The Immigration Appeals Board (UNE) reverses the suspension of the duty to return to Tripoli, while the suspension is upheld for other areas of Libya.
UNE has obtained updated information about Libya and the situation for asylum seekers who return to the country, and has held several board meetings to assess the situation as regards returns to the country. UNE considers that the general security situation in and around Tripoli in Libya has now been sufficiently clarified. On this basis, UNE has today decided to reverse the temporary suspension of the duty to return to Tripoli and surrounding area, including the districts Tripoli, Jafara, Zawiya, Nuqat al Khams, and Murqub.
In a statement published on our website on 5 January 2015, UNE stated that, based on the ongoing unrest and high level of conflict, it had decided to temporarily suspend the duty to return for persons who had received a final decision requiring them to return to Libya.
The decision to reverse the suspension of returns to Tripoli means that all persons who have previously received, or who from now on receive a final decision requiring them to return to the area, are obliged to leave Norway. The police can resume the implementation of forced returns to Tripoli. Persons who have been granted deferred implementation are permitted to stay in Norway until UNE has considered the case.
UNE is closely monitoring the situation in Libya, and makes concrete, individual assessments of the question of return in each case. This means that some people may be allowed to continue to stay in Norway based on their individual need for protection or on humanitarian grounds, while others must comply with the duty to return.
UNE bases its assessment of the security situation and risk of abuse in Libya on a wide range of sources, including information from UN organisations such as UNHCR, UNSMIL, and OHCHR, and international human rights organisations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. UNE has also based its assessment on country reports by the Norwegian Country of Origin Information Centre (Landinfo) published in cooperation with the Swedish, Danish, Belgian and Dutch immigration authorities. It has also considered updated reports from Norway's special representative for immigration cases at the embassy in Cairo, who has a special responsibility for monitoring the situation in Libya.
- Read more about Libya on Landinfo’s website (external link)
- Overview of countries and areas in which the duty to return has been suspended