ADVOCACY

Accompanying refugees leads spontaneously to defending their cause… Are we not in a much better position to make the voice of refugees heard by those who would prefer not to hear it, we who have seen with our eyes, heard with our ears, and felt in our flesh the injustice they suffer?… Is it not the reality of weekly visits by JRS teams to detention centres of men, women, children, all with a name and a face that gives weight to our demands? (Christophe Renders SJ – JRS Belgium, in God in Exile)

JRS Malta prioritizes advocacy: lobbying for improved protection of refugees, asylum seekers and forced migrants in Malta.

Early efforts called for the enactment of national legislation granting effective recognition and legal protection to refugees.

Since the enactment of the Refugees Act, JRS has concentrated on ensuring that government policy and practice on reception of asylum seekers are consistent with Malta’s human rights obligations. JRS Malta lobbies above all for a change in the policy of mandatory, long-term detention of asylum seekers and for improved conditions within detention centres.

In 2007 JRS Malta was lead partner in an EU-funded project Creating and strengthening a sustainable network of civil society concerning administrative detention across the ten new EU Member States. For more information about this project click here [link to website].

Meetings
In October 2007, JRS attended meetings with various UNHCR officials at the organization’s headquarters in Geneva.  These meetings presented an opportunity to raise issues of concern and outline the challenges to refugee protection in Malta.

Conferences
The issues of major concern to JRS were also raised at a couple of national and international meetings/conferences. Some of the most important included :

-Panel on ‘Mixed Migration: the Mediterranean Challenges’ – Side Event at ExCom – October 2, 2007 – Geneva.
-Conference on detention in the 10 MS that acceded to the EU on May 1, 2004 – October 26, 2007 – Malta.

Reports and recommendations published by JRS Malta:

Position paper on the Depasquale report (Dec2005) [PDF]
Joint position paper issued by the Emigrants' Commission and JRS Malta in response to the Depasquale report on the incidents that occurred in Safi Barracks on January 13, 2005. Click here to read the Executive Summary.

Reception of Asylum Seekers (Feb 2005) [PDF]
Document published by JRS Malta, to coincide with the National Conference on Irregular Immigration organised by the Ministry for Justice and Home Affairs in February 2005, making recommendations regarding Malta’s policies and practices in the area of reception of asylum seekers.

Detainees' Recommendations (Feb 2005) [PDF]
Document listing recommendations prepared by immigrants in various detention centres for presentation at the National Conference on Irregular Immigration in February 2005.

Detention of Asylum Seekers: a Human Rights Perspective (July 2003) [PDF]
Paper examining existing policy on detention of asylum seekers in the light of human rights law.

Report on Conditions in Floriana Detention Centre (July 2003) [PDF]
Report on detainees’ living conditions in Floriana Detention Centre.

Recommendations for the Improved Protection of Asylum Seekers (Nov 2002) [PDF]
Document examining the asylum procedures established in terms of the Refugees Act, one year after their inception, and making recommendations aimed at strengthening the protection provided

Refugees: Recognition and Protection (1998) [PDF]
Document highlighting the need for legal protection of asylum seekers and calling upon the government to enact national legislation for the recognition and protection of refugees.

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