In a troubling development, the United States’ recent agreements to expel third-country nationals to nations such as Eswatini, Ghana, Rwanda, and South Sudan have drawn sharp criticism from human rights advocates. Human Rights Watch has reported that these expulsions put several hundred individuals at risk of arbitrary detention, mistreatment, and potential refoulement, highlighting a significant violation of international human rights law.
The opaque nature of these agreements, many of which involve U.S. financial assistance, reflects a broader U.S. policy approach that appears to exploit human suffering as a deterrent to migration. “These agreements make African governments partners in the Trump administration’s horrifying violations of immigrants’ human rights,” stated Allan Ngari, Africa advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. He further emphasized that the African governments participating in these arrangements may be breaching international laws, particularly those prohibiting refoulement and arbitrary detention.
As part of these agreements, Rwanda has reportedly committed to accepting up to 250 deportees, a figure significantly higher than the numbers anticipated for Eswatini or South Sudan. This agreement, which Human Rights Watch has obtained, includes approximately $7.5 million in U.S. financial support. Rwanda’s history with similar deportation arrangements, particularly its previous agreements with Israel and its stalled negotiations with the United Kingdom, alongside its own record of repression, raises serious concerns about its capacity to provide adequate protection for those affected.
Human Rights Watch has also accessed the written agreement between the U.S. and Eswatini, which stipulates that the United States will provide $5.1 million to bolster Eswatini’s border and migration management capabilities, in exchange for the acceptance of up to 160 deportees. To date, Eswatini has taken in at least five individuals from Cuba, Jamaica, Laos, Vietnam, and Yemen, who are reportedly being held under harsh conditions at the Matsapha Correctional Complex. An official from Eswatini indicated that preparations are underway to receive an additional 150 deportees, prompting legal challenges from civil society organizations regarding the legality of detaining these individuals.
In South Sudan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation confirmed on September 4 that it is holding seven foreign nationals who were deported from the U.S. in July. An eighth individual, a South Sudanese national, has been released to his family. However, the government has not provided clarity on the detention conditions or the legal basis for holding the remaining individuals.
The lack of transparency and due process surrounding these transfers raises significant alarm. Uganda’s Foreign Affairs Ministry recently announced a temporary bilateral cooperation agreement with the U.S., under which it will accept third-country deportees. However, the agreement explicitly states that individuals with criminal records and unaccompanied minors will not be accepted, and preference will be given to individuals of African descent.
Ghana’s President John Mahama confirmed his government’s agreement to accept third-party nationals being deported from the U.S., specifically focusing on West African nationals. So far, five individuals from Nigeria and The Gambia have been expelled to Ghana under this agreement. Prior to their deportation, U.S. immigration judges had granted them fear-based immigration relief, either withholding their removal or deferring it under the Convention against Torture.
One of those deported, a bisexual man from The Gambia, reported in a sworn declaration that Ghanaian authorities returned him to his home country following his expulsion. This case underscores the dangers posed by such deportation agreements, as they may lead to individuals being sent back to countries where U.S. courts had determined they face significant risks of persecution or torture.
Human Rights Watch has called on African governments to reject any agreements facilitating the acceptance of third-country deportees from the United States and to terminate existing arrangements. In the meantime, countries involved in such agreements should disclose their terms, grant access to independent monitors, avoid detaining deportees without a clear legal basis, and ensure that no deportee is returned to their country of origin if there is credible evidence of risks of persecution, torture, or other serious harm.
“As the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights special rapporteur on refugees has stated, these agreements cannot override governments’ human rights obligations,” Ngari highlighted. He urged the African Union to reaffirm that deportations which do not allow individuals the opportunity to seek protection from persecution or torture are unlawful, abusive, and unacceptable. This situation calls for a reevaluation of the commitments made by African governments in the face of troubling U.S. immigration policies that disregard human rights.
