone and rescued by Italy in the Maltese SAR zone.[25]
• 2 January – 35 persons disembarked in Malta.
• 11 January – A boat with around 40 persons disappeared in the Maltese SAR zone. Despite being sighted by a Frontex aircraft (Eagle1) and Alarm Phone repeatedly updating their position, the Maltese and Italian authorities did not launch a rescue operation. The Italian Coast Guard also failed to provide information such as GPS-position of the distress case even though they had been seen and located by different actors. They are assumed to have drowned.[26]

February

• 1 February – 125 persons on an overcrowded boat. Seabird called for assistance from merchant vessels but got no answer. Later on, it saw that they were intercepted by the Libyan Coast Guard in the Maltese SAR zone.[27]
• 23 February – capsized boat of 34 persons, of whom 5 were confirmed dead and 8 persons injured and hospitalised. The Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) and the Maltese authorities refused to disclose any details on the circumstances which led to the capsizing of the boat, and the events surrounding it. Amongst those hospitalised there was a pregnant woman. Reports indicate that the AFM received a distress call prior to 23 February but this has been denied by the Home Affairs Minister. Civil society organisations called for a public inquiry into the five tragic deaths that occurred in this incident, but no inquiry has been launched to date.[28]
• 28 February – 59 persons, of whom two lost their lives, four were found unconscious. The rescue was coordinated between NGOs (SEA-EYE 4 and German Doctors e.V) in the Maltese SAR. AFM conducted a helicopter evacuation for one injured person, three others by the Italian coastguard and all other persons were sent to disembark in Sicily. [29]

March

• 6 March – 56 people rescued from the Maltese SAR zone by Sea-Watch 5 on 6 March. A 17-year-old boy died on board after having suffered a cardiac arrest and being resuscitated on board. Malta, Italy and Tunisia refused to evacuate him, or to coordinate any form of rescue. Four persons in critical condition were taken to Italy after nine hours whilst the 51 remaining people and the boy’s body landed in Pozzallo on 8 March. The Italian authorities detained Sea-Watch 5 for 20 days after carrying out the rescue.[30]
• 15 March – 135 persons rescued by Ocean Viking off Malta’s coast within the Maltese SAR zone. The NGO published a statement on Malta and the EU’s absconding of responsibility in rescue efforts. The article reporting the incident also documents Malta facing criticism on ignoring distress call and coordinating illegal pushbacks. This incident occurred shortly after another Mediterranean tragedy which the same Ocean Viking came across a few days back with 25 survivors and 60 persons lost and feared dead.[31]
• 15 March – around 80 persons were illegally intercepted by the Libyan Coast Guard (coordinated by RCC Malta) in the Maltese SAR.[32] Sea watch stated the following: ‘The duty of Malta, as the responsible RCC for the Maltese SAR zone, is to ensure that a rescue operation takes place with the subsequent disembarkation in a safe port. Instead the RCC Malta and Frontex cooperate with the so-called Libyan Coast Guard and again violate international law.’[33]
• 25 March – 150 persons were in distress in Malta’s SAR zone. Alarmphone appealed to Malta and Italy for intervention. Three persons remained missing after several people went overboard during the rescue by the Vault. They were disembarked in Lampedusa. Alarmphone criticised the EU for its non-assistance.[34]

April

• 6 April – 30 persons were adrift Maltese SAR zone. They reportedly received fuel from a small grey ship, suspected by Alarmphone to be the AFM, who directed them to move to Italy.[35]
• 7 April – 20 persons were intercepted and pulled back by the Libyan Coast Guard after their position was potentially communicated by AFM. [36]
• 9 April – Alarm Phone reported that around 83 people in distress were forcibly intercepted by the Libyan coastguard in an illegal pushback while in Malta’s SAR zone, between eastern Tunisia and south of Lampedusa.[37] This event led to 22 organisations coming together to advocate against illegal pushbacks, referring to Malta’s declared prevention policy and how such policy must not be implemented resulting in loss of life and human rights violations.[38]
• 11 April – A vessel in Malta’s SAR zone capsized, resulting in at least nine deaths including a child and 15 missing persons, including three children. There were 23 survivors rescued by the Italian Coast Guard at the request of the Maltese authorities and taken to Lampedusa. Rescue operations were hindered by rough seas; some deaths were due to hypothermia. One survivor died at Lampedusa’s health centre. [39]

May

• 8 May – 30 persons in distress were rescued by Italian authorities. The Maltese authorities were accused of instructing all vessels that were responsive not to change their course and rescue the people in distress.[40]
• 13 May – 21 persons in the Maltese SAR zone rescued by the AURORA,[41] which requested further assistance from the Maltese and Italian authorities. Eventually the Italian Coast Guard assisted in the rescue.
• 20 May – The Ocean Viking[42] rescued 35 persons from a fiberglass boat in waters between Malta and Italy after 3 days at sea. They disembarked in Ortona, Italy, despite the rescue carried out closer to Malta and Sicily.[43]
• 20 May – The SEA-EYE 4[44] rescued 52 people from distress in Malta’s SAR zone. Despite the urgency, vulnerable persons on board and deteriorating weather conditions, the vessel was assigned to dock at Ravenna, Italy, approximately 900 nautical miles away. [45]

June

• 9 June – Alarm Phone reported that Malta failed to respond to a distress call from a boat carrying 32 persons in Malta’s SAR zone.^[46]

July

• 10 July – Three rescue operations, one in the Libyan SAR and two in Maltese SAR zone. In one of the Maltese SAR operations 64 individuals including two unaccompanied minors were rescued. Their boat had departed from Tripoli and had been adrift for hours without fuel. The other Maltese SAR operation rescued 40 people including 9 women and 5 unaccompanied minors. They were rescued from a boat with a broken engine that had also departed from Tajura. Both cases of distress were reported to Life Support[47] via Alarm Phone and then confirmed by Sea Bird.[48]
• 13 July – 15 persons were in distress in the Maltese SAR zone, reported by Alarm Phone. An AFM vessel was sighted 60nm away from the boat. A merchant vessel was instructed by RCC Malta to stand-by and was later released from the duty. The Maltese RCC did not further communicate with Seabird 2’s crew, even hanging up the phone. The rescue was eventually carried out by the Italian Coast Guard.
• 18 July – 28 persons rescued by AFM, including 3 women and 8 minors. AFM once again failed to issue a public statement and answer questions on the rescue operation and disembarkation.[49] 

August

• 5 August – The Italian Coast Guard rescued 46 individuals who found themselves in distress, to the east of the Maltese islands. Alarm Phone said it had been in contact with a group that was travelling on a small boat earlier that week on Tuesday, when they sent out a distress call. The Maltese authorities were informed and so where other nearby authorities, with the NGO stressing that the group was closest to Malta. Alarm Phone said the group was eventually disembarked by the Italian Coast Guard in Pozzallo, Sicily.[50]
• 31 August – 289 people rescued by Sea-Watch 5 over 4 operations in international waters. A 17-year-old was medically evacuated by the Maltese emergency services. The Italian authorities assigned Civitavecchia as a safe port and upon docking on 3 September (due to the long distance from the rescue to the port of safety) Sea-Watch 5 was detained once again for 20 days.[51]

September

• 4 September – Seabird spotted a boat with 25-30 persons on board in Malta’s SAR zone. Sea-Watch’s ground crew alerted both Italian and Maltese authorities about the boat in distress on 2 September. The Italian Coast Guard announced that the ship had sunk on 4 September and published footage of the rescue of survivors, with 21 persons remaining missing.[52] Sea-Watch filed a criminal complaint against the Italian authorities.[53]
• 8 September – Six children were airlifted to Malta, but no further information is available on the other persons.

October

• 1 October – SeaWatch reported 26 persons in distress in the Maltese SAR zone. Seabird 2 overheard mayday relay calls presumably from the AFM and on by Frontex. A Maltese fishing boat also alerted port authorities in Lampedusa and informed them of a person in critical condition. The Maltese authorities stated that they were working on the case without providing further information. Seabird 2 witnessed the interception by the Libyan Coast Guard deep within the Maltese SAR zone under Maltese responsibility.[54]
• 10 October – Ocean Viking rescued 41 people in the Maltese SAR, including 3 children. The group was disembarked together with six other persons rescued in the Libyan SAR in Ravenna, Italy.[55]
• Around 12 October – 52 persons were disembarked in Malta.
• 31 October – 72 persons were rescued by Life Support in the Maltese SAR zone and disembarked in Livorno, Italy on 4 November.[56]

November

• 1 November – Alarmphone alerted the authorities of 44 people in distress and were informed that RCC Malta “have it under control”.[57] No further information was made available.
• 12 November – Alarmphone received a distress call from 23 persons in the Maltese SAR. They were spotted by Frontex earlier on; however they did not inform nearby NGO ships. They provided coordinates to Seabird 2 upon request but it was too late, and they witnessed an illegal interception by the Libyan Coast Guard in the Maltese SAR.[58]
• 12 November – Life Support rescued 49 shipwreck survivors from the Maltese SAR zone, including 3 diabetic persons. They were assigned a safe port far from the operational area, in Ancona. The NGO commented on suspected pushbacks in the area and noted that it took 5 days to reach the assigned port of safety.[59]
• 30 November – Alarmphone reports 2 boats with a total of 115 people in the Maltese SAR zone. AFM did not state anything regarding these two boats and their suspected forced return to Libya.[60]

December

• 1 December – Over 70 persons were disembarked in Malta, although no further information is available on the rescue operation.
• 14 December – 20 people in distress in the Maltese SAR zone were monitored by Frontex, but Malta’s RCC ordered the merchant vessel XT Prosperity not to rescue them. Despite one person being in the water, the vessel was told to remain an observer. The Libyan Coast Guard later intercepted the group, leading people to jump into the water; one person drowned, and their body was not recovered.

Relocation

According to IOM, Malta is included in the list of five first-line Member States benefitting from relocation under the 2022 Solidarity Declaration and EU-funded Voluntary Solidarity Mechanism (VSM). In coordination with the European Commission, the respective national authorities involved and other stakeholders, such as the EUAA, IOM will ensure that people benefitting from this assistance are adequately prepared for and subsequently transferred to the Member State of Relocation (MSR) in safety and dignity and on a voluntary basis, receiving comprehensive support throughout the entire process.

Whereas in 2022, IOM facilitated the relocation from Malta of 14 asylum-applicants, as of September 2023 104 asylum-applicants were relocated from Malta to other EU MS.[61] No information was provided on the Member States of relocation, or the criteria used in their selection. According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, Security and Employment of Malta, there were 159 relocations in 2023.

In a statement welcoming the relocation programme, the Home Affairs Minister commented that, in the first half of 2023, Malta managed to reduce the number of arrivals and relocate the same number of people that had arrived.[62]

According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, Security and Employment of Malta, there were 60 relocations in 2024 to other EU Member States under the Voluntary Solidarity Mechanism, and 54 BIPs were resettled to the United States and Canada with support of IOM and UNHCR.[63]

Legal access to the territory

No incoming relocation scheme, resettlement or humanitarian visa exist Malta. However, in 2024 five children who were wounded in Gaza reached Malta to receive medical treatment.

According to the Ministry of Ministry of Home Affairs, Security and Employment in a FOI request, in 2024 Malta committed to 20 resettlement pledges and 20 relocation pledges. However, in information provided on 24 July 2025, the Ministry stated that no relocation pledges were made.[64]

An interesting case was decided in November 2022 by the Court of Appeal in its Inferior Jurisdiction. The case involved a Syrian national applying for a Single Work Permit in Malta, from Lebanon. Identitá rejected his application, arguing that: ‘(Y)our application is being refused on public policy grounds given the current situation in Syria. Malta does not provide legal avenues for persons to seek protection whilst residing in their own country and providing you with the facility to come to Malta, there is the possibility that once you are here you may eventually seek such protection. Furthermore, in view of this situation it is not possible to conduct due diligence on persons wishing to proceed to Malta for the purpose of residing here.’ The applicant appealed this decision before the Immigration Appeals Board and the Court of Appeal, both deciding against him.[65]

One refugee – a person with particular vulnerabilities – was resettled to Malta in 2023.

Refuges may apply for family reunification (see section on Family reunification).

[1] These were applicants from Cameroon (2), Chad (1), Eritrea (7), Ethiopia (4), Gambia (1), Guinea (2), Libya (8), Nigeria (1), Somalia (18) and Sudan (16).

[2] UNHCR Malta Fact Sheet.

[3] MaltaToday, Maltese officials in first meeting with Easter Libya military leader Khalifa Hafter, 31 May 2023, at: https://tinyurl.com/yc4uvu7v.

[4] Times of Malta, Persons of trust and missing documents: Malta’s secretive migration project, 3 July 2023, at: https://tinyurl.com/mr3vy7z8.

[5] Parliamentary Ombudsman, Own Initiative Investigation into possible systemic maladministration within the Corradino Correctional Facility, 31 January 2025, at: https://tinyurl.com/4wuazuhj.

[6] Times of Malta, Calls for Camilleri to resign and Dalli to be arrested after shock prison report, 1 February 2025, https://tinyurl.com/4funbat6; Newsbook, Byron Camilleri’s resignation is ‘necessary’ – Repubblika, 1 February 2025, https://tinyurl.com/2zmu9rxk.

[7] Times of Malta, ‘NGO boats are a pull factor’- minister doubles down on comment on migration, 12 January 2023, available at https://tinyurl.com/36t6wsk6; Malta Today, Minister: Preventing migrant departures from Libya crucial to avoiding deaths at sea, 13 March 2023, available at: https://tinyurl.com/4fne2haf.

[8] The Malta Independent, ‘Totally false’: Home Affairs Minister denies claims of delayed rescue of migrants, 6 February 2023, available at https://tinyurl.com/ybdahswd.

[9] OHCHR, Report: A call to safeguard migrants in central Mediterranean Sea, 25 May 2021, available at https://bit.ly/3KvOEPA.

[10] Commissioner’s report following her visit to Malta from 11 to 16 October 2021, available at: https://bit.ly/3InhWhS.

[11] ECCHR, Interceptions at sea and returns of migrants and refugees to Libya constitute a crime against humanity, 30 November 2022, available at https://bit.ly/3vOZ86B

[12] United Nations Human Rights Committee, Concluding Observations on the third periodic report of Malta, 26 August 2024, available at: https://tinyurl.com/3pp4ea4s. 

[13] Amnesty International, Malta: The El Hiblu 1 Case: Three Teenagers in the Dock for Daring to Oppose Their Return to Suffering in Libya, 23 October 2019, available at: https://bit.ly/34T5dRi; UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Press briefing note on Malta, 7 May 2019, available at: https://bit.ly/2XUEbY8.

[14] Amnesty International, ‘Demand justice for the El Hiblu 3’, available at: https://bit.ly/3lq3jQu.

[15] For more information see ‘The El Hiblu 3!’ at: https://bit.ly/3s02nVr.

[16] United Nations Human Rights Committee, Concluding Observations on the third periodic report of Malta, 26 August 2024, available at: https://tinyurl.com/3pp4ea4s. 

[17] The information in this section is collected from various publicly available sources, in each case reported in the corresponding footnote. Neither the authors of the report nor ECRE are able to verify most of the information, mainly since the reported incidents occur at sea. For the vast majority of incidents, there is no publicly available information from the Maltese authorities.

[18] The Malta Independent, Abela says that preventing people from leaving Africa is key principle of migration solution, 18 June 2023, available at: https://tinyurl.com/5n6rd2dk.

[19] Jacob Borg and James Cummings, ‘Malta ‘refuses’ to cooperate in migrant rescue missions – leaked EU memo’ (Times of Malta, 13 March 2025), available here.

[20] Centre for civil and Political Rights, ‘Malta Faces Criticism Over Migrant and Refugee Rescue Operations at Sea at Human Right Committee’, 10 July 2024, available here.

[21] Sea Watch, Crimes of the European Coast Guard Agency Frontex – Second Report, May 2024, available here.

[22] UNHCR, Malta October – December 2024 Factsheet, February 2025, available here.

[23] Jacob Borg and James Cummings, ‘Malta ‘refuses’ to cooperate in migrant rescue missions – leaked EU memo’ (Times of Malta, 13 March 2025), available here.

[24] As summed up from the 4 Sea-Watch Quarterly Reports.

[25] Jurgen Balzan, ‘108 shipwrecked asylum seekers rescued by Italy in Malta’s SAR’ (Newsbook Malta, 1 January 2024), available here.

[26] Sea Watch, Airborne Quarterly Factsheet January March 2024, May 2024, available here.

[27] Sea Watch, Airborne Quarterly Factsheet January March 2024, May 2024, available here.

[28] Infomigrants, ‘Malta: At least five migrants die as boat capsizes during rescue operation’, 23 February 2024, available here; Kurt Sansone, ‘Migrant deaths during AFM rescue operation need to be investigated, NGO says’ (Malta Today, 26 February 2024), available here; ‘Group calls for public inquiry into death of five migrants off Malta (Malta Independent, 26 February 2024), available here; ‘Investigate migrant deaths during AFM rescue: network of activists, NGOs urge’ (Times of Malta, 26 February 2024), available here; Jurgen Balzan, ‘Victims of capsized boat off Malta aged between 22 and 33’ (Newsbook Malta, 5 March 2024), available here; Jurgen Balzan, ‘Civil society calls for public inquiry into tragic deaths of asylum seekers’ (Newsbook Malta, 26 February 2024), available here.

[29] Jurgen Balzan, ‘Two lives lost as asylum seekers rescued by NGO in Malta’s SAR’ (Newsbook Malta, 28 February 2024), available here.

[30] Sea Watch, ‘Rescue ship Sea-Watch 5 detained’, 9 March 2024, available here.

[31] Jurgen Balzan, ‘60 feared dead while crossing Mediterranean from Libya’ (Newsbook Malta, 15 March 2024), available here.

[32] Sea Watch, Airborne Quarterly Factsheet January March 2024, May 2024, available here.

[33] Sea Watch, Airborne Quarterly Factsheet January March 2024, May 2024, available here.

[34] John Paul Cordina, ‘Three reported missing after delayed rescue in Malta SAR’ (Newsbook Malta, 25 March 2024), available here.

[35] Monique Agius, ‘Alarm Phone suspects AFM provided fuel to 30 asylum seekers adrift in Maltese SAR’ (Newsbook Malta, 6 April 2024), available here.

[36] Sea Watch, Airborne Quarterly Factsheet April June 2024, July 2024, available here.

[37] Miguel Azzopardi, ‘83 persons abducted from Maltese SAR in illegal pushback to Libya – Alarm Phone’ (Newsbook Malta, 9 April 2024), available here.

[38] Sarah Carabott, ‘Stop illegally pushing people back to Libya: 22 organisations, academics urge’ (Times of Malta, 11 April 2024), available here.

[39] John Paul Cordina, ‘At least 9, including small girl, dead in Malta’s SAR’ (Newsbook Malta, 11 April 2024), available here; ‘Nine migrants, including little girl, drown in Malta’s search and rescue area’ (Times of Malta, 11 April 2024), available here; ‘11/04: Shipwreck of a boat departed from Sfax, 22 people survived, 9 people died, 15 people missing’ (Watch the Med, 12 April 2024), available here; Stefano Andrea Pozzo, ‘Tragedia in mare: naufragio di migranti al largo di Malta, 9 vittime e 15 dispersi’ (Corriere di Malta, 11 April 2024), available here.

[40] Sea Watch, Airborne Quarterly Factsheet April June 2024, July 2024, available here.

[41] The AURORA is a search and rescue vessel operated by Sea-Watch.

[42] The Ocean Viking is a search and rescue vessel operated by SOS MEDITARRANEE.

[43] ‘Ocean Viking ship rescues 35 Bangladeshi migrants’ (Infomigrants, 21 May 2024), available here; Jurgen Balzan, ‘Asylum seekers heading to remote Italian port after being rescued off Malta’ (Newsbook Malta, 21 May 2024), available here; Giulia Magri, ‘Group rescued eight hours from Malta to be taken to port ‘two days away’’ (Times of Malta, 21 May 2024), available here.

[44] The SEA-EYE 4 is a search and rescue vessel operated by Sea Eye.

[45] ANSA, ‘German boat Sea-Eye rescues 52 migrants in Maltese waters’ (Infomigrants, 23 May 2024), available here.

[46] Jurgen Balzan, ‘Malta allegedly ignores distress call again, 32 people taken to Lampedusa’ (Newsbook Malta, 10 June 2024), available here; Alarm Phone on X, 9 June 2024, available here.

[47] Life Support is a search and rescue vessel operated by EMERGENCY.

[48] Sea Bird 1 and 2 are airborne vessels operated by Sea-Watch; ‘Emergency rescues 178 in mediterranean sea, assists disembarkation of 378 in Sicily’ (Emergency, 11 July 2024), available here; ‘Hundreds of migrants rescued in Central Mediterranean’ (Infomigrants, 10 July 2024), available here.

[49] Monique Agius, ‘Palestinian asylum seekers being held in detention following rescue operation’ (Newsbook Malta, 23 July 2024), available here.  

[50] Monique Agius, ‘46 people rescued off Malta’ (Newsbook Malta, 15 August 2024), available here.

[51] Sea Watch, ‘Rescue ship Sea-Watch 5 detained’, 4 September 2024, available here; Matthew Vella, ‘After rescuing 289 from drowning, Sea Watch vessel is detained by Italians’ (Malta Today, 5 September 2024), available here.

[52] ‘21 persons missing: Italian non-assistance likely leads to shipwreck’ (Sea Watch, 5 September 2024), available here.

[53] Sea Watch, ‘21 dead in shipwreck – Sea-Watch files charges against Italian authorities’ (Sea Watch, 12 November 2024), available here.

[54] Sea Watch, Quarterly Factsheet October December 2024, April 2025, available here.

[55] Emma Wallis, ‘More than 80 migrants rescued from boats adrift in Mediterranean’ (Infomigrants, 11 October 2024), available here.

[56] ‘72 people rescued by life support disembark in Livorno’ (Emergency, 4 November 2024), available here.

[57] Alarm Phone on X, 1 November 2024, see here; ‘Barca con 44 migranti alla deriva nel Mediterraneo centrale, Alarm Phone: «nessun aiuto da Malta»’ (Corriere di Malta, 2 November 2024), available here.

[58] Sea Watch, Quarterly Factsheet October December 2024, April 2025, available here.

[59] ANSA, ‘Italy: Emergency’s ship reaches Ancona with 49 migrants on board’ (Infomigrants, 19 November 2024), available here.

[60] ‘Migrants in distress, pushed back to Libya from Malta rescue zone – Alarm Phone’ (Times of Malta, 30 November 2024), available here.

[61] Ministry for Home Affairs, Security, Reforms and Equality, 32 more migrants relocated to other countries, 2 September 2023, available at: https://tinyurl.com/4eu4p8hn.; Information provided by IOM on 11 February 2023.

[62] Gozo.News, 32 irregular immigrants relocated to other countries, 2 September 2023, available at: https://tinyurl.com/2xeesky7 

[63] Information provided by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Security and Employment on 24 July 2025, see annex to the report.

[64] Information provided by the Ministry of Ministry of Home Affairs, Security and Employment on 24 July 2025, see annex to the report.

[65] Court of Appeal (Inferior Jurisdiction), Adnan Almahmoud vs. Identity Malta Agency, No. 26/2022, 16 November 2022, available at: https://tinyurl.com/yufynwps.