Migrants: International press reports, Human Rights Watch flags Malta

Malta Independent Wednesday, 10 July 2013, 15:53 Last update: about 13 years ago

Update adds Human Rights Watch Daily Brief

The international press has picked up the drama that played out in Malta yesterday, where the Maltese government was ultimately ordered by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) not to carry out migrant push backs to Libya.

The international press also ran EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmström’s statement that the migrants must be given the chance to apply for asylum, as stated by international law.

Just last week, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat suggested that “Sweden can have our migrants” in reaction to a statement where Ms Malmström said that the migration numbers Malta is facing are not extraordinary.

The BBC led with 'Malta cancels migrant deportation to Libya,' saying that the government “had planned to send back people who had arrived by boat, but said it would abide by the ECHR order.”

EU news website euobserver.com claimed ‘Outrage over Malta's plan to kick out asylum seekers.’ It claimed that the statement issued by the European Commission earlier the same day “failed to make an impact.”

Reuters, a news agency, led with the headline ‘Malta cancels migrant flights after European court order.’ It said that “Malta cancelled two flights to return migrants to Libya after the European Court of Human Rights issued an interim measure banning repatriation.”

Agence France-Presse, a news agency, said that Brussels told Malta that “it cannot push back migrants.”

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch (HRW), an independent organisation dedicated to defending and safeguarding human rights, lumped Malta with the likes of Egypt, Sudan and Russia in its 10 July daily brief.

"Malta hit the headlines too, as government efforts to immediately turn back migrants coming from Libya had local activists and international rights defenders responding quickly,” the organisation said.

"It's shocking that the Maltese government would even consider summarily returning Somalis to Libya, a place where migrants risk arbitrary arrest, ill treatment and forced labour,” HRW’s Benjamin Ward said.