On the first humanitarian evacuation flight this year from Libya, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency has evacuated on Thursday evening 133 vulnerable asylum seekers to Rwanda. The humanitarian flight has been on hold since April.
The men, women and children brought to safety are from Eritrea, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan. Most are victims of trafficking or survivors of gender based violence and other forms of abuse.
“I am relieved that we could move this group out of harm’s way. While in Libya, many went through harrowing experiences “, said Jean Paul Cavalieri, UNHCR’s Chief of Mission in Libya.
“UNHCR welcomes the decision of the Libya authorities, who have authorized this humanitarian evacuation, and the cooperation prior to departure. We hope to organize more such evacuations soon. Hundreds of asylum seekers and refugees in Libya are still awaiting humanitarian evacuation or resettlement”.
In Rwanda, the asylum seekers now evacuated will stay at the Emergency Transit Center, where UNHCR will provide them with accommodation, food, water, medical care, psychosocial support, and language classes. UNHCR aims at helping them to find durable solution such as resettlement to third countries, voluntary return where it is possible in Rwanda, or local integration in Rwanda.
“We thank the Government of Rwanda for facilitating through the Emergency Transit Mechanism, life- saving measures for some of the most vulnerable refugees in Africa. We are also extremely grateful to our supporters for their critical financial contribution to this program, and to resettlement countries that end the plight of these refugees by welcoming them. Still, more resettlement opportunities for refugees will have been evacuated are urgently needed”, said Ahmed Baba Fall, the UNHCR Representative to Rwanda.
Since 2017, over 6,300 refugees and asylum seekers have departed Libya trough humanitarian evacuations or resettlement to third countries. (End)