Out of 55,665 refugees and asylum-seekers registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), 4,700 are currently held in dire conditions in Libya’s detention centres, the African Union said in a statement. These individuals urgently require evacuation, protection, and durable solutions.
In response to Libya’s deteriorating security situation, the African Union (AU), Rwanda, and UNHCR signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 10 September 2019 to establish an Emergency Transit Mechanism (ETM).
This initiative aims to evacuate vulnerable refugees and asylum-seekers from Libya, following a 2017 commitment by Rwandan President Paul Kagame and a joint decision by the AU, European Union (EU), and United Nations (UN) to safeguard migrants along dangerous routes.
Under the agreement, the ETM will prioritise evacuating 500 refugees, particularly those from the Horn of Africa, including children and youth at risk. Evacuees will either benefit from resettlement to third countries, return to previously granted asylum states, or be repatriated if safe. Rwanda has also offered to host some evacuees under its jurisdiction.
Since the ETM’s inception, 190 refugees have been evacuated from Libya to Rwanda. UNHCR has also facilitated over 4,400 evacuations from Libya to various countries since 2017, including 2,900 through Niger’s ETM and 425 to European nations via Romania.
The initiative demonstrates a collaborative effort to address Libya’s migration crisis and provide refugees with safety and opportunities for a better future.
