Access to the territory and push backs

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UNHCR Malta confirmed that in 2025 246 persons reached Malta by sea, of which 105 sought asylum. No data was made available by the PIO regarding 2025 as of end of April 2026.

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).

Since 2022, the number of sea arrivals reaching Malta has been steadily decreasing every year. UNHCR reported 246 arrivals in 2025, 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]

In December 2025, disembarkation protocols seemed to gear up in view of the implementation of the EU Pact. Newly-arrived persons were kept for some hours at the Initial Reception Centre in Ħal Far, where they were processed by the Immigration Police and by AWAS. The latter conducted prima facie vulnerability assessments whilst the Principle Immigration Officer (PIO) registered all persons and, on the basis of information gathered during these hours, either issued Detention Orders or allowed the persons to move to the open reception centres.

However, NGOs supporting asylum-seekers raised concerns about a group of 48 migrants from this boat who were returned to their countries of origin just two weeks after their rescue. They spent their two weeks in Malta in a detention centre where they were prevented from communicating with UNHCR or NGOs. It is unclear what information was provided to them regarding the right to seek asylum and other rights.[3]

On 28 May 2020, Malta and Libya signed a Memorandum of Understanding “in the field of combatting illegal immigration.”[4] Under the terms of the MOU, extended in 2024, [5] two coordination centres funded by Malta (one in Libya and one in Tripoli) have been established, yet little information is available as to the activities conducted by these centres. 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.[6]

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.[7] 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.[8]

Arrivals by boat

Throughout 2023, 2024 and 2025, it was reported on several occasions that Malta continued its policy of preventing access to its territory for persons arriving by sea. This is generally seen as a political win for the Home Affairs Minister, who in 2025 commented that irregular arrivals had decreased by 93% in the past five years.[9]

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.[10] The Government vehemently denied having adopted such an approach.[11]

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[12], whilst the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights made the same observations in her 2022 report on her visit to Malta.[13]

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.[14]

UNHCR reported that, throughout 2025, it was able to maintain presence at all disembarkations, monitoring the registration process. It confirmed that access to all detained asylum-seekers was maintained. Furthermore, the Agency reported that, beginning in October 2025, it observed notable improvements in disembarkation arrangements, particularly the shift of initial registration to the AWAS Open Centre (HOC) instead of immediately at disembarkation: ‘This change followed sustained UNHCR advocacy and represents a more dignified and protection‑sensitive approach. AWAS prepared a dedicated registration space allowing for early identification of specific needs, including minors, the arrangements include seating, sanitary facilities, food, and water, with fingerprinting and photography conducted in separate zones.’[15]

In its 2024 Concluding Observations on Malta[16], 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. In 2024 one of the accused fled Malta and was eventually arrested in the United Kingdom in early 2025.

The case is followed closely by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights who has 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”.[17] This case was taken up by Amnesty International as part of their international campaigning,[18] as well as by several other Maltese and international NGOs.[19]

On 6 November 2023 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. Throughout 2025 the Criminal Court and the Court of Criminal Appeal heard the defendant’s preliminary pleas and rejected them all.

In 2024, the UN Human Rights Committee expressed concern at the charges brought against the three, urging Malta to ensure a fair and transparent trial.[20] Four UN Special Procedures wrote to Malta expressing serious concern about the prosecution, focusing on the lack of consideration of the best interests of the child and the severity of all charges. They indicate that proceedings could be in violation of the defendants’ right to liberty, fair trial and of the child[21]. Malta replied by Note Verbale on 15 September 2025.

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

Reported incidents in Malta’s Search and Rescue Zone[22]

On the basis of a policy of “prevention, return and relocation”,[23] 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, refused assistance and, on some occasions, violence. 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 2025.

Longstanding issues in Malta’s SAR operations, with continued reports of unresponsiveness, pushbacks, and lack of transparency remained prevalent during 2025. 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.”[24]

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.[25]

Unlike Italy, Malta has not enacted legislation or policies hindering or criminalising 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.[26]

According to UNHCR by the end of 2024 there were 238 persons arriving by sea in Malta.[27] 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.[28] Throughout 2024, SeaWatch’s Airborne operations spotted 221 boats carrying around 10,929 persons in distress in the Mediterranean.[29]

UNHCR Malta confirmed that in 2025 246 persons reached Malta by sea, of which 105 sought asylum.

Below is a detailed list of information available as to people in distress at sea and SAR in 2025:

January

• 26 January – German NGO SeaPunk rescued a boat in distress with 18 survivors, including a pregnant woman and an injured man who were airlifted to Malta. Survivors reported three infants dying on the journey. Maltese and Italian authorities reportedly responded quickly to the call for aid by SeaPunk.[30]
• 27 January – Alarm Phone reported a boat in distress in Maltese waters. The AFM rescued 23 people who disembarked in Malta, however two minors died and several others were injured while crossing from Benghazi to Malta.[31]

February

• 5 February – Alarm Phone alerted authorities and Seabird 1[32] about a boat in distress in the Maltese Search and Rescue zone (SAR) with 20 persons on board. As Seabird 1 arrived on scene and observed the boat in distress, a patrol boat of the Libyan Coast Security approached. The Libyan patrol boat instructed a nearby fishing ship to stay away and intercepted the boat in distress. Those inside the boat were embarked on the patrol boat and subsequently pulled back to Libya, after the Libyan Coast Guard removed the engine and shot at the empty boat.[33]
• 6 February – Alarm Phone learned that 43 people had been unlawfully brought back to Libya from the Maltese SAR by the Libyan Coast Guard and taken to prison despite responsible authorities being informed. The same happened to another 40 people. They were taken to prison in Zuwara.[34]
• 6 February – Alarm Phone reported two boats adrift in the Maltese SAR zone carrying over 80 people. Alarm Phone later announced they were rescued and taken to Lampedusa.[35]
• 6 February – A seven-year-old Syrian girl died in Mater Dei hospital, after being rescued by Ocean Viking.[36] Her mother and sibling arrived together with her to Malta, while her father was disembarked in Italy.[37]
• 13 February – Around 20 people alerted Alarm Phone from the Maltese SAR zone. They were rescued by the Italian Coastguard more than 6 hours after Sea-Watch’s Seabird had informed authorities.[38]
• 26 February – A rubber boat carrying around 75 people, whose engine had stopped working in the Maltese SAR zone, contacted Alarm Phone. Frontex aircraft Osprey3 went to their position and flew around the area several times but did not send a mayday relay. When Seabird 1 arrived on scene, the crew observed another Frontex asset flying in the area and a patrol boat of the Libyan coast guard intercepting the people in the Maltese SAR zone.[39]
• 28 February – Alarm phone alerted the authorities to a group of 60 people adrift the Kerkennah islands. They had departed from Libya and were in the Maltese SAR zone, but Tunisian customs authority responded, and stated they were returning the people to Tunisia.[40]

March

• 4 March – 32 persons were stranded on a gas platform in Malta’s SAR since at least 1 March, with one person confirmed dead during the crossing. EU authorities were notified but no rescue operation was initiated. Rescue vessel Aurora[41] rescued the 32 people.[42] The UN Human Rights Committee requested Malta to urgently take all necessary measures to coordinate a SAR operation, rescue the 32 people in distress and to bring them to a place of safety.[43]
• 13 March – Leaked documents from an EU naval operation indicated that Malta refuses to participate in SAR missions in its designated zone. An internal memo from EU naval force IRINI indicated that despite numerous events taking place in Malta’s SAR zone, these are dealt with by Italian authorities.[44]

May

• 2 May – The Freedom Flotilla ship Conscience, carrying food and medicine to Gaza, came under direct attack by a drone in international waters off Malta. Malta did not help and denied entry to the ship.[45]
• 4 May – Alarm Phone was alerted to 23 people in severe distress east of Malta, reporting that water was entering their boat. Maltese authorities were alerted but did not coordinate a rescue in their SAR zone. Alarm Phone was later informed that people on this boat were rescued by the Italian Coast Guard.[46]
• 17 May – Ocean Viking received an alert from Alarm Phone about 77 people in distress, who had already been assisted by Aurora. Those onboard were rescued. Later that same day, 131 people from an overcrowded wooden boat were also rescued in the Maltese SAR zone.[47] What happened to them is not known.
• 24 May – Alarm Phone alerted Italian, Maltese and Libyan authorities to two overcrowded wooden boats in the Libyan SAR region. Both boats were carrying more than 100 people in need of assistance. One boat was rescued by the Italian Coast Guard. No SAR plan was launched, despite repeated alerts, for the second boat. A merchant vessel, MV BOBIC, found the second boat after being alerted by Alarm Phone. The ship’s captain attempted to rescue the shipwrecked persons, resulting in multiple falling into the sea, 1 disappearing and 35 survivors being taken on board (many people remained on the wooden boat). MV BOBIC issued a mayday relay yet received no instructions from the responsible authorities. The rescued individuals were disembarked and sent to detention in Libya, under an unclear chain of command. They were subsequently imprisoned in Zawiyah.[48]
• 27 May- Merchant vessel MV Eco One rescued 26 people from those remaining on the second boat the following evening with another two going missing during this second rescue attempt. Ocean Viking completed the rescue of the remaining 53 survivors. MV Eco One disembarked in Lampedusa, and Ocean Viking in Livorno.[49]

June

• 7 June – 40 people reported being in distress in the Maltese SAR zone. They had run out of fuel and were adrift. They were later rescued by the Italian Coast Guard.[50]
• 17 June – General cargo ship JOY LINE recovered 8 people from the sea 59 miles off Marsaxlokk Harbour.[51]
• 19 June – Ocean Viking rescued a boat carrying 73 people in distress in the Maltese SAR zone. Italian authorities ordered they be disembarked in Savona. This took three days of sailing from the initial point of rescue in the Maltese SAR zone.[52]
• 27 June – 44 people in distress in the Maltese/Italian SAR zone alerted Alarm Phone. They had been at sea for 6 days already and had no water left. The Italian Coast Guard reacted to the alert.[53]

July

• 18 July – SOS Humanity 1 rescued a fibre-glass boat, carrying over 40 people. The vessel was in the Maltese SAR zone. The Maltese authorities were informed but did not coordinate. Those aboard the boat had spent at least five days at sea. The boat had been reported by Alarm Phone. The Italian authorities assigned Bari as a place of safety, almost 800 km away.[54]

August

• 19 August – 42 people in the SAR zone of Malta reported being at sea for three days and running low on fuel, food and water. A merchant vessel offered to intervene but were instructed by the Maltese authorities not to provide assistance and continue on their way. Alarm Phone were informed the next day that the group was intercepted inside the Maltese SAR zone and forced back to Libya.[55]
• 30 August – 41 people were intercepted by supply ship MARDIVE in the Maltese SAR zone. The authorities were planning to hand them over to Tunisian Coastguard vessel. One day later, MARDIVE was running out of food and water for the survivors. A request for medical evacuation of two people in critical condition was left unanswered by the authorities. Humanitarian ship George VI was on site to provide assistance. On 2 September the Aurora ship evacuated the people from the MARIDIVE and brought them to Lampedusa. Seven people went missing.[56]

September

• 3 September – The UN Human Rights Committee adopted two decisions against Malta and Italy regarding the situation that occurred on 30 August, ruling that Italy and Malta need to make sure to fulfil their duties within the SAR zone.[57]
• 10 September – The Maltese authorities sent a vessel to a boat in distress, who had alerted Alarm Phone. Their engine had stopped and they could not move on. 36 people were taken to Malta.[58]
• 17 September – 37 people were adrift in the Maltese SAR zone. The group were in a small rubber boat fleeing Libya, but their engine broke down. They were rescued by the Italian coastguard.[59]

October

• 12 October – A boat in distress carrying over 100 people was shot at in Malta’s SAR zone by the Libyan Coastguard. Those aboard said one person died and others were wounded.[60]
• 13 October – The vessel proceeded to Italy and was intercepted in the morning near the Italian coast. Alarm Phone said that those on board reported a second death on the vessel. Three migrants needed urgent medical care. The AFM did not confirm or deny the shooting incident.[61]
• 17 October – One person died and 11 were rescued from a capsized vessel in the Maltese SAR zone. The operation was coordinated by the Maltese authorities, Frontex, the Italian Coast Guard and a merchant ship. The capsized vessel was believed to have been carrying around 35 people.[62]

November

• 6 November – 62 people remained in urgent distress in the Maltese SAR zone after their rubber dinghy began deflating. Neither the Maltese nor the Italian authorities launched rescue operations, despite being alerted by Alarm Phone. In the end, those on board were forced back to Libya, where they were put in prison with their families asked to pay for their release.[63]
• 13 November – SOS Méditerranée started monitoring flights with the new plane Albatross. It spotted a boat in distress with about 40 people on board in the Maltese SAR zone. The aircraft alerted all relevant assets and authorities and later learned that the people were rescued by civil ship Aurora.[64]

December

• 12 December – 61 persons were rescued after a boat capsized in Maltese SAR zone. 59 were from Bangladesh and 2 Egyptian. 6 persons were hospitalised, and one man died. The group was rescued by AFM boats which had been alerted by a fisherman.[65]
• 17 December – The airplane Seabird found a boat in distress that Alarm Phone had reported. 50 people were adrift in the Maltese SAR zone and their engine was broken. After 38 hours at sea, they were rescued by the Italian coastguard.[66]
• 26 December – A group of 34 people were rescued within the Maltese SAR zone by the supply ship MARIDIVE 703 close to the Miskar oil platform. They were not brought to safety but faced the threat of being forcibly returned to Tunisia against their will. The Maltese authorities refused to provide any information about the group’s status.[67]
• 30 December – 44 migrants who were in the rescued group and brought to Malta on the 12 December were repatriated. The operation was run by the police, with the Home Affairs Ministry making no mention of the remaining migrants from the boat. The Times reported that 81% of irregular migrants who arrived in Malta in 2025 had been returned to their country of origin.[68]

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 ensures 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.

In 2022, IOM facilitated the relocation from Malta of 14 asylum-applicants; as of September 2023, 104 asylum-applicants had been relocated from Malta to other EU MS.[69] 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.[70]

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.[71] No data was made available for 2025.

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.[72] No further data was made available regarding 2025.

Refugees 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] TVM News, 48 migrants who were landed in Malta in early December have been sent back to their country, 30 December 2025, available at: https://tinyurl.com/38azy8dm.

[4] Memorandum of Understanding Between the Government of National Accord of the State of Libya and The Government of The Republic of Malta in the Field of Combatting Illegal Immigration, 28 May 2020, at: https://tinyurl.com/2ydvux6w.

[5] TVM News, Malta and Libya extend agreement on immigration, 16 July 2024, at: https://tinyurl.com/3zfn5852.

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

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

[8] 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.

[9] Times of Malta, Irregular migrant arrivals down by 93% in past five years: Byron Camilleri, 16 March 2025, at: https://tinyurl.com/bde8pp4n.

[10] 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.

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

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

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

[14] 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.

[15] Information provided by UNHCR Malta in March 2026.

[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] 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.

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

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

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

[21] Mandates of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism; the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention; the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, AL MLT 1/2025, 29 July 2025. The communication is not public at the time of writing.

[22] 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.

[23] 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.

[24] Times of Malta, ‘Malta ‘refuses’ to cooperate in migrant rescue missions – leaked EU memo’, 13 March 2025, available here.

[25] 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.

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

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

[28] Times of Malta, Malta ‘refuses’ to cooperate in migrant rescue missions – leaked EU memo, 13 March 2025, available here.

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

[30] AP News, ‘3 young brothers died in perilous central Mediterranean crossing, rescue group says’, 27 January 2025, available here.

[31] Malta Today, ‘Updated | Two dead, 23 rescued in maritime operation off Malta’, 28 January 2025, available here.

[32] Seabird 1 is a search and rescue plane operated by Sea Watch.

[33] Sea Watch, Quarterly Factsheet January March 2025, 5 March 2025. Available here.

[34] Alarm Phone, As borders become even more brutal, new routes of escape emerge, 30 July 2025, available here.

[35] Alarm Phone on X, 6 February 2025, available here.

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

[37] Newsbook, Girl, 7, dies at Mater Dei Hospital after being rescued by NGO boat, 6 February 2025, available here.

[38] Alarm Phone, As borders become even more brutal, new routes of escape emerge, 30 July 2025, available here.

[39] Sea Watch, Quarterly Factsheet January March 2025, 5 March 2025, available here.

[40] Alarm Phone, As borders become even more brutal, new routes of escape emerge, 30 July 2025, available here.

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

[42] Sea-Watch, Aurora rescue ship saves people from gas platform, 4 March 2025, available here.

[43] Civil MRCC, The UN Human Rights Committee requests Malta to urgently act, 29 April 2025, available here.

[44] European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE), ‘MEDITERRANEAN: More rescues and deaths in Central Mediterranean ― Cyprus accused of pushbacks and ignoring NGO warnings prior to tragedy ― Leaked EU document suggests Malta refuses to co-operate in search and rescue missions ― Italian court confirms suspension of rescue ship’s detention, 20 March 2025)’, available here.

[45] Alarm Phone on X, 2 May 2025, available here.

[46] Alarm Phone, As borders become even more brutal, new routes of escape emerge, 30 July 2025, available here.

[47] Alarm Phone, As borders become even more brutal, new routes of escape emerge, 30 July 2025, available here.

[48] Alarm Phone, Deadly Failure of Rescue Coordination in the Central Mediterranean, 27 June 2025, available here.

[49] Alarm Phone, Deadly Failure of Rescue Coordination in the Central Mediterranean, 27 June 2025, available here.

[50] Alarm Phone on X, 7 June 2025, available here.

[51] Malta Ship Photos, Rescue – General Cargo Ship JOY LINE recovered 8 souls 59 miles off Marsaxlokk Harbour, Malta, 17 June 2025, available here.

[52] SOS MEDITERRANEE on X, 23 June 2025, available here.

[53] Alarm Phone, As borders become even more brutal, new routes of escape emerge, 30 July 2025, available here.

[54] SOS Humanity on Bluesky, 18 July 2025, available here; Alarm Phone, Violent attacks do not stop boats from crossing the Central Med!, 31 January 2026, available here.

[55] Alarm Phone, Violent attacks do not stop boats from crossing the Central Med!, 31 January 2026, available here.

[56] Alarm Phone, Violent attacks do not stop boats from crossing the Central Med!, 31 January 2026, available here.

[57] Sea-Watch, UN Human Rights Committee rules against Malta’s and Italy’s non-assistance, 8 September 2025, available here.

[58] Alarm Phone, Violent attacks do not stop boats from crossing the Central Med!, 31 January 2026, available here; Alarm Phone on X, 9 September 2025, available here.

[59] Alarm Phone on X, 17 September 2025, available here.

[60] The Times of Malta, Alarmphone: Migrant boat shot at in Malta’s SAR zone, passengers report one dead, 12 October 2025, available here.

[61] The Times of Malta, AFM cannot ’confirm or deny’ claims of migrant boat shooting in Malta SAR, 13 October 2025, available here.

[62] The Times of Malta, One dead and 11 rescued from capsized vessel in Malta SAR as operation underway, 17 October 2025, available here.

[63] Alarm Phone, Violent attacks do not stop boats from crossing the Central Med!, 31 January 2026, available here.

[64] Alarm Phone, Violent attacks do not stop boats from crossing the Central Med!, 31 January 2026, available here.

[65] The Times of Malta, One dead, others hospitalised as 61 rescued by AF, when migrant boat capsizes, 12 December 2025, available here.

[66] Alarm Phone, Violent attacks do not stop boats from crossing the Central Med!, 31 January 2026, available here.

[67] Newsbook Malta, Alarm Phone warns of possible pushback after rescue in Malta SAR zone, 28 December 2025 available here.

[68] The Times of Malta, 44 migrants repatriated, two weeks after landing in Malta, 30 December 2025, available here.

[69] 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.

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

[71] Information provided by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Security and Employment on 24 July 2025, see annex to the country report on 2024.

[72] Information provided by the Ministry of Ministry of Home Affairs, Security and Employment on 24 July 2025, see annex to the country report on 2024.