Thousands of Afghan evacuees detained in UAE: HRW

KABUL (Pajhwok): The United Arab Emirates has arbitrarily detained thousands of Afghan evacuees for more than 15 months, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Wednesday.

Between 2,400 and 2,700 Afghans are being held in the Emirates Humanitarian City in Abu Dhabi, according to the rights group.

In a report, HRW asked the UAE to urgently release the detainees and provide access to fair and efficient processes for determining their status and protection needs.

In the wake of the Taliban takeover in August 2021, the UAE and other countries evacuated tens of thousands of Afghans to locations around the world.

While many Afghans were resettled in the US, Canada and elsewhere, up to 2,700 remain arbitrarily detained in the UAE as of early January 2023m, HRW revealed.

UAE researcher at HRW Joey Shea said “Emirati authorities have kept thousands of Afghan asylum seekers locked up for over 15 months in cramped, miserable conditions with no hope of progress on their cases,”

The Afghans held in the UAE complain of constraints on their freedom of movement, lack of access to fair refugee status determination and safe and legal pathways for onward movement.

They also alleged lack of adequate access to legal counsel and inadequate education services for children. With no psychosocial support, many of them are suffering from depression and other mental health conditions.

One camp resident told the watchdog: “From the adults to the children, they are all suffering with depression, and this is getting worse the longer they stay in the camp.”

HRW called for the UAE to immediately release Afghan evacuees, particularly detained children and their families, and ensure access for them to fair and individualised processes for refugee status determination.

The Biden administration was asked to leverage its influence with the UAE for the release of detained evacuees.

The US government was also urged to expedite the processing of pending US asylum, humanitarian parole, or other visa applications by Afghans in the UAE.

PAN Monitor/mud

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