The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has expressed interest in extending its agreement with Rwanda and the African Union to host asylum seekers who are stranded in Libya.

First signed in 2019 and renewed in 2021, the deal established an Emergency Transit Mechanism (EMT) in Rwanda to host asylum seekers who found themselves stuck in Libya as their risky attempts to cross the Mediterranean Sea into Europe failed.

Rwanda has served as a temporary host to over 1,600 of the asylum seekers since 2019 as the UNHCR processes solutions for them including relocation to third countries, a return to their native countries, or request to remain citizens of Rwanda.

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The current deal expires in December this year, yet the problem of such asylum seekers is still present in Libya.

Speaking to The New Times, the Spokesperson of UNHCR Rwanda, Lilly Carlisle, hinted at the UN agency’s desire to extend the agreement.

"UNHCR is committed to stepping up voluntary evacuations from Libya and enhancing the use of the Emergency Transit Mechanism in Rwanda to offer safe and legal pathways for refugees and asylum seekers to find safety,” she noted.

"We look forward to further discussions with the African Union and the government of Rwanda around extending the current memorandum of understanding beyond 2023,” she added.

According to the UNHCR, by March 19, an estimated 4,265 people were in detention centres across Libya.

The Emergency Transit Mechanism in Rwanda has the capacity of hosting between 500 to 700 people at one time. The people that have been hosted so far come from various African countries including Eritrea, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Chad, and Cameroon.

Meanwhile, Rwanda is also home to hundreds of thousands of Burundian and Congolese refugees.