Ethiopia to resettle over 3,000 Eritrean refugees this year

February 9, 2010 (ADDIS ABABA) – In the year 2010, some 3,100 Eritrean refugees will be resettled to a number of western countries under the UN refugee agency assisted third-country resettlement program, Administration for Refugees and Returnees Affairs (ARRA) disclosed.

The administration, which is an implementing partner of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said that as part of the 2010 third country resettlement program, a first group of 28 Eritrean refugees have flown-out to the United States last Wednesday.

Nearly all Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia refuse home-return for safety reasons and the UN agency believes that resettlement to a third country is the appropriate option.

Since 2006, a total of 5,850 Eritrean refugees screened from different camps are resettled to different western countries, where they have begun to lead a new and better life, ARRA said.

The UNHCR third country resettlement program is underway in cooperation with IOM and the Ethiopian government.

Excluding new arrivals of 2010, the number of Eritrean refugees currently being sheltered in Ethiopian camps stands at 45,200.

(ST)