Report: Thousands of Afghan Refugees Remain Detained in UAE

Authorities in the United Arab Emirates have arbitrarily detained between 2,400 and 2,700 Afghans for over 15 months in the “Emirates Humanitarian City,” a humanitarian logistics hub in Abu Dhabi, Human Rights Watch said in a report issued on Wednesday.

“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,” said Joey Shea, United Arab Emirates researcher at Human Rights Watch. “After enduring significant trauma fleeing Afghanistan, they are facing further trauma now, after spending well over a year in limbo in the UAE.”

In the weeks and months after the Taliban takeover of Kabul on August 15, 2021, the UAE government evacuated thousands of Afghans on private chartered flights to Abu Dhabi, with the understanding that they would move on to another country. Many were later resettled in the US, Canada and elsewhere, but between 2,400 and 2,700 Afghans remain in the UAE as of early January 2023. They are “arbitrarily detained,” according to Human Rights Watch.

One of the Afghans that remains in the refugee camp called it “exactly like a prison.” According to some of the refugees interviewed, they are not allowed to freely leave the housing complex, and visits by outsiders to the complex are tightly restricted.  In addition, there are security guards stationed at the camp gates and in every residential hall, and there are security cameras in every corridor, the report said. Most have not been told why they were detained, and have not had access to legal counsel since their arrival.

Human Rights Watch called on the UAE to “urgently release those arbitrarily detained and provide access to fair and efficient processes for determining their status and protection needs.”