The UNHCR and IOM offices in Libya have signed a comprehensive cooperation agreement to address the many pressing needs of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers who are currently in reception and detention centres in Libya.
Under the agreement signed on 27 July in Tripoli, IOM and UNHCR will work with the relevant Libyan authorities and civil society to provide humanitarian assistance to concerned persons in reception and detention centres.
Joint UNHCR and IOM teams will be set up to conduct interviews in the centres to identify refugees, asylum seekers and migrants, as well as vulnerable persons with specific needs, such as victims of trafficking and gender-based violence, unaccompanied minors and/or single women.
Refugees and asylum seekers identified through the screening process will be referred to UNHCR for refugee status determination processing.
IOM and UNHCR will jointly determine those among migrants and rejected asylum seekers who are willing to return home and will assist them to return in safety and dignity.
Both agencies will also work together to secure funding to ensure the voluntary return of migrants and failed asylum seekers is sustainable.
The agreement further specifies that IOM and UNHCR will work as a team in the resettlement of refugees from Libya to third countries.
UNHCR and IOM will develop, coordinate and participate in joint trainings, workshops and seminars for government offices, NGOs, civil society, among others.
For more information, please contact Laurence Hart at IOM Tripoli Tel: +218 91 383 25 96. E-mail: lhart@iom.int