The government of Malta was ordered to pay €5,000 to a teenage asylum seeker for breaching his fundamental rights. Judge Giovanni Grixti ruled that Ayoubah Fona was unlawfully detained as a minor in poor conditions. Lawyer Neil Falzon from aditus foundation, together...
JRS statement on Assisted Voluntary Euthanasia

Latest news
Standing together, with refugees
As 2025 draws to a close, we want to thank you for continuing to walk this journey with us, a journey alongside countless refugees and displaced families who long for safety, peace, and a place to belong. Unfortunately, just when the needs are greatest, devastating...
NGO response to the Joint Statement to the Conference of Ministers of Justice of the Council of Europe
We are deeply concerned at Malta’s statement urging the Council of Europe to explore how to restrict the fundamental human rights of migrants. Packaged as national security measures, the proposals will result in a dramatic lowering of human rights standards in over...
JRS issues call for Researcher
JRS Malta is launching a Call for a Service Contract for the provision of research studies into the lived experiences of asylum seekers and the legal and policy framework regulating access to healthcare for different categories of migrants. This task is part of the...
Run for JRS at the LifeStar Malta Marathon 2026
JRS Malta is teaming up with Jesuits & Friends to launch the latest in a series of our fundraising efforts. This time, we are calling on all running enthusiasts to join the Jesuits & Friends Team at the LifeStar Malta Marathon and help raise funds for JRS in...
JRS Malta report sheds light on The Human Cost of Legal Precarity and Labour Exploitation in Malta
A new JRS Malta report uncovers shocking levels of exploitation and mistreatment among migrant workers in Malta, including withholding of wages, firing people without due cause, violations of health and safety regulations, and numerous instances of bullying,...
Join us for ‘Under the Stars’ – A Night of Music, Food & Solidarity
On Friday, 12th September, we invite you to gather with us at St Aloysius College, B’Kara, for our annual fundraising celebration, Under the Stars. Doors open at 7pm. This year’s event is all about celebrating community – with live music, delicious food, and a raffle...
JRS Malta launches complaints procedure
We are here for you… At JRS we do our best to provide clients with a professional service focused on supporting clients’ needs. We do our utmost to help clients feel respected and supported, as we meet their needs. If however there has been a situation where you have...
Call for maternity leave cover: advocacy and administration
JRS Malta is seeking to recruit a Maternity Leave Cover – Advocacy & Administration to work with forced migrants and asylum seekers. The selected candidate will be offered a 6-month definite term full-time contract. As this post is a maternity leave cover, renewal...
JRS is seeking to recruit a Lawyer
JRS Malta is seeking to recruit a LAWYER, to work with asylum seekers and immigrants in Malta. The post is a full-time post, however applications from individuals wishing to work part-time or reduced hours will also be considered. Individuals who cannot work at least...
Dying with dignity is not about deciding when to die, but about making sure every person is cared for, given adequate pain management, and never made to feel like a burden.
Accompanying refugees at the end of their lives, we have witnessed first-hand the excruciating end-of-life pain faced by many patients.
An authentically humane response to this suffering does not require the introduction of Assisted Voluntary Euthanasia (AVE). It does, however, require the full development of Malta’s palliative care system, which, to date, remains largely inadequate and under-resourced. Many people in Malta still die without proper support, not because they choose to, but because access to quality palliative care remains unequal and uneven.
For some migrants, it goes beyond palliative care. Over the years, we have witnessed the impossible struggle faced by many migrants to access the curative care they need to treat severe and life-threatening medical conditions like cancer. Ironically, with the introduction of AVE, we would be offering a “dignified death” to people who were denied the right to live with dignity.
We are deeply concerned that the introduction of AVE, even with the proposed safeguards, risks normalising death as a solution to suffering, whilst entrenching the idea that some lives are no longer worth living.
Rather than equating the profound distress faced by many patients at the end of their life with a burden which needs to be eliminated, let us collectively respond to this suffering with faithful accompaniment and generous compassion. Let us also work to ensure that our healthcare system is just, truly accessible to everyone, and that it does not let people down, whether at the end of their life or at any point during their lifetime.
Latest news stories
Child unlawfully detained by Malta gets €5,000 compensation
The government of Malta was ordered to pay €5,000 to a teenage asylum seeker for breaching his fundamental rights. Judge Giovanni Grixti ruled that Ayoubah Fona was unlawfully detained as a minor in poor conditions. Lawyer Neil Falzon from aditus foundation, together...
Standing together, with refugees
As 2025 draws to a close, we want to thank you for continuing to walk this journey with us, a journey alongside countless refugees and displaced families who long for safety, peace, and a place to belong. Unfortunately, just when the needs are greatest, devastating...
NGO response to the Joint Statement to the Conference of Ministers of Justice of the Council of Europe
We are deeply concerned at Malta’s statement urging the Council of Europe to explore how to restrict the fundamental human rights of migrants. Packaged as national security measures, the proposals will result in a dramatic lowering of human rights standards in over...
JRS issues call for Researcher
JRS Malta is launching a Call for a Service Contract for the provision of research studies into the lived experiences of asylum seekers and the legal and policy framework regulating access to healthcare for different categories of migrants. This task is part of the...
Run for JRS at the LifeStar Malta Marathon 2026
JRS Malta is teaming up with Jesuits & Friends to launch the latest in a series of our fundraising efforts. This time, we are calling on all running enthusiasts to join the Jesuits & Friends Team at the LifeStar Malta Marathon and help raise funds for JRS in...
JRS Malta report sheds light on The Human Cost of Legal Precarity and Labour Exploitation in Malta
A new JRS Malta report uncovers shocking levels of exploitation and mistreatment among migrant workers in Malta, including withholding of wages, firing people without due cause, violations of health and safety regulations, and numerous instances of bullying,...
Join us for ‘Under the Stars’ – A Night of Music, Food & Solidarity
On Friday, 12th September, we invite you to gather with us at St Aloysius College, B’Kara, for our annual fundraising celebration, Under the Stars. Doors open at 7pm. This year’s event is all about celebrating community – with live music, delicious food, and a raffle...
JRS Malta launches complaints procedure
We are here for you… At JRS we do our best to provide clients with a professional service focused on supporting clients’ needs. We do our utmost to help clients feel respected and supported, as we meet their needs. If however there has been a situation where you have...
Call for maternity leave cover: advocacy and administration
JRS Malta is seeking to recruit a Maternity Leave Cover – Advocacy & Administration to work with forced migrants and asylum seekers. The selected candidate will be offered a 6-month definite term full-time contract. As this post is a maternity leave cover, renewal...
JRS is seeking to recruit a Lawyer
JRS Malta is seeking to recruit a LAWYER, to work with asylum seekers and immigrants in Malta. The post is a full-time post, however applications from individuals wishing to work part-time or reduced hours will also be considered. Individuals who cannot work at least...
Child unlawfully detained by Malta gets €5,000 compensation
The government of Malta was ordered to pay €5,000 to a teenage asylum seeker for breaching his fundamental rights. Judge Giovanni Grixti ruled that Ayoubah Fona was unlawfully detained as a minor in...
Standing together, with refugees
As 2025 draws to a close, we want to thank you for continuing to walk this journey with us, a journey alongside countless refugees and displaced families who long for safety, peace, and a place to...
