The UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, is now continuing with evacuation operations for vulnerable migrants in Libya. The organization emphasized the priority of this operation, saying that refugees there are "languishing in extreme conditions that threaten their life and wellbeing."
On May 10, the UNHCR transferred 132 vulnerable refugees and asylum seekers from Tripoli to Niamey, the capital of Niger. This is the first transfer since the program was temporarily halted at the beginning of March, following concerns from the government of Niger that onward departures for resettlement in other countries were not keeping up with the pace of arrivals into Niger.
In extreme conditions in Libya
"Refugees in detention in Libya are languishing in extreme conditions that threaten their life and wellbeing," said Vincent Cochetel, UNHCR's Special Envoy for the Central Mediterranean Situation. "So this programme is really about saving vulnerable individuals from further harm. The Government of Niger has generously offered additional space for up to 1,500 refugees in the Emergency Transit Mechanism run by UNHCR in Niamey, with financial support from the European Union. We now urgently need to find resettlement solutions for these refugees in other countries."
The May 10 evacuation was the second attempt that week to fly refugees and asylum-seekers out of Libya on a charter flight. On the first attempt on May 8, the flight had to turn back to Tripoli mid-air, after facing technical difficulties.
Additional evacuations are being planned and include refugees held in different detention centres in Libya.
Nearly 1,500 transferred since November
UNHCR said that since November 2017, with the support of the European Union and Libyan authorities, it has evacuated 1,474 vulnerable refugees and asylum-seekers, including single mothers, families and unaccompanied and separated children, out of detention in Libya. It relocated them to Niger (1,152), Italy (312) and Romania (10).
In addition, UNHCR has processed 477 cases for resettlement directly from Libya to third countries, and continues to call for additional resettlement places as a secure, life-saving and durable solution for vulnerable refugees and asylum-seekers in Libya. These initiatives are part of a range of measures needed to offer viable alternatives to the dangerous journeys undertaken by refugees and migrants along the Central Mediterranean route. (Alleged migrants detained by Libyan security forces as they planned to begin crossing to Europe in Tajura, Libya. Credit: EPA/STR)