The Dutch government does not have to resettle 42 Afghan security guards who were working at the Netherlands’ embassy in Kabul when the Taliban reclaimed the country four years ago.

The appeal court in The Hague overturned an earlier ruling by the city’s district court which said the government had a responsibility towards the men, their partners and children.

The cabinet cancelled a resettlement scheme for the guards last year, arguing that up to 4,500 people could be eligible for asylum on its terms.

Representatives of the guards say the real figure is likely to be less than 100. Many have moved to neighbouring countries such as Pakistan and Iran; some guards have resettled in countries such as Australia, while others have been killed by the Taliban.

Appeal court judges said the Netherlands had no duty of care towards the men because they were recruited via an external agency, meaning the state was not directly responsible for them.

Dutch army veterans have been angered by the decision not to accept the men as refugees, arguing that it damages the Netherlands’ international reputation and could make future peacekeeping missions harder because they depend on the co-operation of locals.

Lawyer Kees Saarloos told Nieuwsuur in July that the men were singled out because they had worked on behalf of the Dutch state. “Even before the fall of Kabul the Taliban explicitly branded guards who worked for western countries as the enemy,” he said.

Hein van Rijckevoorsel, who was second in command at one of the Dutch bases in Uruzgan, told Dutch News last year there was a close working relationship between the Dutch peacekeeping soldiers and local guards.

“They risked their lives for us and our mission and it is time we gave them the protection they deserve,” he said.