On 21-22 March 2024, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), together with Forum for Human Rights, Human Rights in Practice, aditus and Free Courts, held a workshop on tackling attacks on judicial independence and the autonomy of the prosecution through disciplinary and criminal proceedings, in Prague.
The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), European Council for Refugees and Exiles (ECRE), the AIRE Centre and the Global Campus of human rights have submitted a joint third party intervention before the European Court of Human Rights in the case of a A.D. v Malta, concerning the detention of a child seeking asylum in Malta.
The ICJ called today on Italy and Malta to cooperate to swiftly provide a place of safety for the disembarkment of the 121 migrants, likely including asylum seekers, on board the Open Arms vessel.
Open Arms rescued 123 people that left Libya and were on a situation of distress in international waters, and has been navigating seven days on the Central Mediterranean Sea in search of a place of safety for disembarkment.
Currently Italy and Malta (the nearest States) and Spain (the flag State) have not granted access to their territorial waters.
“When a boat is conducting an operation of rescue it is the duty under international law for neighbouring States to provide a place of safety,” said Massimo Frigo, ICJ Senior Legal Adviser.
“The situation on the boat, with also 30 children and two babies, is rapidly deteriorating and it is of the utmost urgency to allow for their disembarkment,” he added.
“The refusals and lack of cooperation by Italy, Malta and Spain is in contravention of their obligations under the law of the sea,” said Frigo.
“These States should open their harbours and the EU should work hard to ensure that resettlement is ensured so as to relieve pressure from them.”
Relevant provisions of international law include: UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (Article 98); International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), Annex, Chapter V; International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue.
Contact:
Massimo Frigo, ICJ Senior Legal Adviser, t:+41 22 979 3805 ; e: massimo.frigo(a)icj.org
Today, the ICJ and Aditus are holding a training for lawyers on the rights of migrant children and on accessing international human rights mechanisms in Valetta.
The training aims to support the strategic use of national and international mechanisms to foster migrant children’s access to justice.
The training will take place over the course of two days 16-17 February 2017.
The training will focus on accessing the international mechanisms in order to protect and promote the rights of migrant children, the child’s right to be heard and economic, social and cultural rights.
A practical case analysis will be part of the training. Trainers include experts from the ICJ and the Hague University.
The training is based on draft training materials prepared by the ICJ (to be published in the second half of 2017) and the ICJ Practitioners Guide no. 6: Migration and International Human Rights Law.
It is organized as part of the FAIR project co-funded by the Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme of the European Union and OSIFE.
As part of the project, this training follows the trainings on the rights of migrant children in Spain, Italy and Bulgaria, trainings in Germany, Greece and Ireland will follow this year.
Download the agenda in English here:
Malta-FAIR training-News-Agenda-2017-ENG