The NGO Repubblika has said that it is deeply disappointed that, "after years of dragging its feet and repeated recommendations from international institutions, Malta has once again failed to establish a National Human Rights Institution compliant with the Paris Principles."

"We are not persuaded by the enthusiasm the government has suddenly begun to show for this reform. After neglecting it for years, the government presented Parliament with a completed text that nobody outside government had been given a proper opportunity to examine. It then ignored appeals from civil society, the Opposition and various representative bodies to postpone the vote and conduct a serious consultation," Repubblika said in a statement.

It said that the government knew that the constitutional amendments required a two-thirds majority, yet it behaved as if discussing the proposal with anyone who might challenge or improve it was beneath the minister's dignity.

"We have seen this tactic before. The government proposes a constitutional amendment requiring Opposition support, refuses to negotiate seriously and then uses the predictable failure to secure a two-thirds majority to tell the European Commission and other international institutions that it tried but was thwarted," the NGO said.

It continued that the Opposition's walkout gave the government the opportunity to use precisely that rhetoric.

"But the government cannot escape responsibility for creating the conditions that made failure inevitable. Consensus is not achieved by presenting a finished text and ordering everyone to applaud. Still less can constitutional reform be enacted by ambush," the NGO continued.

It said that this is not how laws should be made, whether they amend the Constitution or require only an ordinary parliamentary majority. Repubblika continued that ministers routinely take bills to Parliament before anyone outside government has seen them and they ignore calls for consultation and treat civil society and the Opposition with contempt.

"When the government controls a simple majority in Parliament, it can usually afford to ignore everyone else. When a two-thirds majority is required, the same arrogance becomes a convenient formula for failure," Repubblika said.

It continued that this manner of governing is "profoundly undemocratic" and is especially offensive in this case because none of those who asked to be heard opposed stronger human rights safeguards or better protection against discrimination.

Civil society organisations wanted to help make the law work as the government itself claimed it intended, but the government refused even to listen to them, the NGO said.

"The immediate cause of yesterday's failure is now secondary. What truly matters is that people in Malta remain without the human rights protection considered normal in a European democracy," Repubblika said.

It added that this failure also includes the fact that Article 1 of Protocol No. 12 to the European Convention on Human Rights is still not part of Maltese law. That article provides a general prohibition of discrimination, including discrimination by public authorities. Malta ratified Protocol No. 12 on 8 December 2015, and it entered into force for Malta on 1 April 2016. More than ten years after its ratification, Parliament has still not incorporated it into the European Convention Act.

"Consequently, people who suffer discrimination cannot invoke Protocol No. 12 as an enforceable right before the Maltese courts under that Act. The bill that failed yesterday would finally have addressed this omission. Parliament has once again failed to do so," Repubblika continued.

"It is appalling that the government would rather allow Malta to fall short of international human rights standards than conduct a proper public consultation and engage in the dialogue needed to reach agreement with civil society," it added.

The NGO said that it will not give up, and called for the immediate opening of a genuine national dialogue on constitutional reform, including stronger safeguards for fundamental rights and the establishment of an independent National Human Rights Institution fully compliant with the Paris Principles.

"We commit ourselves to participating constructively in this dialogue. We expect the government to do the same."