The Government of Norway commits to resettling 600 refugees and asylum seekers hosted in different camps in Rwanda according to its Minister of Justice and Immigration, Mr Jøran Kallmyr, who visited Gashora Emergency Transit Centre on 20th January 2019.  

After visiting facilities of Gashora Emergency Transit Centre, Mr Jøran Kallmyr said that Norway has been impressed by the Government of Rwanda’s Commitment of supporting people in a critical situation and contributing to solving the African problems on African soil. “It is so good that Rwanda is hosting the most of those who are the most vulnerable and in the most need of protection,” he said.
 
“For Norway, we are resettling 600 refugees and asylum seekers from Rwanda. 450 of them will be those under the Emergency Transit Mechanism (ETM) and 150 remaining from Congolese and Burundian refugees who have been in Rwanda for long. I think they also need help. For resettlement timelines, we are still discussing good solutions between the Government of Rwanda and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)”, He said. 

“The most important thing is that we are going to share the burden with Rwanda, I think it’s a small number in regard to the refugees hosted in Rwanda but I would like to call upon other countries to do the same as Norway,” he added.

After his visit in Gashora Emergency Transit Centre, Mr Jøran Kallmyr paid a courtesy call to the Minister in Charge of Emergency Management, Germaine KAMAYIRESE, and discussed both countries commitment to support Refugees and asylum seekers evacuated from Libya. 

The Minister in Charge of Emergency Management commended the commitment of Norway to support the Emergency Transit mechanism not only in resettlement but also in its operations.

“I want to take this opportunity and thank Norway for being with us during this process of supporting those who were stranded in Libya and in need of protection. We acknowledge Norway for the operation funds provided to support the ETM while looking for sustainable solutions,” the Minister for Emergency Management commended. 

“Further, we are thankful for your commitment of resettling 600  and we hope Norway will continue its advocacy to other European countries offer resettlement opportunities to refugees and asylum seekers,” she added.

Since the establishment of Emergency Transit Centre in September 2019, Rwanda received 306 refugees and asylum seekers evacuated from Libya and among them, 7 were resettled to Sweden.