Valletta, Malta - A pact with Italy has led Libya to curb the use of its shores as a springboard for migrants trying to reach Europe illegally but humanitarian groups have expressed concerned for those still wanting to make the sea crossing. Malta, which in recent years has been at the forefront of would-be immigrant arrivals, is now reporting a dramatic fall in the number of such landings.
Between April and May, just two vessels carrying a total of 99 migrants arrived on the tiny Mediterranean island-state. No landings occurred in June.
In contrast, over the same period in 2008, some 872 African migrants landed on Malta, many of them in June when human traffickers often exploit clement weather to organize the clandestine journeys.
The reduction has eased off pressure on Malta's packed detention centres, which have often drawn heavy criticism from humanitarian organisations for the unsanitary conditions under which migrants are kept.
Similarly, at another arrival point for stranded or intercepted migrants, the Italian islet of Lampedusa, arrivals have declined 33 per cent and 95 per cent in April and May respectively, compared to the same period in 2008, according to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
The current situation is "so calm it's almost unnatural," UNHCR spokeswoman Laura Boldrini told the German Press Agency dpa.
"For the last four or five summers we were continuously dealing with distress calls. Last summer we were having around 12 to 13 arrivals a day in Lampedusa," she said.
In 2008, Malta was receiving an average of one boat of immigrants every two days.
Libya ordered a crackdown on human trafficking following the recent coming into effect of a deal struck in August 2008 by its leader, Moamer Gaddafi, and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
Through the agreement, Italy has committed investments of some 5 billion dollars in Libya as compensation for three decades of Italian colonial rule over the North African nation.
In return, Libya has agreed to monitor its shores through joint naval patrols with Italy and to accept would-be immigrants intercepted by Italian authorities in international waters.
Rights activists, United Nations officials and the Vatican have all condemned what they say are deportations by Italy done without determining whether the migrants qualify for political asylum.
It is not clear how Libya has managed to reduce the number of departures from its shores.
Several Maltese officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, suspect that many traffickers have been arrested, and that an alleged factory manufacturing boats used to make the crossings has been shut down.
Though the decline in crossings has been welcomed in Italy and Malta, Boldrini says it should be a matter of concern.
"It would be okay if I knew that everything was okay with Libya. And not everything is okay with Libya," she said, pointing out that Tripoli does not have any legislation covering the granting of asylum.
Tripoli has no signed Geneva Convention for Refugees which means the UNHCR is not allowed access to many immigrant detention camps and holding centres situated in the North African country.
Rights groups and agencies say they fear the crackdown poses an added danger to genuine asylum seekers who might now be forced to choose even more treacherous routes to reach Europe from Africa.
This comes at a time when the number of people fleeing political and religious persecution appears to be on the rise.
Some 36,000 would-be immigrants reached Italy by sea in 2008, with 70 per cent applying for asylum and almost half then receiving refugee status, according to UNHCR figures.
Nearly 2,800 immigrants landed in Malta in 2008, a 60 per cent increase over the previous ear. The vast majority applied for asylum and 52 per cent were given protection, almost twice as many as the EU average.
"Sadly, Europe is becoming more inaccessible and there are governments that are increasingly considering externalising the right of asylum," Boldrini said.
