Angelina Jolie calls for continued support to populations fleeing Libya and humanitarian access to those inside
RAS ADJIR, Tunisia The UN refugee agencys Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie travelled on Tuesday morning to the Tunisian-Libyan border to urge greater international support for people fleeing Libya.
More than 400,000 people have escaped the violence in Libya in the last month, arriving in surrounding countries such as Tunisia, Egypt, Niger, Algeria, Chad and Sudan. Tunisia alone has received more than half of the outflow from Libya and has mobilized an outstanding relief operation.
The outpouring of generosity from the Tunisian people says so much for the future of this country, said UNHCRs Goodwill Ambassador. It is a sign of the openness sweeping across the region.
At the end of February, transit facilities were erected 7 km inside Tunisia to provide temporary shelter. At the same time, UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration began helping migrants home with a humanitarian air evacuation. Today, over 70,000 people have reached home safely with help from UNHCR and IOM, but more continue to arrive. Some 11,000 third country nationals are still in transit.
The international community has done well to reinforce Tunisias remarkable relief effort, said Jolie. But with 2,000 people still crossing each day, we cannot let the funding dry up and need to sustain the momentum.
During the visit, an important contribution is being made by the Jolie-Pitt Foundation to help sustain the humanitarian evacuations being carried out. The Foundation covered the costs for a flight of 177 persons to return to their countries of origin and purchased an ambulance to help support Tunisian efforts on the border to assist the injured arriving from Libya.
We would encourage others, individuals and governments, to continue to support and assist with the needs on the ground, said Jolie.
While migrants make up the majority of these new arrivals, there are also some 2,500 people from war-torn countries who are unable to return home and thus require international protection.
Theyre waiting here with little hope, unable to return home and unsure of whats to come. This constant cycle of displacement must finally come to an end, said Jolie.
In conversations on Tuesday with people who had recently left Libya, UNHCRs Goodwill Ambassador was told of heavy fighting inside the country. She listened to harrowing stories of checkpoints, harassment and assaults. She appealed for measures that would allow the UN and non-governmental organizations to access Libya, and to distribute urgent assistance, including food and medical supplies.
Jolie also heard dramatic accounts of eastern and sub-Saharan Africans being deliberately targeted inside Libya. Many remain in hiding in desperate conditions, unable to move for fear of violence. Jolie called for a humanitarian corridor to facilitate the safe access of these populations to points of refuge.
Without this corridor, thousands of eastern and sub-Saharan Africans are escaping Libya by sea, relying on unseaworthy vessels organized by smugglers. In recent weeks, there have been several landings on the small Italian island of Lampedusa as well as interceptions off the coast of Tunisia. There are also reports of some people not surviving the perilous journey across the Mediterranean.
Related news and stories
AU, EU and UN push for urgent action to address the pressing needs of migrants and refugees in Libya
Twelve years on, Syrian refugees face deepening debt and hunger
Displaced people from climate frontlines raise their voices at COP27
UN Refugee Agency warns of extreme hardship for forcibly displaced families this winter
Insecurity and COVID-19 fuel refugee mental health concerns in Libya
Message from the United Nations humanitarian, refugee, and development chiefs on the situation in Syria and the region
Your search for « lampedusa » matched 340 results. Displaying page 12 of 38 pages.
-
UNHCR concerned over ending of rescue operation in the Mediterranean
17 Oct 2014 ... UNHCR has welcomed Mare Nostrum, which has contributed to the rescue of around 150,000 refuges and migrants since it began a year ago as a response to two tragedies off the coast of Lampedusa, where ...... -
Regional Strategic Presentation Summary: Bureau for Europe
24 Feb 2006 ... In 2005, Italy for example reportedly received over 22,000 spontaneous arrivals, with the greatest numbers recorded on the remote island of Lampedusa where UNHCR, the International Organization for ...... -
UNHCR appalled at news of refugee and migrant deaths on Mediterranean Sea
19 Jan 2019 ... The Italian Navy are also reporting an additional shipwreck on the central Mediterranean. Three survivors were taken for treatment on Lampedusa, and reported that 117 people, who are currently dead or ...... -
UNHCR helps boat people in Libya as search for survivors continues
1 Apr 2009 ... said they had paid smugglers hundreds of dollars per person for passage to Italy's Lampedusa Island. ... - one carrying 244 people reached Sicily and another with 219 aboard made it to Lampedusa Island. ...... -
UNHCR thanks Italian navy for rescuing boat in distress packed with refugees from Libya
11 Nov 2011 ... Risks included drowning, dehydration and exposure. A woman with a small baby was evacuated by helicopter to Sicily from Lampedusa. This is the first boat originating from Libya that has arrived in ...... -
Some 8,400 migrants, asylum-seekers reach Italy and Malta by sea in first half of 2013
5 Jul 2013 ... The high seas crossing is very dangerous and every year people die in the attempt. Pope Francis will visit the Italian island of Lampedusa on Monday to pay tribute to these people and will throw a ...... -
Update on UNHCR's operations in Europe
17 Sep 2014 ... In one incident alone, in early October 2013, more than 360 persons lost their lives off the coast of the Italian island of Lampedusa. In response, Italy launched the Mare Nostrum operation to ...... -
UNHCR urges Europe to recreate a robust search and rescue operation on Mediterranean, as Operation Triton lacks resources and mandate needed for saving lives
12 Feb 2015 ... Italy, which had seen a major boat disaster off its southern Island of Lampedusa in October 2013, ... In Geneva, Melissa Fleming on mobile +41 79 557 9122 In Lampedusa, Carlotta Sami on mobile +39 335 ...... -
Hellish journey over for young woman rescued from the Mediterranean
23 Aug 2019 ... She was rescued on 1 August by the Open Arms rescue vessel and evacuated from the ship with 13 others to Lampedusa for medical reasons on 15 August. One hundred others, also rescued from international ......