The EU’s human rights commission has urged Malta to respond to those in distress at sea, as pressure mounts over allegations Valletta has illegally returned migrants to Libya.

The Council of Europe’s Human Rights Commissioner, Dunja Mijatovic, called on the authorities in Malta to investigate allegations that, either through delayed responses to distress calls or by deliberate pushbacks, migrants had been disembarked in Libya despite reaching the Maltese rescue zone.

In a letter to Malta’s Prime Minister, Robert Abela, Ms Mijatovic urged the government “to ensure full accountability for situations in which action by Maltese authorities has led, directly or indirectly, to returns of persons at sea to Libya”.

Ms Mijatovic said countries such as Malta were obliged to save lives at sea despite the coronavirus pandemic. The government in Malta was quick to close off the country’s ports as the contagion spread and warned the EU it could not guarantee the availability of its search and rescue services.

The commissioner added that she would continue to call for better cooperation from Council of Europe member states to boost search and rescue capacity in the region.

Responding to the commissioner’s letter, Mr Abela said Malta remained committed to saving lives at sea, adding that the island was a “frontline state” facing unprecedented migratory pressure.

The prime minister said Malta needed “concrete support and action” to help it cope with the flow of migrants escaping conflict in Libya.

The tiny Mediterranean island was last month accused of using a private fishing vessel to secretly send migrants back to Libya.The fishing boat Mae Yemenja was sent to deliver food and life jackets to a group of migrants aboard a foundering dinghy, but it is alleged the vessel then took some 51 people back to Libya.

In 2020, more than 250 migrants have perished trying to make the dangerous crossing. During the first three months of this year, departures from Libya increased four-fold compared to the same period in 2019.