Seven sources said that Canada will accept about a thousand Afghans who fled their country after the Taliban extended their control over it. They have been detained for months in a temporary refugee center in the UAE waiting to be resettled in the United States and elsewhere, according to Reuters agency on Thursday, September 8, 2022.

The sources also explained that Canada agreed to a U.S. request to resettle some of the five thousand Afghans still in the humane city in Abu Dhabi. Canadian officials are currently reviewing cases to identify those who meet their country's resettlement criteria.

According to Reuters, this is the first time resettlement of Afghans located in the facility in a country they have no direct connection with has been discussed, such as having worked with its government in Afghanistan.

Priority for religious minorities and single women

The sources said that Canada’s criteria for resettling facility residents include religious minorities, single women, government employees, social activists, and journalists.

They added that in addition to the thousand people Canada will receive based on the U.S. request, it is also expected to receive nearly 500 other Afghans from the facility who have relations with Canada.

An American source who requested anonymity said: "This is happening," confirming the Canadian resettlement process expected to start this month and end next October.

In response to a question about the matter, the Canadian embassy in Abu Dhabi provided a statement from the Ministry of Immigration saying that Ottawa's priority is to support the arrival of vulnerable Afghans to Canada. UAE authorities and the U.S. embassy in Abu Dhabi did not respond to requests for comment.

Meanwhile, Mohammed, who said he was a legal advisor for American government projects in Afghanistan, told Reuters from the facility that he and his family applied for resettlement in Canada because the decision on their special U.S. immigration visa application took a long time.

Mohammed added in a phone interview on condition of withholding his last name: "Due to the delay, we decided to put our names on the list." Like other Afghans there, he described conditions in the facility as “like prison,” saying: "No freedom. We cannot go anywhere."

Closure of the Afghan refugee center in the UAE

Canada's decision to accept Afghans could expedite the closure of the temporary refugee center, although sources say there are about a thousand others ineligible to move to the U.S. and will need resettlement elsewhere.

Last year, the UAE agreed to provide temporary shelter for several thousand Afghans evacuated from Kabul after the Taliban ousted the U.S.-backed government during the final stages of the U.S.-led withdrawal.

Since then, more than ten thousand from the facility have been transferred to the U.S., while others have been resettled in countries with which they have connections, such as having worked with their governments in Afghanistan.

Protests have occasionally erupted in the facility, including incidents last month amid complaints from Afghans about the lack of communication and transparency in the resettlement process. At least one suicide attempt occurred, according to sources and Afghans in the center.

The Canadian Ministry of Immigration statement also said that Ottawa intends to resettle at least 40,000 Afghans in Canada by 2024, adding that more than 17,650 have been resettled so far.

The UAE, like other Gulf countries, is not a signatory to the 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention and usually does not accept refugees. Foreign diplomats said some Afghans refused job offers in the UAE due to the lack of a clear path to citizenship.

U.S. officials said no one will be forcibly returned to Afghanistan, and Washington is working with the UAE and other countries to find "resettlement options" for Afghans ineligible for the U.S. resettlement program. The U.S. has received more than 85,000 Afghans since August 2021.