Sudanese stuck as passports locked in abandoned Western embassies

At the end of March, Ahmad Mahmoud submitted his passport and visa application to the Swedish embassy in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan. He never imagined that they would not return his travel document.

But when fighting broke out between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Swedish diplomats suspended consular services and fled the country within days.

Mahmoud communicated with a Swedish diplomat via WhatsApp and begged her to find a solution where he could collect his passport or at least receive a stamped copy from the Swedish embassy.

He knew he couldn’t flee the country without a legal one.

“Please let me know when I can be ready to take my passport. I must be ready to leave my country. My building is no longer safe,” Mahmoud wrote to the Swedish diplomat in a series of texts he shared with Al Jazeera.

“As I said, I am very sorry that it is not possible,” the diplomat replied.

Mahmoud is one of hundreds of Sudanese visa applicants – perhaps thousands – now trapped in war zones after Western diplomats evacuated the country without returning their passports.

Diplomats or officials from countries such as England, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain have since either abated responsibility or failed to find adequate solutions, lawyers and stranded people told Al Jazeera.

Sudanese nationals, whose passports are under lock and key in evacuated Western embassies in Khartoum, said some Western officials had instructed them to apply for new passports from local authorities.

However, Sudan’s de facto authorities are embroiled in an armed conflict that has killed more than 500 people and displaced tens of thousands of people to neighboring countries such as Egypt, Chad, South Sudan and Djibouti.

Egypt, which is about 900 km (430 mi) from Khartoum, is the closest and only viable escape route for many, but people without passports are not allowed.

“Even if the bombing gets worse, I won’t be able to leave because I don’t have my passport,” Mahmoud said. “I’m sure of it [the diplomats] don’t care [Sudanese embassy] staff let alone myself who applied for a stupid visa.”

Families separated

Sudanese visa applicants who have been unable to collect their passports have been unable to flee to neighboring countries with their loved ones.

Ashraf Malik, 23, said his sister and mother left for Egypt with their small children. He stayed behind with his brother to try and collect his passport from the Spanish embassy, ​​where he had applied for a visa to attend a conference earlier this month.

When the war started, Malik called the embassy’s emergency number, but the woman on the other line refused to help him.

“She asked me if I was Spanish. When I said I wasn’t, she hung up and refused to talk to me,” he told Al Jazeera.

Due to the ongoing fighting in Khartoum, Malik and his brother left for Port Sudan, which remains relatively safe from the fighting for the time being. Shortly after arriving, his brother boarded a ship for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

“He’s going to Dubai and I’m staying in Port Sudan because I don’t have a passport,” Malik said.

‘More frustration’

Sudanese citizens with dual nationality living abroad are also struggling to get their governments to find a solution for their loved ones.

A man, who is a doctor in the UK, said he called the visa application center several times to ask if his wife could get her passport back from the embassy in Khartoum, which is closed.

He asked Al Jazeera not to reveal his or his wife’s name for fear that the UK Home Office could later reject their visa applications over its criticism of their handling of the situation.

He said he wished British authorities would at least send his wife an electronic version of her passport.

“I don’t know why it’s so slow. Every time I call [them], I just end the conversation with more frustration. I just want a solution,” he said.

Al Jazeera has contacted the UK Home Office but has not commented at time of publication.

However, Home Secretary Suella Braverman recently told reporters that the UK has no plans to introduce safe asylum channels for Sudanese nationals. She added that the focus was strictly on evacuating British citizens and their dependents.

Legally guilty?

According to Emma DiNapoli, an international law expert who studies Sudan, Western governments could be held liable for limiting the freedom of movement of Sudanese nationals by not returning passports to visa applicants after fighting broke out.

She said Western governments have signed and ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights known as ICCPR.

Article 12 of the ICCPR states “Everyone should be free to leave any country, including their own.”

“All states that have left people behind or stranded have signed the ICCPR, so I think they are required to provide alternative documentation,” DiNapoli told Al Jazeera.

“None of these individuals can fully exercise their right to freedom of movement, which is particularly important at a time like this.”

Toby Cadman, a London-based international human rights lawyer, also questioned the actions of foreign embassy staff.

“My question is why European diplomats keep the passports of Sudanese nationals? It clearly deters them from leaving and seeking safe and legal routes to seek asylum as a result of the renewed conflict in Sudan,” Cadman said.

‘Very unfortunate situation’

Al Jazeera contacted the Swedish and Dutch authorities to ask what they were doing to find solutions for the hundreds of Sudanese visa applicants who were unable to collect their passports.

Didzis Melbiksis, press officer at the Swedish Migration Agency, said in a statement that the work of the Swedish embassy in Sudan will continue as security improves.

“It is a very unfortunate situation that applicants find themselves in and that the embassies of many other countries are likely to have similar experiences,” Melbiksis wrote.

When Melbiksis was asked specifically about Mahmoud’s ordeal, Melbiksis said authorities cannot respond to questions about a particular applicant unless that applicant gives Al Jazeera the legal authority to obtain information about its case. The power of attorney would require Mahmoud’s signature.

“It should be clearly written that the data subject has consented to the disclosure of the information by us,” Melbiksis said.

Dutch Foreign Ministry spokesman Tessa van Staden told Al Jazeera that a number of Sudanese passports are under lock and key in their embassy and that the sudden outbreak of violence on April 15 forced the embassy to close immediately.

“We have not been able to collect these passports due to the poor security situation. We understand that this has put those involved in a difficult situation. We are actively exploring the possibilities of providing individual support,” Van Staden wrote in an email.

Cadman said Western governments could still be held accountable for not doing enough to return passports to visa applicants, despite embassies closing as a result of the conflict.

“That doesn’t change that [Western governments] prevent individuals from leaving a conflict zone and if it is shown that…those individuals are harmed, or worse, lose their lives, there could be legal repercussions with claims brought against those governments,” he said.