A Council of Europe committee report published yesterday was scathing in its assessment of the manner in which Malta is dealing with its influxes of irregular migrants, while also calling on all member states to share the responsibility for migrants landing on European shores.

Yesterday’s report called for a lowering of Malta’s “excessive” detention periods and urged Malta to build new detention centres to replace current facilities that, it said, were “totally unsuited for anything other than immediate urgent reception”.

The report – published yesterday by the CoE Parliamentary Assembly’s Committee on Migration, Refugees and Population – also said the committee was “concerned” over allegations that Maltese and Greek authorities have “ignored” distress calls from migrants’ vessels while at the same time the countries “pushed away” such boats from their shores and territorial waters.

At the same time, the report mentioned an “increasing number” of reports of ship masters ignoring distress signals from vessels in trouble.

A “particularly regrettable example”, the report highlighted, was last May’s tuna-pen incident in which survivors from a sunken vessel clung to tuna pens being pulled to Malta and were refused boarding by the ship’s master for days as countries argued over responsibility.

Malta, the Committee’s report said, should also re-examine its policy of “systematic and excessive” periods of detention, which currently stand at 18 months for irregular migrants and 12 months for asylum seekers. Detention, the report underscored, must be for the shortest possible period of time.

Along these lines, the report noted Malta should also ensure that detention of migrants are authorised by the judiciary and that detention are carried out only when necessary and when there is no other suitable alternative.

The report stressed that conditions within detention centres in Malta and Greece are in “particular need of review”, with, the report points out, “many persons being accommodated in tents or in facilities totally unsuited for anything other than immediate urgent reception”.

As such, the draft text adopted yesterday called on Malta to close unsuitable reception and detention centres and to construct new centres “adequate and appropriate for the length of time irregular migrants and asylum seekers are detained”.

The report noted how, “Excessive periods of detention, cramped and unsuitable accommodation with poor sanitation, lack of contact with the outside world, inadequate legal assistance and few, if any, recreational activities are all problems which need to be addressed.”

Malta was singled out as needing to “take steps to tackle intolerance, racism and xenophobia linked to the arrival of irregular migrants and asylum seekers”.

The Parliamentary Assembly Committee also called on all European Union governments to share the responsibility for “boat people” landing on EU countries’ shores and to put forward minimum reception standards to be guaranteed by all destination countries such as Malta.

Southern Mediterranean countries, and in particular Malta, the report noted, are struggling to meet the challenge of dealing with these mixed flows of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers.

Given the situation, PACE yesterday called on all CoE member states to support Mediterranean countries receiving mixed flows of irregular migrants, refugees and asylum seekers.

In particular, member states are encouraged to provide assistance in the fields of search and rescue, reception, identification of origin country of origin of arrivals, organisation of returns and relocation of those with international protection needs.

Along these lines, the CoE urged EU member states to “follow the example of the United States of America which has resettled a large number of those in need of international protection from Malta”.

EU member states, the adopted text added, should also support countries of origin and transit in tackling the root causes of irregular migration and promote legal avenues of migration while raising awareness of the dangers of irregular migration.

In terms of controlling incoming migratory flows, the text pointed out how Frontex – the EU’s external borders agency – has a particularly important role to play by offering assistance in search and rescue and border controls, and through providing rapid border intervention teams (RABITS) and training for European border guards.

The report is due to be debated by the Assembly in its October plenary session.