Times of Malta
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Nineteen - one family and 15 adults, will be resettled in the United States. A family of three will be relocated in Norway while an individual will be relocated to Denmark, as part of both countries' pledges to assist Malta.
With this latest departure, the United States has resettled 868 people since 2007, 57 since the beginning of this year.
Norway has relocated 24 out of 31 people identified by the Norwegian authorities for relocation following a selection mission some months ago.
Denmark has pledged to take 10 people and yesterday's was the first. More people should leave Malta in the coming days.
Other European countries have also committed to relocate beneficiaries of international protection from Malta, in the context of the extension of the Eurema pilot project, or on a bilateral basis.
These include Bulgaria, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland and The Netherlands. These relocations have already been conducted with respect to Germany and Ireland, with 153 and 10 persons being relocated respectively.
The Ministry for Home Affairs in collaboration with the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Malta and the International Organisation for Migration - Malta, coordinated with counterparts in the respective countries in preparation for these departures.