Overview of the main changes since the previous report update

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The report was previously updated in April 2023.

International protection

 General

• Malta shaped its immigration policy based on three pillars: prevent, return, relocate. Continuing the trend of recent years, 2023 witnessed several incidents at sea with Malta either refusing to intervene or delaying interventions, whilst various attempts were made to further enhance Malta’s relationship with Libya. Amongst the worrying published reports were allegations that Malta was selecting which boats to rescue based on the nationality of the persons in distress, with a preference for persons having lower chances of being granted protection and, therefore, a higher possibility of being forcibly or voluntarily returned.
• In 2023, the Home Affairs Ministry shared information that the Chief Executive Officer of the International Protection Agency had been appointed to the role of the Home Affairs Ministry’s migration coordinator whilst keeping his role at IPA. No public announcement was made of this appointment, and questions remain as to the coordinator’s remit and management of possible issues of conflict of interest with the role of IPA CEO.
• The UN Working Group om discrimination against women and girls (UNGDAW) published a report following its visit to Malta, dedicating a section to ‘Migrant, asylum-seeking, refugee women and survivors of human trafficking’[1]. The report notes the particular impact on women of specific labour requirements and comments on the lack of transparency in relation to the naturalisation procedure. Specifically, the report flags the situation of asylum-seeker women living in open centres, commenting that “the premises and living conditions were basic” and urging “gender-responsive changes in the laws pertaining to migrants, asylum-seekers and refugee women”.

Asylum procedure

• Key asylum statistics: In 2023, Malta received a total of 600 new applications (491 first, 76 subsequent and 33 new) whilst it ended the year with a backlog of 833 cases. Of the top five countries of origin with applications in Malta, four are countries experiencing conflict or serious instability: Syria, Sudan, Libya and Ukraine. Of the total 951 decisions taken at First Instance, 488 were taken without a personal interview. At First Instance, Malta had an overall protection rate of 27.9% (265 cases): 18 (1.9%) recognised as refugees, 241 (25.3%) granted subsidiary protection and 6 (0.6%) granted Temporary Humanitarian Protection. At Second Instance, the International Protection Appeals Tribunal recognised refugee status in four cases and granted subsidiary protection in five cases of the 595 decisions taken in the year. Of these 595 cases, 587 were decided with no oral hearing. The appeal procedure is estimated to have an average duration of 452 days.
• Accelerated procedure: Despite a 2022 (final in 2023) judgement on the quality of Malta’s accelerated procedure by the European Court of Human Rights, Malta maintained the procedure, criticised by practitioners as violating the MS’ obligation to provide an effective remedy against all negative decisions. 191 decisions were taken under Malta’s accelerated procedure. Of these, two were recognised as refugees, one was granted subsidiary protection whilst 188 were rejected.
• Subsequent applications: A new policy dictates that persons filing a subsequent application deemed inadmissible are barred from accessing employment. NGOs commented that the major impact of this policy was to discourage applicants from filing subsequent applications.
• Returns: With obstacles to receiving independent information on the asylum procedure and increasing efforts at promoting voluntary return, 2023 saw a number of persons opting for voluntary return without consulting UNHCR, legal practitioners or NGOs regarding their persons situations.

Reception conditions

• Conditions in open centres: Despite the low number of asylum seekers reaching Malta in 2023, living conditions in the open reception centres remained challenging for most residents. The largest centre, also housing unaccompanied children, is composed of several rows of metal containers and shared facilities underlining the temporary nature of this accommodation.
• Withdrawal of reception conditions: The policy of withdrawing material reception conditions for all applicants, saving the most vulnerable, following six months of residence in the reception centres was maintained yet it is not formally described or treated as a withdrawal. In 2023, the reception agency, AWAS, strengthened its material support for applicants opting to live in the community yet this remains an exceptional approach and not a mainstream programme.
• Access to information: Access to information regarding vulnerable persons was repeatedly blocked or stalled by the authorities, in most cases refusing to grant lawyers access to files including assessment and conclusions. 

Detention of asylum-seekers

• Detention of newly arrived asylum-seekers: Malta maintained administrative detention as the primary reception model for newly-arrived asylum-seekers. All persons, including children and vulnerable persons, were detained on public health grounds under a regime found to be illegal by Maltese Courts and the European Court of Human Rights. Following this public health regime, the Police authorities would determine whether to issue detention orders in line with the Reception Conditions Regulations.
• Detention Services Agency: Malta further formalised its approach to detention by establishing the Detention Services Agency as an entity within the Home Affairs Ministry. Towards the end of 2023, in an apparent response to a European Human Rights Court judgement, Malta reverted to the automatic detention of most newly-arrived applicants for up to two months.
• Access to detention centres: Access to detention centres and to detained asylum-seekers was a key challenge throughout 2023. In mid-2023 all organisations regularly visiting the centres, including UNHCR and IOM, boycotted the new Visitors Policy. NGOs argued that the new policy created unreasonable obstacles to their service-provision and impeded detained persons from obtaining independent information on their situations. Although the revised Visitors Policy was accepted by the NGOs, they remain concerned that detained applicants are being denied their rights to information and advice. Furthermore, with such a low level of access, independent monitoring of living conditions and treatment is virtually impossible.
• Detention conditions: Living conditions in the detention centres remained extremely poor, particularly for vulnerable persons and children. A European Court of Human Rights judgement had harsh words for Malta’s shoddy treatment of young and unwell persons.

Content of international protection

• Integration Policy and Action Plan: The Human Rights Directorate launched a national consultation on Malta’s second National Integration Policy and Action Plan.[2] A public consultation document was published containing a set of key principles that would underpin the second strategy and action plan, with a set of questions to guide input. The Malta Refugee Council provided detailed input in the name of its members.[3] At the time of writing, Malta had not yet adopted the Integration Policy.

[1] OHCHR, UN Working Group on discrimination against women and girls, End of Mission Statement, July 2023, at: https://tinyurl.com/3rr53ddk.

[2] Ministry for Home Affairs, Security, Reforms and Equality, Public Consultation in preparation for a second National Integration Policy and Action Plan, at: https://tinyurl.com/3tt257nm.

[3] Malta Refugee Council, Input on the National Integration Police and Action Plan Consultation, June 2023, at: https://tinyurl.com/3u6km49p.