Malta’s detention policy should be removed and replaced with policies that respect the dignity of asylum seekers and that are in line with international human rights standards and practices, according to Malta’s 2006 shadow report published by the European Network Against Racism (ENAR).

The report provides the viewpoint of non-government organisations (NGOs) regarding the extent and nature of racism in Malta. It registered a number of improvements over the previous report, although it stated that certain problems still exist in some areas. In the field of employment, migrants continue to face discrimination, while conditions in detention centres for migrants were appalling and came under strong criticism from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the European Parliament and Amnesty International, among others.

On the other hand, the report welcomed the fact that the policy regarding healthcare services to asylum seekers has now been clarified and they can now benefit from free treatment in hospitals and healthcare centres, although some issues regarding accessibility to healthcare in detention centres remain as yet unsolved.

The report also made reference to arson attacks that took place throughout 2006 against people who had either worked with migrants or who had spoken out against racism.

Members of the migrant community continue to be denied access onto buses or into bars and discos, although many of these cases are not officially reported and therefore no reliable data in this regard was available, the report said.

The ENAR shadow report said NGOs feel that one of the key priorities is the need for the government to raise more awareness with the aim of portraying migrants in a more positive light.

NGOs also highlighted the fact that the removal of the detention policy or at least providing access to the media into detention centres would largely benefit the migrant population, particularly with regard to their post-detention integration.

As some organisations observed, the majority of the Maltese population is xenophobic rather than outright racist, so these two measures would achieve a lot in practice.

Moreover, there is an ever-more imminent need to train people working with asylum seekers and to have civilians, rather than army officials, running detention camps. This was considered a priority by many NGOs.

In its conclusions, the report said the government should also contribute more towards capacity-building for NGOs in the field, as they act as a link between government entities, international organisations and detainees.