Malta implementing strategy to raise awareness on illegal migration

timesofmalta.com - Malta implementing strategy to raise awareness on illegal migration

Friday, 15th May 2009 - 18:51CET

Malta is implementing a comprehensive foreign policy strategy to raise awareness of illegal migration, Foreign Minister Tonio Borg said.

Speaking at an information and training seminar for Euro-Med diplomats, Dr Borg said that when it came to the direct tangible endeavours all Union for the Mediterranean states and observers, such as Libya, should seek to introduce a basic type of conflict building mechanism that would enable them to manage and contain the large number of security challenges being confronted. These included illegal migration, maritime safety, environmental pollution and drug trafficking.

Illegal migration had increased dramatically across the Mediterranean in the past and all indicators pointed towards even more migratory flows from south to north in the decade ahead.

“Such an increase in human trafficking is already having a major negative impact on the countries of origin, transit and destination of such activity.”

Dr Borg said that located in the centre of the Mediterranean, Malta found itself in the precarious position of largely being a country of transit in the ever-increasing flow of human beings moving from the African continent to Europe.

“Illegal migrants are arriving on the shores of Malta on practically a daily basis placing an incredible strain on the security resources at our disposal.

“Realising that such a dramatic increase in illegal migration is quickly becoming a major source of instability in international relations, Malta is implementing a comprehensive foreign policy strategy to raise awareness of this humanitarian catastrophe,” he said.

Dr Borg said that unless the international community took the necessary action to address more effectively this new form of human slavery, millions of lives risked being uprooted by this organised crime.

“The time has come to focus more Euro-Mediterranean political energy on delivering practical cooperation in areas where such measures are urgently required,” the minister said.

This included cooperative measures in the field of management of migration control, environmental sustainability, and economic development.

Such forms of cooperation were essential if the Union for the Mediterranean was to be perceived as relevant to the peoples of the Euro-Mediterranean area, he said.