UNHCR: Conditions of refugees in Libya stretched thin
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has warned of the consequences of the current crowdedness of refugees and immigrants at the Gathering and Departure Facility (GDF).
In a statement on Monday, UNHCR said there are over 1000 persons at the GDF, while the capacity of the facility is 700 persons.
UNHCR added that following the airstrike on Tajoura detention centre on July 03, over 400 illegal immigrants who were kept there arrived by foot to the GDF in Tripoli.
“The serious overcrowding prevailing at the GDF also means that UNHCR is no longer able to transfer vulnerable refugees out of Libya, which is a source of great distress to many languishing in detention centres.” UNHCR added.
The GDF was set-up in December 2018 to serve as a transit centre for arbitrarily detained refugees who have been identified as most vulnerable and for whom a solution outside Libya has already been found, according to UNHCR.
UNHCR further indicated that solutions outside Libya for the immigrants are very limited, and therefore, it continues to call for more slots for resettlement, evacuations and humanitarian corridors, including for the vulnerable who were in Tajoura detention centre when the facility was hit by airstrikes.
It added that it operates in a highly complex and challenging context in Libya, so while the solution offered to the persons who entered the GDF may not meet their expectations, it is the only alternative with the current available resources.
