The ETC is the first of its kind in Europe and will function in the premises of the "Regional Centre

for Accommodation and Asylum Procedures" administered by the Romanian Immigration Office

(RIO). It will provide temporary shelter to refugees who are in need of immediate evacuation from

their first countries of asylum, because there they face the risk of refoulement (being returned to

territories where they would be persecuted), or because they live amongst unstable, inhumane or

dangerous conditions.

Evacuation and Immediate Protection to Vulnerable Refugees

The Evacuation Transit Centre, due to its legal and institutional framework, as well as its reception

capacity, enables the evacuation of persons in urgent need of international protection until their

onward resettlement to a third country.

The Centre provides temporary shelter to refugees who are in need of immediate evacuation from

their first countries of asylum, because of life-threatening situations such as the risk of refoulement

(being returned to territories where they would be persecuted), or unstable, inhumane or dangerous

living conditions.

UNHCR and IOM will help such vulnerable refugees to leave their first asylum countries and travel

in an orderly way to Timisoara. There, in the ETC, the evacuated refugees will get temporary

accommodation, legal protection and social assistance until their final resettlement to a third

country where they can rebuild their lives. In particular, the ETC will help the evacuation and

resettlement of vulnerable individual refugees or refugee groups, such as refugee women and

children.

A Stable and Secure Environment for Resettlement Interviews

The possibility of urgent evacuation, now opened by the ETC in Timisoara, plays a crucial role in

situations when UNHCR's access to vulnerable refugee populations in countries of first asylum is

restrained, or when resettlement countries have limited capacity to examine and accept emergency

submissions, due to various reasons such as increased and prolonged security screenings. The

Evacuation Transit Centre will enable UNHCR and the officials from various receiving countries to

interview refugees for resettlement in a stable and secure environment.

By helping resettlement to a number of destinations, the Centre represents a tangible form of

burden- and responsibility-sharing amongst the states involved in refugee resettlement worldwide. It

may also encourage other countries of temporary relocation to become involved in resettlement. It

is important to note, however, that UNHCR can only plan to evacuate a limited number of persons

to Timisoara, as outlined in the Tripartite Agreement signed among UNHCR, IOM and the

Romanian Government.

Who Can Be Relocated to the ETC in Timisoara?

The refugees to be temporary relocated to the ETC in Timisoara will be selected by UNHCR, in

close co-operation with the Romanian authorities. This will ensure that those benefiting from

temporary relocation are persons recognized as refugees that meet the UNHCR resettlement criteria.

The first group of refugees to be accepted for transfer will not exceed 200 persons. They will be

granted permission by the Romanian Government to stay on Romanian territory for six months,

with the possibility of a further six months extension in exceptional circumstances. Meanwhile, the

authorities of the resettlement destination countries will interview refugees from the Evacuation

Transit Centre in order to provide a durable solution to them.

All the administrative and practical issues will be lead by a Bucharest-based Coordination

Committee comprising the Romanian Ministry of Interior and Administrative Reform (MIAR),

UNHCR and IOM.

The ETC Will Be Managed Through Partnerships

The ETC will function in the in the premises of the Regional Centre for Accommodation and

Asylum Procedures administered by the Romanian Immigration Office (RIO). The day-to-day

operation of the ETC will require wide scale co-operation among various local and international

organizations and authorities. The role of UNHCR will be to select and propose the refugees for

relocation. UNHCR will liaise with resettlement countries to obtain their commitment to accept

individual cases.

In addition, UNHCR will be responsible for providing the resources needed to cover the costs of

health care, food and domestic items, psychological support, social services, educational and

recreational activities, English or other foreign language training to the evacuated refugees.

UNHCR will cooperate with the local NGO partner Generatie Tânãrã for the implementation of

many of the above activities.

The list of persons proposed for relocation by UNHCR will be processed in Romania by the

Ministry of Interior and Administrative Reform (MIAR), which will issue temporary identity

documents to the refugees and provide them with accommodation in the Timisoara ETC,

administered by RIO. In order to provide an element of predictability for Romania, the countries of

resettlement will interview and resettle a target number of refugees from the Evacuation Transit

Centre.

IOM will be responsible for the health screening of refugees before departure and upon arrival, and

their transportation to Romania. IOM will also take care of the transportation of refugees within

Romania, and the provision of cultural orientation to them during their stay in the country. Finally,

IOM will transport the refugees to their countries of resettlement.

Donor countries will be encouraged to provide financial support for the ETC, to help the Romanian

Government and sustain its commitment to host the ETC. Donor contributions will also enable

UNHCR and IOM to cover additional costs emerging from the processing and transportation of

refugees.