The legal accountability of the state towards unaccompanied minor asylum seekers in Malta

Abstract

This term paper on a legal subject evaluates past and current Maltese legislation concerning the protection and care of unaccompanied asylum-seeking minors entering the Maltese State. It is mainly concerned with detecting what the State’s responsibilities towards UAMs are, through which two main components emerge: the granting of a care order, and the tracing and reunification of separated families. With particular attention to the enactment of Draft Bill No.45 replacing the Children and Young Persons (Care Orders) Act in January 2017 and other relevant Maltese legislation, as well as international instruments particularly the UNCRC, the 1951 Refugee Convention, as well as the Procedural Standards for Granting and Withdrawing International Protection, the paper aims to assess whether the Maltese State lives up to national, regional and international standards it is bound to abide by. This study goes on to evaluate further duties of the State, with particular attention to the safeguarding of the dual rights of these children, both as children and as refugees. An analysis of past and current legislation is aimed at revealing the major developments occurring within the Maltese asylum context, while indicating the main legal and procedural flaws and deficiencies. Such shortcomings lead to further global problems, namely the trafficking of minors, which will also be evaluated to recognize the core issues surrounding the asylum system, while suggesting and recommending practical ways forward for further growth and progress in the current national framework.