Aditus Foudnation and Repubblika condemned the Prime Minister’s proposal to change the European Convention on Human Rights. In reaction to the Prime Minister’s comments saying that not everyone deserves these rights, Aditus said that the Prime Minister seems to be more focused on pleasing his fascist colleagues, “rather than confirming Malta’s unwavering commitment to fundamental human rights for everyone.”
Repubblika, on the other hand, stated that fundamental human rights written decades ago do not change as they reacted to the Prime Minister’s statements that these rights need to change to reflect the realities of immigration.
The Prime Minister wants to amend the ECHR to facilitate immigrant repatriations. Hungary and Italy both lamented in the past restrictions imposed on them by the European Court of Human Rights on migrants repatriations. Arrivals of illegal immigrants to Malta have decreased substantially along the years, including thanks to agreements made with north African countries to prevent migrants from crossing into the Mediterranean Sea. It is strange that the Prime Minister would raise the issue of migrant repatriations when Malta is currently facing less pressure than other European-Mediterranean states such as Italy and Spain. Illegal border crossings into Europe through the Central Mediterranean Route dropped by 59% last year according to Frontex.
Some of the ECHR Articles that European leaders want to amend are Article 3, which is against torture and inhumane treatment, and Article 8, which guarantees the right to private and family life. Migrants also face inhumane conditions in detention centres in Tunisia and Libya and are often tortured or lead to death by being sent back to the desert.
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