Thematic legal study on national human rights institutions and human rights organisations, Malta

Abstract

Malta does not have a National Human Rights Institution (NHRI), it does however have a small amount of public independent bodies which monitor the administrative departments and other areas so as to prevent any form of violation of human rights. Most of these bodies have a sectoral mandate, indeed the Office of the Commissioner for Children, National Commission for the Promotion of Equality for Men and Women; the National Commission Persons with Disability are bodies aimed at reducing discrimination vis-à-vis particular sectors of society; the Data Protection Commissioner protects the rights of privacy for individuals, the Employment Commission has wide powers to ensure that no discrimination takes place on the work place while the Broadcasting Authority protects the freedom of expression. However, these last two bodies only come into their own upon receiving complaints from injured parties requesting their assistance. The only body that operates as a general human rights body is the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman is an investigatory institution which while empowered to carry out investigations and produce reports of its own motion, mainly focuses on investigating complaints received from injured parties. It will be noted that with regards to the monitoring of Human Rights violations, it is the Office of the Commissioner for Children, the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality for Men and Women, and the National Commission Persons with Disability that take the more pro-active approach: conducting surveys and reaching out to their intended audience in order to identify any issues arising. The other bodies: the Ombudsman, the Data Protection Commissioner, and the Employment Commission are generally reactive, acting when a report alleging a violation of human rights is presented to them. That said, all the bodies have wide powers to summon witnesses, obtain documents, and consult with any expert they deem necessary.