The African micro-state of Rwanda is temporarily taking up stranded refugees in Libya. This was agreed by the government, the African Union and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
The first 500 volunteers will be flown from Libya to Rwanda in the coming weeks, the UNHCR reported today in Geneva. Most came from Eritrea, Somalia and Sudan. The government has offered space for 30,000 people, said UNHCR spokesman Babar Baloch.
The UNHCR will help Rwanda to examine asylum applications. Recognized refugees should be relocated to third countries. Some are also to be granted right of residence in Rwanda. Rejected asylum seekers, according to UNHCR, receive help to return to their home countries. Refugees are recognized asylum seekers. The UNHCR claims to have saved more than 4,400 refugees from Libya since 2017.
The UNHCR estimates the number of refugees and asylum seekers in civil war Libya at 50,000. Many of them come from African countries and they want to get to Europe via the Mediterranean coast of Libya.
