Migrants: 10,000 could be relocated from Libia to Europe
Rome - Up to 10,000 people stranded in refugee camps and detention centres in Libya could be relocated to Europe in 2018, the Italian government said. The initiative would be part of an attempt by EU countries to address the deteriorating conditions in Libya, where thousands of people are held captive in inhumane conditions.
"In 2018, up to 10,000 refugees will be able to come to Europe without risk, through humanitarian corridors", Italian Interior Minister Marco Minniti said in an interview. The announcement comes after a group of 162 "vulnerable" people, from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and Yemen, were evacuated from Libya and arrived by military plane in Rome. The group included single mothers, unaccompanied children and handicapped people, and was the first time refugees and migrants had been relocated directly to Europe by the UN's refugee agency (UNHCR).
About 400,000 migrants are in Libya, including roughly 36,000 children, the UN children's agency UNICEF and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said earlier this month. In 2018, the IOM aims to repatriate 30,000 migrants to their home countries as part of a voluntary return programme.
Around 15,000 have been sent back this year. "In accordance with the objectives of the International Organization for Migration, 30,000 migrants without right to asylum will be able to be repatriated to their countries on a voluntary basis", in 2018, Minniti said.