More than 90 asylum seekers evacuated from Libya to Italy, says UNHCR
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - A total of 93 asylum seekers, who were living in precarious conditions in Libya, were evacuated to Italy on Thursday, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced.
According to a statement issued by the UNHCR, this group of evacuees, the first of 500 under a new humanitarian admission mechanism, includes children, women at risk, survivors of violence and torture, and people with serious health problems.
Some have recently been released from detention while others have been held in captivity by smuggling or trafficking networks, the statement said.
Reacting to the operation, UNHCR's head of mission in Libya, Jean-Paul Cavalieri, said: "We are happy to see these evacuation flights become a reality and that the Libyan authorities have supported them. They are a lifeline for some of the most vulnerable asylum seekers."
He said conditions in Libya remain dire for many refugees, and UNHCR needs the help of the international community to extend similar routes to safety.
The asylum-seekers left Tripoli on a UNHCR-chartered flight to Rome, the statement said, noting that a total of five such flights will be organised over the course of a year.
After arrival, the evacuees will be able to apply for refugee status, which will give them access to safety and security, the statement said.
The flights are organised under a new mechanism combining emergency evacuations with the humanitarian corridors established in Italy since 2016, UNHCR reported.
It added that in addition to funding from the Italian government, the programme relies on the support of a coalition of faith-based organisations, which includes the Community of St. Egidio, the Federation of Protestant Churches and the Table Vaudoise.
"We are grateful to Italy for making these vital evacuations possible for people in such a vulnerable situation. Italian institutions and civil society have once again demonstrated the importance of working together to welcome and integrate refugees," said UNHCR Representative for Italy, the Holy See and San Marino Chiara Cardoletti.
This month, UNHCR was able to resume evacuations from Libya more than a year after the authorities lifted the ban on humanitarian flights.
On 4 November, UNHCR evacuated 172 vulnerable asylum seekers from Libya to Niger, where they are being supported while awaiting solutions, under the UNHCR-supported emergency transit mechanism.
Since 2017, UNHCR has evacuated or resettled 6,919 refugees and asylum seekers from Libya, of whom 967 have been admitted to Italy.
-0- PANA BY/JSG/BBA/MA 26Nov2021
