A/HRC/33/50/Add.1 65. Some improvements have taken place in the prison over the past three years. Some qualified prisoners have been granted the authorization to work outside the prison. The solitary confinement cells are now very rarely used and, even when they are used, the Working Group was informed that it is only for a few hours. 66. The Working Group found a 15-year-old boy at the Young Offenders Unit of the prison. He had spent two months there, awaiting trial before the Juvenile Court. Children were following educational and integration programmes, provided with the assistance of non-governmental organizations. However, the Working Group stresses that children and young offenders should be separated, as recommended by the Committee on the Rights of the Child in line with article 37 (c) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and article 10 (2) (b) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. 67. The Working Group notes with concern the limitations on access to education and training opportunities, especially for female inmates. The Working Group is also concerned that pretrial detainees are detained together with convicted persons, in violation of article 10 (2) (a) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Malta is a party. The Working Group welcomes plans for a separate unit for female juveniles. 68. In January 2012, the Restorative Justice Act entered into force. The Act includes a provision for granting parole to prisoners, and establishes an offenders assessment board, a victim support unit, a remission board and a victim-offender mediation committee. The parole board is headed by a retired judge. The Department of Probation and Parole is currently supervising 23 persons. Thirty-eight persons have already been released on parole. However, the parole system needs more financial resources to be fully developed. The current requirements appear to lead to de facto discrimination because only citizens of Malta can in practice benefit from parole, while foreigners serving sentences lack the consolidated family environment to take advantage of such an opportunity for rehabilitation. In this regard, the Government of Malta has explained to the Working Group that the aim of parole is to facilitate the reintegration of offenders into the community following their successful adherence to the individualized care plan developed while serving their sentence in prison. For this purpose, those inmates who apply and have a stable family and employment structure upon release have an advantage over others, especially foreigners. Furthermore, as the Restorative Justice Act points out, all European Union nationals are eligible to apply for parole. The Government of Malta informed the Working Group that a number of European Union nationals, as well as inmates who have humanitarian protection in Malta, have been granted a parole licence. 69. It is also essential that the pretrial detention period be shortened as much as possible. 70. During its visit, the Working Group was pleased to learn from the Government that the military would no longer be involved in managing the detention centres for immigrants. Its role would be restricted to search-and-rescue activities. However, the Working Group emphasizes that an open reception facility for immigrants should not be established or built on military premises. 71. The Working Group is concerned about the absence of a procedure to identify stateless persons and persons at risk of statelessness. 72. It is of serious concern to the Working Group that, besides the limited resettlement, assisted voluntary return and integration programmes that exist, there is a lack of long-term planning for persons residing at the open centres. Given the limited resources and job opportunities in Malta, many of them are experiencing difficulties integrating into Maltese society. This precarious condition can only be a challenge for all, both for the migrants themselves and for Maltese society in general, in the years to come, negatively affecting the integration process but also exposing migrants to the misleading attraction that criminal enterprises sometimes present. Whether those in the open centres enjoy effective liberty and 14