Norway to receive 600 refugees from Libya currently in Rwanda

The Norwegian Minister of Justice and Immigration, Joran Kallmyr has said that the country is ready to resettle 600 refugees from Libya who are currently at a transit facility in Gashora. 

While visiting African refugees from Libya at a transit facility in Gashora, Minister Kallmyr also commended Rwanda for hosting the asylum seekers saying that countries of resettlement are now able to assess the individual cases in a peaceful atmosphere.

Some of the asylum seekers at the Gashora Transit Centre expressed their gratitude to the Rwandan Government for hosting them and giving them asylum in the country.

Permanent Secretary in charge of Emergency Management at the Ministry of Emergency Management, Olivier Kayumba said that there are plans to receive more refugees but currently, there is limited space at the transit facility.

"200 more refugees haven’t come yet because there is currently no space, but we are trying to look at options, whether it’s expanding this place or a different place in order to have somewhere to accommodate the remaining 200 refugees. This facility can only take 500 people and since we have slightly more than 300 now, there is no overcrowding, we are ok," Kayumba told journalists. 

UNHCR External relations officer called on other countries to follow the example of Rwanda and other countries that are opening their borders to vulnerable refugees from different African countries.

On the 10^th of September last year, the Rwandan Government, UNHCR and the African Union signed an agreement that saw African nationals rescued and evacuated from deplorable conditions in conflict zones.

The Gashora Transit Centre currently has 299 refugees from Eritrea, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan. 7 of the refugees have already been resettled in Sweden.