ReliefWeb

Population movement

As of 13 August, 6,971 refugees and migrants have been registered as rescued/ intercepted at sea by the Libyan Coast Guard and disembarked in Libya. So far this year, a total of 2,173 persons of concern to UNHCR disembarked in Libya mainly from Sudan (76 per cent) and Somalia (10 per cent). Between 10 & 13 August, more than 200 individuals disembarked at the Tripoli Naval Base, Al Khums, and Zwara. UNHCR and its partner, the International Rescue Committee (IRC), were present at the disembarkation points to provide urgent medical assistance and core relief items (CRIs) before individuals are transferred to detention centres by the Libyan authorities.

UNHCR response

Last week, UNHCR responded to more than 200 calls through its registration, community-based and Benghazi hotlines. Information on resettlement, registration, medical and cash assistance was provided along with counselling.
Hotlines, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, are a crucial communication tool between persons of concern in Libya and UNHCR staff. As of 12 August, UNHCR staff have responded to a total of 5,178 hotline calls.

Medical assistance continues to be provided to refugees and asylum-seekers in Libya. During the reporting period, UNHCR’s partner, IRC provided 134 primary healthcare consultations and 13 medical referrals to secondary hospitals in Tripoli and Misrata. Some 50 medical consultations were also provided at Tripoli, Al Khums and Al-Zawiya disembarkation points. So far this year, a total of 2,774 primary healthcare consultations were provided including 259 at the disembarkation points, 806 in detention centres and 1,709 in the urban community.

Registration of persons seeking international protection is ongoing in Tripoli. Last week, at UNHCR’s Sarraj Office, a total of 47 individuals from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Palestine, Somalia, South Sudan and Mali were registered and/or had their files updated with UNHCR. As of 12 August, a total of 4,321 refugees and asylumseekers were registered with UNHCR Libya.

There are currently 425,714 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Libya. UNHCR continues to support those who are forced to flee their homes and remain in their own country with cash assistance, CRIs and quick-impact projects (QIPs) - which are small, rapidly implemented projects intended to help create conditions for peaceful coexistence between those displaced and host communities. As of 14 August, UNHCR has assisted a total 37,525 IDPs with both cash grants (3,494 individuals) and CRIs (37,242 individuals), as well as having implemented a total of 26 QIPs so far in 2020.