A total of 119 refugees landed at Rome Fiumicino airport on May 9 after being evacuated from Libya.

The group contained men, women and children from Eritrea, Egypt, Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan and South Sudan.

Their arrival was made possible thanks to an agreement signed by Italy's Ministry of Interior, UNHCR and a number of Italian religious, cultural and political organizations.

The protocol allows for the evacuation of 1,500 refugees and people in need of international protection from Libya to Italy over the next three years.

So-called humanitarian corridors

Some 1,390 refugees and asylum seekers have been brought to Italy from Libya through these so-called humanitarian corridors since 2017.

The beneficiaries of the project are people who find themselves in Libya temporarily after being forced to flee their countries due to wars or violence.

Among them there are children, women victims of trafficking, people who survived violence and torture and people in difficult healthcare conditions. All are selected by the UNHCR.

Following their arrival, the people on this most recent flight will be transferred and sheltered by Italy's centers of the System for Shelter and Integration (SAI).

2.4 million people globally in need of relocation, says UNHCR

The UN agency estimates that in 2024, over 2.4 million refugees will need to be resettled globally.

That's a 36% increase compared to 2022 (1.47 million).