UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, announced that it is increasing its support to refugees and asylum seekers in urban areas of Libya and reassessing the role and functioning of the Gathering and Departure Facility.
“As the Libyan conflict intensifies, we have decided to expand the assistance provided to the refugees and asylum seekers living in urban areas,” said UNHCR’s Chief of Mission for Libya Jean-Paul Cavalieri.
There are already some 40,000 refugees and asylum-seekers living in urban areas, some of whom are extremely vulnerable and in desperate need of support. Humanitarian assistance to refugees and asylum seekers is available at our Community Day Centre (CDC) in Gurji, district of Tripoli, where those in need can access primary health care, registration and cash assistance to help meet food and accommodation needs.
The agency is also reassessing the role of the Gathering and Departure Facility (GDF), in light of severe and unsustainable over-crowding. The GDF was opened a year ago as a transit facility for vulnerable refugees and asylum seekers, mostly women and unaccompanied children at heightened risk in detention and for whom solutions outside Libya had been identified. These solutions remain very limited and require us to identify and prioritise the most acutely vulnerable people within a much broader population, many of whom are in great need. UNHCR and partners operate inside the facility, which is under the overall jurisdiction of the Ministry of Interior.
However, since July, following a deadly airstrike at Tajoura detention centre, hundreds of former detainees made their way into the GDF. They were followed by another group of around 400 people from Abu Salim detention centre in late October, as well as up to 200 people from urban areas. They are part of a broader population of asylum seekers, refugees, and migrants who are vulnerable and exposed to risks in Libya – but have not been prioritised for evacuation or resettlement.
The GDF is now severely overcrowded. It has a capacity for around 600 people, but currently hosts nearly double that figure – many of whom have been there for several months. UNHCR, UN agencies and partners have been providing them with humanitarian assistance, including medical care, psycho-social support, hot meals and high-energy biscuits. However, the situation at the GDF is unsustainable and it no longer functions as a transit facility, hampering UNHCR’s ability to evacuate the most acutely vulnerable refugees, for whom solutions outside of Libya have been found, out of detention centres and to safety.
“We hope that the GDF will be able to return to its original function as a transit facility for the most acutely vulnerable refugees, so we are able to evacuate them to safety,” said Cavalieri.
UNHCR reiterates that options for resettlement remain unfortunately extremely limited, with the number of available resettlement places worldwide being far outstripped by the needs. Less than 1% of refugees identified by UNHCR as in need are able to be resettled each year. We urge the international community to come forward with more resettlement places and faster processes to help us evacuate more refugees in need of resettlement to safety.
Original source: UNHCR
Published on 28 November 2019
