Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1278887
6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 16 AUGUST 2020 NEWS Justice barometer Top five who rate justice system 'very good' and 'fairly good' Denmark 86% Finland 84% Sweden 81% Netherlands 77% Germany 76% Top five who rate justice system 'fairly bad' and 'bad' Croatia 68% Slovakia 64% Poland 55% Italy 54% Spain 49% Positive and negative views on judges' independence Malta EU Positive views 52% 56% Negative views 31% 33% Don't know 17% 11% Lack of trust in the independence of judges is even higher within the business community, which was assessed in a separate survey conducted among 200 Maltese companies Wear your mask properly For your safety and that of your loved ones, please wear a mask! Always cover your nose, mouth and chin. C M Y CM MY CY CMY K COVID19 - Advert Eng & Mlt - 2020 (16th Aug) Final.pdf 1 13/08/2020 09:51:53 MATTHEW AGIUS THREE NGOs have reiterated their call for an end to migrant pushbacks by Malta, as 100 mi- grants stand to be picked up by the Libyan coast guard in Malta's Search and Rescue zone. Aditus, Integra Foundation and the Jesuit Refugee Service said they were "extremely concerned" at allegations that Malta is com- plicit in the ongoing pushback to Libya of over 100 migrants. "Returning migrants to Libya means returning men, women and children to severe human rights abuses, including arbitrary detention, violence and torture, inhumane living conditions, hu- man trafficking and slavery. It is entirely unacceptable for Mal- ta to even consider engaging in such activities in its efforts to reduce the number of arrivals of persons by sea." The NGOs said that publicly available information indicat- ed the presence of Libyan coast guard ships in Malta's Search and Rescue Zone. "Malta's responsibility for persons in distress within our Search and Rescue Zone is to co- ordinate their rescue and ensure their disembarkation at a port of safety. As strongly reiterated by the European Union Commis- sion and by the Council of Eu- rope Commissioner for Human Rights, Libya is not a safe port for migrants. Malta's engagement with Libya's coast guard for this to pick up persons from Malta's Search and Rescue Zone is tan- tamount to an illegal pushback," they said. Whilst urging the Maltese au- thorities to refrain from expos- ing persons to human rights vi- olations in Libya, the NGOs also urged the European Union insti- tutions to strengthen their assis- tance measures to Malta "so as to enable it to fulfil its obligations and to offer rescued persons the safety and dignity they are enti- tled". Earlier last week, the merchant vessel Etienne rescued 27 people from distress exactly 10 days ago. Since then, Malta has refused the ship to enter port. "Civilian rescue ships cannot leave port due to government repression, and for a while al- ready there have been no state or European rescue missions," Sea Watch said. "Merchant vessels are also kept at sea for weeks to prevent the safe disembarkation of the rescued people. For fear of the resulting economic loss- es, companies are increasingly changing their transport routes to avoid possible rescues." Libya carrying out pushbacks from Malta SAR A Maltese delegation to Libya that included the PM's head of secretariat Clyde Caruana and AFM commander Jeffrey Curmi, dated 5 August 2020