It is e-waste if there is no eventual end user. These devices are transient e-waste while they are stored in countries that they cannot be activated within.
They should be possible to activate anywhere is rather the point. But what does it matter where they are now if they can be activated somewhere, and consequently have value?
All phones are e-waste in the long run. What matters is whether any of their useful life is still in the future or if it's all in the past.