In 2021, as the Taliban were expanding control of Afghanistan – eventually taking over Kabul in August – Afghans with connections to the old government or its allies were forced to flee. Tens of thousands were evacuated to other countries.

Some managed to escape with their lives, yet they are still not free.

In fact, more than two thousand of them remain stuck in a bizarre and abusive limbo in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The government of the UAE flew thousands of Afghans to Abu Dhabi in 2021 and transferred them to the “Emirates Humanitarian City” and another housing facility, pending onward movement. Many were later resettled in the US, Canada, and elsewhere, but between 2,400 and 2,700 Afghans remain there.

And, paging Mr. Orwell, a “humanitarian city” is not what it sounds like. It’s essentially a prison.

Afghan asylum seekers are locked up in miserable conditions. There’s overcrowding, decaying infrastructure, and insect infestations.

Detainees include children who escaped Afghanistan with their parents. Education services are poor.

Perhaps worst of all, people are trapped in a kind of limbo. They have no idea when their suffering might end.

They shouldn’t be locked up at all. They should be in a process that determines their refugee status. They should have safe and legal pathways for onward movement. No such luck.

Instead, they find it difficult, if not impossible, to get legal counsel and have no possibility of progress on their cases.

In such ambiguity and hopelessness, it’s no surprise adults and children are increasingly suffering from depression. But, of course, there’s no mental health support in the “humanitarian city.”

It doesn’t have to be this way.

Human Rights Watch has written to both the UAE and the US about this situation. US authorities responded this week saying, “the U.S. commitment to relocate and resettle all eligible Afghans is an enduring one. This includes those eligible Afghans located at the Emirates Humanitarian City (EHC) in the UAE.”

If we could get the UAE authorities to respond with similar goodwill, we might be getting somewhere.

More importantly, the Afghans might finally get somewhere – and be able to restart their lives.

Things are not going well for human rights defenders in Greece.

But don’t take it from me. Take it from Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders.

Presenting her report before the UN Human Rights Council this week, Lawlor described the grim situation:

“[H]uman rights lawyers, humanitarian workers, volunteers and journalists [working on migration], have been subjected to smear campaigns, a changing regulatory environment, threats and attacks and the misuse of criminal law against them, to a shocking degree.”

Indeed, Greek authorities have been cracking down hard on those working to protect the rights of asylum seekers and migrant rights in the country. As we’ve written here before, people are even facing jail time for doing nothing more than saving lives.

And the reason authorities are behaving this way is just as disturbing as the behavior itself.

Greece has been facing intense international criticism over illegal pushbacks of asylum seekers at the border and wider human rights concerns related to migration and asylum.

But rather than address these serious abuses, the Greek government is trying to silence groups that spotlight these abuses.

It’s not literally “shoot the messenger,” but that’s the dark spirit at work here.

(written by Emily Palomo)

Australia is now the 117th country to endorse the Safe Schools Declaration, an intergovernmental political commitment to reduce the likelihood that students, teachers, and schools are targeted for attack during armed conflict. 

Why is this necessary? 

Worldwide in 2020 and 2021, there were more than 5,000 separate attacks on, or incidents of military use of, education facilities, students, and educators, according to the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack. 

Countries in the Asia-Pacific region are not immune and in fact have an alarmingly high numbers of schools and students caught up in conflict. Think Afghanistan, India, Myanmar, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand…

The Declaration contains measures that include committing to investigate attacks and prosecute those responsible, ensuring education continues for all children during war, and incorporating measures into military policies and training to discourage the use of schools for military purposes. 

Good on Australia for taking this step to help ensure schools are places of study and safety for children, as they should be.

(compiled by Emily Palomo)

• UN-backed inquiry accuses Russia of war crimes in Ukraine (AP News) 
• Angry protesters assemble in Paris after government bypasses vote (Le Monde International) 
• In Tunisia talks, EU should privilege human rights over politics (HRW) 
• Mexico to investigate alleged human rights abuses by military after spying claims (The Guardian) 

Five questions on human rights news from the past week. How many will you answer correctly? Give it a try now.