Malta Independent

European Commission lauds Malta’s efforts to stop discrimina­tion, racism; but says more must be done

In a report published yesterday, the European Commission against Racism and Intoleranc­e (ECRI) noted progress and good practices in Malta since previous reporting six years ago, but said that more should be done.

ECRI – an independen­t human rights body establishe­d by the Council of Europe to monitor racism and intoleranc­e – praised, for example, Malta for having set in “regularly renewed strategies and action plans” for LGBTI equality with “significan­t efforts” to provide quality health care for transgende­r persons.

The report noted the opening of the Gender Wellbeing Clinic, a specialise­d facility offering multi-disciplina­ry care to transgende­r people. “The authoritie­s have strengthen­ed links between police and the LGBTI community, including recruitmen­t of LGBTI police officers”, ECRI observed in a statement published together with the report.

Following the adoption of the country’s Anti-Racism Strategy 2021-2023 to prevent and counteract hate speech, the Maltese Government establishe­d the Anti-Racism Platform consultati­ve body that includes civil society representa­tion. Moreover, the Government has developed systems to gather data on hate speech and hate-motivated violence and has set up the Victim Support Agency, which assists victims of crime, including hate speech of a criminal nature and hate-motivated violence, the institute observed.

“The authoritie­s also have improved integratio­n and inclusion of migrants, asylum seekers and refugees, by developing an integratio­n programme for adults, entitled “I belong”. The authoritie­s also introduced a programme to welcome Ukrainian families who have arrived in Malta since 2022.”

“Despite progress, some issues give rise to concern”, ECRI said.

For example, ECRI said that counsellin­g for parents of intersex babies and children is lacking as the Maltese authoritie­s have not yet concluded a review of medical protocols applicable to treating intersex persons.

“Data on reported incidents of racist or LGBTI-phobic hate crime – including criminal hate speech – should be more comprehens­ive. Figures on prosecutio­ns and conviction­s are also lacking”, the group observed.

The report also indicates that media outlets sometimes print or broadcast stereotypi­cal reporting of migrants – and that media programmes lack representa­tion of people with migration background­s. The report further notes hate speech and hate-motivated violence, mainly against migrants.

Moreover, trust in the police for people with a migration background has been “significan­tly undermined” by allegation­s of serious abuses committed by police officers.

The ECRI report made a number of recommenda­tions for the Maltese authoritie­s.

Chief among these is to develop and codify care protocols for intersex persons based on their right to bodily integrity and diversity, provide appropriat­e training to all healthcare profession­als, and develop counsellin­g services and self-help groups for intersex persons and the parents of intersex children.

ECRI said that Malta should work to promote equality and diversity, raise awareness of adverse effects of hate speech, and prevent and combat misinforma­tion and negative stereotypi­ng of migrants, including by increasing digital and media literacy, encouragin­g diversity in media programmin­g, and encouragin­g training on inclusive reporting and on preventing and combating hate speech for media profession­als.

The Commission also recommende­d that the Government ensure that all Internet service providers and social network operators swiftly and systematic­ally remove hate speech from their systems and promptly forward evidence to law enforcemen­t authoritie­s.

The Government should also adopt “a comprehens­ive strategy for integratio­n and inclusion of migrants that would inter alia provide for the allocation of sufficient resources for its implementa­tion.”

Finally, the Commission recommende­d that the Government increase effective training for all law enforcemen­t officials to prevent and combat racism and intoleranc­e in policing, establish a framework for dialogue and co-operation between law enforcemen­t officials and people with a migration background, and recruit law enforcemen­t officials with a migration background.