Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/333851
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 22 JUNE 2014 News 9 Integratio n beyond the vote sions, racially-motivated offences and racial discrimination are not yet fully applied in the country. Moreover, it says awareness of the need to actively monitor racism and racial discrimination in order to identify and address these phenom- ena properly is lacking. Among its proposals, the report by Aditus recommends the creation of a single equality body to which individuals can file a complaint in relation to "all prohibited grounds of discrimination," which it said would also double up as a national focal point for human rights. The report also proposes the dis- semination of more information on how discrimination can be reported and tackled while speeding up the process in courts by making it easier and cheaper for individuals to lodge complaints. In terms of policy, Aditus recom- mends the adoption of a series of preventive actions, including a na- tion-wide policy targeting discrimi- nation suffered by minorities in all areas, including employment, hous- ing and education. Nationality, the report adds, should be included among the grounds for discrimination and racial profiling and multiple discrimination should be prohibited. Labour market mobility The extensive report highlights the importance of employment among migrants and says that it is key to the integration process. Noting Malta and Europe's demographic chal- lenges and a rapidly changing labour market, the report says that there is a recognised need to attract migrant workers from third countries. Underlining the importance of a long-term migration policy, which includes effective integration meas- ures, Aditus says the integration of migrants is crucial "as their integra- tion into the host state's economy and society is viewed as contribut- ing to better economic performance whilst mitigating social tensions." The report recommends mak- ing more and improved informa- tion available and accessible to both TCNs and employers that gives clear guidelines on procedural issues such as the labour market assessment con- ditions, social security rights, labour law rights and residency rights. While procedures for granting a single residence and employment li- cence and providing equal access to workers' rights and general support should be simplified, the report says that TCNs should be allowed to ap- ply for an employment licence indi- vidually and remove the obligation that a TCN employment licence be issued in the employer's name, as this may discourage the TCN from instituting complaints against the employer in cases of breaches in employment legislation. Moreover, intercultural prepara- tion for newly arrived TCNs and their families, including basic infor- mation on employment and labour in Malta, cultural and social issues, integration and linguistic training should be strengthened and inter- cultural training at the workplace should be encouraged. Family reunion The Aditus report calls on the au- thorities to reduce the maximum nine-month period for the process- ing of asylum applications and adopt a system in which after five years, dependent family members are au- tomatically granted autonomous resident permits. The possibility of shortening this time-frame should be explored, particularly for TCNs living in abusive family scenarios, the report adds. It also says that family members should be allowed to access employ- ment immediately upon arrival and without the need for a labour mar- ket test. Moreover, family members should be granted access to social assistance and benefits on the same level as the sponsoring TNC. The report also recommends the expansion of the definition of what constitutes the "family" to com- prise partners, including same-sex couples, and possibly also other dependents to reflect the family- centric model in Malta. In addition, the report recom- mends that economic resources requirements are rendered less burdensome especially for female migrants as sponsors, due to the re- ality that female TCNs are generally engaged in lower-paid employment sectors. Education Education, the report says, is "piv- otal in preparing migrants and their descendants to be more successful and active participants in the host society." Noting that the right to access to education and training is crucial to integration, the report un- derlines the lack of a national policy on TNC education in Malta. A recent study on integration in education in Maltese schools found that 50% of respondent teach- ers confirmed that there was need to change approaches in the classroom in order to account for the number of migrant students, while 85.7% of heads of school acknowledged that they had never met any representa- tives from cultural and/or religious groups representing the diversity of the students In order to address the shortcom- ings in the field, the report says that the national curriculum should ad- dress multicultural diversity, inclu- siveness, contemporary cultures and the understanding of different reli- gious beliefs. The report proposes the introduc- tion of measures relating to migrants and their specific needs, such as tar- geted Maltese and English language classes and the opportunity to study their mother tongue and culture of origin. Moreover, state run institutions should be made aware of different cultural; and religious celebrations and provide space where different groups of students and parents in- teract and integrate through social events. Political participation Malta is one of 11 EU countries which do not provide TCNs with any electoral rights. Recommenda- tions include allowing TCNs to vote and stand in local elections and the removal of any obstacles to their civic and political participation. TCNs should be encouraged to ac- tively participate in trades unions, women's organisations, NGOs and political parties. Long-term residence Migrants should be allowed to register their residence shared with non-family members, as many mi- grant workers share accommodation with co-workers or other persons. Moreover the report proposes that the requirement of a 75% pass mark for both the integration and lan- guage courses is lowered, keeping in mind that Malta is not permitted to expect higher standards from TCNs than from its own nationals while the timeframe for attending integra- tion and language courses should be extended, as the current 12-month timeframe prior to applying for the long-term residence permit is chal- lenging for migrants who are in full- time employment. Access to nationality Over the past years Malta has seen a steady decline in the numbers of persons granted citizenship through naturalisation, with a sharp pre-elec- tion spike in 2012. Stressing the importance of access to citizenship in the integration of TCNs, the report proposes that the current system, which requires in- dividuals to reside in Malta for 12 months before applying and for an aggregate of four years in the pre- ceding six years while having an adequate knowledge of the Maltese and English languages, should be changed. The report proposes that the gov- ernment should introduce clear and specific criteria to replace the min- ister's discretion. A transparent and objective assessment method should be in place together with clear time- frames and the right to appeal and review decisions.