The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Nearly 1,000 Migrants Returned to Libya in the First Two Weeks of 2020: IOM
Nearly 1,000 migrants, including more than two hundred women and children, have been returned to Libyan shores since the beginning of the year, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said today. Most have disembarked in Tripoli, as armed clashes are reported to continue in the capital, and all have been taken to detention centres, according to IOM spokesperson Safa Msehli.
“These returned migrants are among the more than 1,000 who have left Libya by sea since 1 January, driven in part by the heaviest clashes Tripoli has seen since hostilities began nine months ago,” Ms. Msehli told media at the United Nations in Geneva.
“Migrants who spoke to staff from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) at disembarkation points in Libya said that the escalation in hostilities in and around the capital, and the deteriorating humanitarian situation are the main reasons behind this increase in departures,” the IOM spokesperson added.
As a comparison, during the same period last year, 23 bodies were recovered by the Libyan coast guard and no migrants were returned to Libya. The current sudden increase in departures was described by the IOM as “ alarming” given “very limited search and rescue capacity” in the Mediterranean. IOM teams are present at disembarkation points to provide emergency assistance to migrants, including basic health assistance and screenings, but the organization says that measures to protect lives and guarantee the safety of the people being returned as they try to flee worsening conditions in Libya are not in place.
“IOM has consistently called for the dismantling of the detention system, and the orderly release of migrants. Alternative solutions that safeguard lives must be found to alleviate the suffering of thousands of men, women, and children who are held in inhumane conditions,” Msehli said.
Over 1,000 other migrants who have registered for IOM’s Voluntary Humanitarian Return programme are still trapped in Libya due to the security situation in the country. The unsafe environment in the country’s capital, Tripoli, has disrupted aviation activities -- hindering an important lifeline for stranded migrants.
- Wide shot UN Geneva Flag alley Exterior
- Wide shot Press room
- SOUNDBITE (EN) Safa Msehli, spokesperson for the International Organization for Migration (IOM): “These returned migrants are among the more than 1,000 who have left Libya by sea since 1 January, driven in part by the heaviest clashes Tripoli has seen since hostilities began nine months ago”
- Close up Journalists
- SOUNDBITE (EN) Safa Msehli, spokesperson for the International Organization for Migration (IOM): “Migrants who spoke to staff from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) at disembarkation points in Libya said that the escalation in hostilities in and around the capital, and the deteriorating humanitarian situation are the main reasons behind this increase in departures”
- Medium shot Cameramen
- SOUNDBITE (EN) Safa Msehli, spokesperson for the International Organization for Migration (IOM): “IOM has consistently called for the dismantling of the detention system, and the orderly release of migrants. Alternative solutions that safeguard lives must be found to alleviate the suffering of thousands of men, women, and children who are held in inhumane conditions”
- Medium shot Journalists
- Medium shot Podium
- Wide shot Press room
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR , UNMAS , WHO
Just how many people are still trapped in the Sudanese city of El Fasher?
That’s the burning question for relatives of the many thousands of people believed to still be there, since paramilitary fighters overran the regional capital of North Darfur last month, after a 500-day siege.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva, UN Human Rights spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan made the following remarks on the ongoing violence in the occupied WestBank.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At a Special Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva today, the UN Human Rights Chief, Volker Türk made the following remarks on the situation in El-Fasher, Sudan.
2
1
2
Statements , Conferences , Edited News | HRC
UN Human Rights Council holds special session on Sudan as mass atrocities reported in El Fasher
The UN Human Rights Council convened an emergency session on Friday on the situation in and around El Fasher, Sudan, following reports of mass killings in the North Darfur capital. States passed a resolution that will mandate an investigation into likely mass atrocities during the capture of El Fasher by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on 26 October.
1
1
2
Edited News | UN WOMEN
Sudan: Women’s bodies ‘a crime scene’ as tens of thousands flee El Fasher atrocities – UN Women
In war-torn Sudan, rape is being systematically used as a weapon and simply being a woman is “a strong predictor” of hunger, violence and death, the UN’s gender equality agency warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
The UN human rights office (OHCHR) on Friday called for an end to continuing expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, where “unchecked” settler violence has surged since the war in Gaza began more than two years ago.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
The crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to worsen amid ongoing fighting that has driven tens of thousands of people from their homes and created acute hunger, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
Gaza: One million receive food parcels as humanitarians race to ‘push back hunger’
Food is slowly returning to the shelves in Gaza amid “apocalyptic scenes” but supplies are still desperately inadequate, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday, as they issued fresh calls for wider access and continued financial support.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Seif Magango today told the bi-weekly UN press briefing in Geneva of more details that are emerging on the atrocities committed in El Fasher, in Sudan during and after its takeover by the Rapid Support Forces.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Seif Magango made the following comment on Friday at the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani made the following comment on Friday at the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , WHO
Sudan: UN Raises Alarm Over Mass Atrocities in El Fasher as Survivors Report Executions, Killings and Rapes
More details continue to emerge about atrocities committed during and after the fall of El Fasher to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan on 23 October. Since the powerful paramilitary group made a major incursion into the city last week, the UN Human Rights Office has received “horrendous accounts of summary executions, mass killings, rapes, attacks against humanitarian workers, looting, abductions and forced displacement,” said Seif Magango, spokesperson for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).