The standoff over a Spanish vessel denied permission to bring 51 illegal immigrants to Malta could ease, after the Spanish Foreign Ministry offered to send two Spanish policemen to Malta to help in identify the Eritrean immigrants. Should Malta accept Spain’s offer, the identified immigrants could be repatriated to their country of origin.
The trawler, Francisco Catalina that rescued the illegal immigrants on Friday was denied permission to dock in Malta. So far the vessel remains anchored off the Maltese coast.
According to Typically Spanish, two police officers will be sent to Malta by the Spanish Foreign Ministry in a bid to identify the illegal immigrants and possibly end the deadlock.
The illegal immigrants were found in what were described as ‘extreme conditions’ on Friday in Libyan territorial waters 100 miles off Malta. Among the 51 illegal immigrants are eight women, two of whom are pregnant and a young boy.
In turn, in a statement on Tuesday, UNHCR expressed humanitarian concern for the group and underlined the urgent need to disembark them as soon as possible in a place where they can receive assistance.
UNHCR stated that it fully understands the difficulties and concerns of the Maltese authorities and the considerable challenges posed by the repeated arrivals of mixed groups of migrants, asylum seekers and refugees in various Mediterranean countries.
However, given the urgency of the situation and for practical considerations, UNHCR said it is appealing to governments in the region to allow the disembarkation and admission of the 51 people to their territory, at least on a temporary basis.
UNHCR also called on EU member states to work with and support Malta to find an appropriate solution to this kind of situation in a spirit of solidarity and burden-sharing.
UNHCR praised the captain and crew of the Francisco Catalina for their humanitarian act and requests all the relevant authorities to do everything in their power to ensure that the trawler can continue its journey as scheduled as soon as possible and with minimum further disruption.
In the past few days Spain and the European Union have been working together on negotiations with the Maltese authorities to try and unblock the impasse. If Malta accepts the Spanish offer, the immigrants who are identified could be repatriated to Eritrea.
Read more about this issue on MaltaMedia's special feature:
Lanċa Ġejja u Oħra Sejra: Malta and its migrations.
See also:
Illegal immigrants disembark in Marsaxlokk
By MaltaMedia News
Jul 16, 2006, 10:04 CET
© Copyright 2006 - MaltaMedia Online Network
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