to grant ad hoc humanitarian residence permits. 20. Statelessness is rarely identified or assessed in any of the procedures through which some stateless people could regularise their stay in Malta. Authorities are not obliged under the law to consider a claim of statelessness made within another procedure and there are no clear, accessible instructions for stateless people on how to claim their rights under the 1954 Convention. There is also no formal cooperation between agencies that may have contact with stateless people in Malta.21 21. Although these alternative routes to regularisation may provide some form of protection for some stateless people, no rights are granted to stateless people in Malta purely based on their statelessness. Stateless people also do not have the right to vote or contest any elections in Malta. There is no facilitated naturalisation for stateless persons, who may apply for naturalisation under the same conditions as other nonMaltese nationals, including residence in Malta for at least five years, language and good character requirements.22 Issue 3 - Arbitrary detention 22. Stateless people face a heightened risk of arbitrary detention particularly where procedural safeguards to identify and determine statelessness and related barriers to removal are lacking.23 Moreover, arbitrary and disproportionately lengthy detention can ensue when the particular vulnerabilities of stateless people are not addressed. 24 According to international norms and standards, detention should be a measure of last resort, used in exceptional cases and only justified where other less invasive or coercive measures have been considered and found insufficient. The UN has called upon States to adopt alternative measures to detention.25 Regarding immigration detention, powers need to be provided for in law and restricted to purposes allowed under international and European law. 26 A proposed country of removal should be identified prior to detention for removal and detention only maintained for as long as removal arrangements are in progress and executed with due diligence.27 A maximum period of detention should be set in law and upon expiry the detainee must be automatically released. Judicial oversight of detention is necessary as well as access to legal representation. 28 Statelessness should also be a juridically relevant factor, which is considered in decisions to detain. Stateless people should be identified in order to protect their human rights and not be routinely detained on grounds of their 21 aditus foundation, https://aditus.org.mt/. Subsidiary Legislation 420.07, Procedural Standards for Granting and Withdrawing International Protection Regulations, 2015, Regulation 20(4), https://legislation.mt/eli/sl/420.7/eng/pdf; Ministry for Home Affairs, Law Enforcement and National Security, Policy regarding Specific Residence Authorisation: Updated Policy - October 2020, https://identitymalta.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/SRA-updated-policy-Nov2020.pdf; Maltese Citizenship Act, CAP. 188 of the Laws of Malta, Articles 5(1), 10(1), 10(6), 10(9), https://legislation.mt/eli/cap/188/eng/pdf; Community Malta Agency, Acquisition of Citizenship by Naturalisation, https://komunita.gov.mt/en/services/acquisition-of-citizenship/#ByNaturalisation. 23 European Network on Statelessness, Protecting Stateless Persons from Arbitrary Detention: An Agenda for Change, 2017 https://www.statelessness.eu/sites/www.statelessness.eu/files/attachments/resources/ENS_LockeInLimbo_Detention_Agend a_online.pdf. 24 European Network on Statelessness, Protecting Stateless Persons from Arbitrary Detention: A regional toolkit for practitioners, 2017 https://www.statelessness.eu/sites/www.statelessness.eu/files/ENS_Detention_Toolkit.pdf. 25 Article 9 of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966; Article 5 of European Convention on Human Rights; Article 15(1) of EU Returns Directive; UN General Assembly, Protection of migrants, A/RES/63/184 (2009). 26 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966: Articles 7 and 9(1). Repeated attempts to expel a person to a country that refuses to admit them could amount to inhuman or degrading treatment. 27 European Convention on Human Rights, 1950: Article 5 (1). EU Returns Directive: Articles 15(1), 15(4) and 16(3). 28 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966: Article 9(4). European Convention on Human Rights, 1950: Article 5(4). EU Returns Directive: Articles 12, 13(3) and 15(5); HRC, Report of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (2010); UNHCR, Detention Guidelines (2012); UNHCR, Handbook on Protection (2014). 22 6