Libya repatriated a group of 144 irregular migrants to Bangladesh via the UN-sponsored voluntary return program, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The IOM Libya office said in a press release on Thursday “144 vulnerable migrants in need were able to return home safely form Benghazi, Libya to Dhaka, Bangladesh with support from IOM Libya’s Voluntary Humanitarian Return Assistance program.”
In Dhaka, the migrants will continue to receive reintegration assistance, the release said.
Amid the frequent return of irregular migrants from Libya to their home countries via the UN Voluntary Return Program, experts question whether their deportation contributes to the reduction of their numbers in Libyan cities.
Last week, the IOM said that in 2024, it assisted over 9,300 migrants for safe, voluntary returns home, including counseling, medical care, and protection upon departure.
However, Libyan human rights observers say that the mechanism adopted by IOM to repatriate the irregular migrants remains not sufficient to address the migration file, which constitutes a challenge for most successive Libyan governments.
Meanwhile, a report conducted by Frontex, responsible for coordinating Europe's border guards, showed that from 2009 to 2023, at least 70,906 Bangladeshis have entered Europe via the Central Mediterranean route from Libya.
The secretary-general of the National Organization for Human Rights (NOHR), Abdel Moneim El-Hor, acknowledges that the IOM Libya’s Voluntary Humanitarian Return Assistance program, which finances and manages the repatriation of irregular migrants, helps the Libyan State to address this file.
However, he said, the IOM efforts “target only a specific category of migrants, who are present in official detention centers.” He explained that this category constitutes only a small part of the total number of irregular migrants residing in Libya.
El-Hor said there are 29 detention centers for irregular migrants in Libya while the IOM estimates the presence of around 700,000 migrants across the country.
Also, while thousands of migrants have been repatriated from Libya to their home countries, a source from the irregular migration service in Tripoli, told Asharq Al-Awsat that based on numbers published by the Italian news agency Agenzia Nova, a total of 51,700 irregular migrants were capable to land on the Italian coast last year.
The same source defended the efforts of the anti-migration agencies in Libya, saying that they already arrested dozens of human trafficking rings.
