An umber of key recommendations were put forward by Integra Foundation and UNHCR Malta in a report on Age Gender and Diversity in Malta.
The overall aim of the AGD project entitled ‘My Diversity – Age, Gender and Diversity Perspectives in the Maltese Refugee Context’ in Malta was to explore, understand, and outline specific protection needs of persons of concern, to review how these are currently being addressed by service providers, to identify existing gaps in this regard, and to explore how the relevant response and support capacities can be further enhanced.
The research was carried out between 2013 and 2015 with the participation of persons of concern as part of the research team, through their direct involvement in the planning and preparation of the interviews, in the analysis of data, and also in the design and implementation and evaluation of pilot initiatives.
These recommendations include the following key points:
• Review the overall reception, assessment and support systems in Malta with a view to strengthen the individual and community based AGD approach in activities of all stakeholders, ensuring effective involvement of people affected.
• Establish effectiveinformation, screening and support activities on the basis of individualassessments, consultation and engagement with refugees and persons of concern.
• Exercise caution (governmentagencies, NGOs and international organisations) when targeting interventions insupport of refugees and persons of concern based on assumptions aboutcategorization of people of concern (eg. women, LGBTI persons etc).
• Engage in training with and for mainstream stakeholders and service providers to ensure that there is knowledge and awareness about AGD considerations in the planning and implementation of support activities for people of concern.
• Conduct further community-based research and testing of methodologies for participatory approaches based on an AGD perspective in Malta. One element of this may include further research on specific topics such as in the three pilot projects described in this report (youth, disability, LGBTI).
In conclusion, the authors of this report consider that it would be useful to engage in further dialogue with all stakeholders, in particular with refugees and persons of concern themselves, in order to develop a cooperative framework that can ultimately help improve the protection environment for all persons of concern in line with the main goal of the AGD approach: to ensure that all persons of concern enjoy their rights on an equal footing and are able to participate fully in the decisions that affect their lives and the lives of their family members and communities.”
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