The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi has commended Rwanda for its continued efforts to provide a safe condition for refugees evacuated from Libya.

He is in Rwanda for a four-day visit (Apr 24 - 27, 2021) to witness ongoing refugee operations and to discuss challenges faced by the government and partners in a bid to find solutions in refugee management affairs. 

This Sunday, Apr 25, 2021, Grandi visited the Gashora Emergency Transit Mechanism (ETM) Centre which hosts asylum seekers evacuated from Libya. The centre was established under the emergency transit mechanism (ETM) set up by the Government of Rwanda, the UN Refugee Agency and the African Union (AU).

Currently Rwanda hosts 261 asylum seekers in the Gashora ETM. The first group composed of 66 people was received on 26th September 2019. So far five groups have been received until December 29th 2020. 

“Thanks to Rwanda, we can evacuate refugees from Libya through the Emergency Transit Mechanism and seek solutions for them. Some have been on the move for years. Many have suffered terrible abuse along the way, or in Libyan detention centers,” Filippo Grandi said after the visit.

In Gashora ETM, he was accompanied by the Minister in charge of Emergency Management, Solange Kayisire. He thanked President Paul Kagame, the Rwandan government and the people for agreeing to take on the responsibility of receiving refugees from Libya.

“I really want to express my gratitude to President Kagame and Rwandans in general for agreeing to take responsibility. It is a great responsibility to have hundreds of people here on your land and in your country and welcome them in this centre as we we are working hard to find solutions,” Grandi said.

Later, Grandi visited Nyamata Genocide Memorial where he was accompanied by Minister Kayisire, to pay his respects to victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. 

Rwanda currently hosts more than 130,000 refugees, mostly Congolese and Burundians. 306 refugees and asylum seekers have been evacuated from Libya to Rwanda. Out of these, 121 have been resettled in third-party countries.