The United Nations refugee agency has announced the arrival of 124 refugees in Italy after their evacuation from Libya under a resettlement programme aimed at protecting vulnerable migrants and asylum seekers stranded in the North African country.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the group landed at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport on May 20 aboard a special humanitarian flight from Libya as part of the regional development and protection programme for North Africa.
The newly arrived refugees are originally from Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Sudan. The group included 33 families, many of whom were selected for resettlement because of severe humanitarian vulnerabilities.
UNHCR said the refugees included women, children at risk, and survivors of violence and torture. Many had been registered with the agency in Libya for at least four years, while some had spent more than a decade in the country under extremely difficult conditions with limited access to protection and essential services.
Anna Lührmann, acting representative of UNHCR in Italy, the Holy See, Malta and San Marino, described the operation as a life-changing step for the refugees.
She said the arrival demonstrated the “tangible impact” of Italy’s humanitarian efforts in offering protection to vulnerable people fleeing war, persecution and instability.
Lührmann also stressed the importance of expanding safe and legal pathways for refugees, especially those facing prolonged uncertainty and exposure to violence.
Libya remains one of the main transit countries for migrants and refugees attempting to reach Europe through the Mediterranean route. International organisations have repeatedly expressed concern over conditions faced by migrants in detention centres and informal facilities across the country.
The latest evacuation forms part of wider international efforts to provide durable humanitarian solutions for vulnerable refugees trapped in Libya while reducing dangerous irregular migration routes across the Mediterranean Sea.