The fourth group of 79 refugees and asylum seekers evacuated from Libya arrived in Rwanda on Thursday. After reception, they were taken to designated transit hotels and tested for COVID-19 before being accompanied to Gashora Emergency Transit Centre located in Bugesera District where they will be accommodated.
They are composed of 42 Sudanese, 33 Eritreans and 4 Somali; 68 males and 11 females. 75 of them are between 18 and 59 years old and the rest between 0 – 17 years old.
The evacuation of refugees and asylum seekers out of Libya is in line with a Memorandum of Understanding signed on September 10, 2019 between the Government of Rwanda, UNHCR; the UN Refugee Agency, and the African Union to set up an emergency transit mechanism (ETM).
The Emergency Transit Mechanism aims at providing life-saving protection, assistance and long-term solutions to extremely vulnerable refugees trapped in detention in Libya, through temporary evacuation to Rwanda.
The first group of 66 refugees and asylum seekers from Libya arrived in Rwanda on 26th September, 2019. A total of 306 evacuees from Libya were received in first 3 batches. Among them, 121 were resettled to third countries; Sweden 98 and Canada 23.
The Government of Rwanda ensures their safety and security while waiting for durable solution for them.
