The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Libya must stop talking in the language of mysteries and talisma, which is understood only by its staff. The situation in front of UNHCR headquarters in the Sarraj area is not new. The recurrent crisis and the picket of unaccompanied women and children in front of UNHCR’s premises, although aware of the risks, is urgent for them and there are no options in a country that restricts them in the proceedings and arrests them on the move.
Such as the failure to recognize those papers handed to them by UNHCR, UNHCR in Tripoli does not deal transparently with asylum-seekers and registrars. It does not tell them the truth and what restrictions are imposed on them. Why, for example, are women and children from the Sudan forced to come to Tripoli rather than register anywhere near the border areas? Why, for example, UNHCR’s office in Tunisia gives registrars official cards with their photographs and data, and in Tripoli a paper is often tore up by armed groups and government agencies, UNHCR must have a clear position, publicly request the exercise of its functions and provide a safe place for minors and women, and the Libyan authorities must not intervene at the heart of their work. If they are prevented, they must declare their withdrawal from Libya and register a position that may help to find a real solution for these vulnerable people. All they want is to register and stay safe until they leave Libya.