Libya, UNHCR: another 119 refugees arrived in Italy thanks to the emergency evacuations from the African country

ROMA – 119 refugees evacuated from Libya arrived today at Rome Fiumicino Leonardo Da Vinci airport, including 30 women, 57 men and 11 families – for a total of 32 people – of Eritrean, Ethiopian, Egyptian, Somali, Sudanese and Southern nationality Sudanese. This is the second flight implementing the protocol signed in December 2023 by the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), ARCI, Community of Sant’Egidio, Federation of Evangelical Churches e INMPwhich will allow 1,500 refugees and people in need of international protection to be evacuated from Libya to Italy over three years.

The beneficiaries of the project. The protocol follows the first agreement signed in 2021 and renews the commitment already started by Italy in 2017, which has so far allowed the reception in Italy of approximately 1,390 people arriving from Libya thanks to evacuation mechanisms or via humanitarian corridors. The beneficiaries of the project are people forced to flee their countries due to war and violence and who are temporarily in Libya.

Children and women victims of trafficking. Among them, children, women victims of trafficking, survivors of violence and torture and people in serious health conditions, who have been selected by UNHCR. Following arrival, the people on this flight will be transferred and accommodated in centers SAI, Reception and Integration System.

The numbers of resettlements. Since 2017, UNHCR has evacuated or resettled 1,368 refugees and asylum seekers from Libya to Italy. UNHCR estimates that more than 2.4 million refugees will need resettlement globally in 2024; this is a 36% increase compared to the 2022 need, which covered 1.47 million people. Regular and safe channels, including emergency evacuations, humanitarian corridors, resettlement and family reunification allow refugees to rebuild a future in dignity without being forced to undertake dangerous journeys in the hands of traffickers. At the same time, they are a tangible sign of solidarity towards low- and middle-income countries that host 75% of the world’s refugees.