The Libyan Coast Guard has stopped more than 3,000 migrants from coming to Malta since the beginning of the year, according to Foreign Minister Evarist Bartolo.

Bartolo took to Facebook this morning to thank the Libyan Coast Guard for their efforts in controlling human trafficking across the Meditteranean, recently sending a boat of 400 people back to Libya that would have otherwise ended up in Malta.

“Since the beginning of this year, human traffickers and smugglers have sent more than 7,000 people on boats to cross the Mediterranean. Of these, the Libyan Coast Guard collected more than 3,000,” he said.

Malta is housing migrants picked up by its armed forces aboard vessels ever since closing its ports due to COVID-19 pandemic.

“We must work with Libya to break the Libyan-wide organised crime circles that lead to human trafficking and smuggling.”

Bartolo also discussed a two-pronged approach in dealing with the migrant crisis involving a land-based and sea-based approach.

“The war against these crimes must take place on land – where traffickers and smugglers have their centers and where they keep boats on the coast.”

“The war on human traffickers and smugglers must also take place at sea to recover the ships they send full of people who consider them to be money-making goods.”

Malta’s foreign minister also noted how a large number of people crossing the Mediterranean aren’t doing so to seek asylum but for employment opportunities after losing their jobs due to the economic repercussions of the pandemic.

“A large number of those paying to catch a boat to Europe from North Africa are not people who qualify for asylum. They are people who are losing their jobs due to the economic effect of Covid-19 and are immigrants looking for work and are not fleeing any war or persecution.”

“In Africa, 28 million are likely to end up in extreme poverty.”

“It will become much more difficult for more developed countries to accept more immigrants because they themselves will be rebuilding their economies and want to create new jobs for their citizens. This is one of the biggest challenges facing the world after COVID-19 and we have to think seriously about what to do.”

Malta has been given very little assistance from EU members in dealing with the Mediterranean migrant crisis. Only two counties have offered to help with relocation – France has offered to relocate 30 of them while Portugal has offered to take six.

As it stands, around 290 migrants are currently aboard three Captain Morgan vessels, docked just outside Maltese waters, with the first group sent there on 30th April and the most recent one sent there last Friday.

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