Africa: African States Shouldn't Help the U.S. Endanger Refugees

Overview

Two Cameroonian women who had fled persecution at home and been granted protection in the United States have been deported back to Cameroon after being transferred to Equatorial Guinea under a US third-country arrangement. Their case has highlighted the risks African states face in participating in such transfers, particularly when destination countries lack robust asylum systems.

According to reports carried by AllAfrica, the women, who had been granted "withholding of removal" by US immigration judges due to the likelihood of persecution in Cameroon, were sent from the US to Equatorial Guinea in recent months. Upon arrival, they were told that asylum was not available and were returned to Cameroon. One of the women described the experience: "We were very scared... We tried to plead with them that we cannot go back." An official reportedly laughed and said there was no asylum in Equatorial Guinea—"The only option you have here is going back to your country."

Coverage Comparison

The coverage provided by AllAfrica focuses on the human rights implications of the transfer, emphasizing the legal protections owed to asylum seekers under international law. The reporting draws on direct testimony from the women and cites rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, to detail the broader pattern of transfers. The tone is critical of both the Trump administration's asylum policies and the actions of Equatorial Guinea's authorities.

Other outlets may have approached the story from different angles—such as diplomatic or security perspectives—but the extracts available do not include those variations. What is clear is that the story has resonance both in the US, where asylum policy is a contentious issue, and in Africa, where states are being asked to accept deportees under bilateral agreements.

Key Claims

The reports state that the two Cameroonian women were among a group of 32 people of multiple nationalities sent from the US to Equatorial Guinea on three flights since November, under a third-country transfer agreement that reportedly included a $7.5 million payment. Even before this incident, rights groups allege that Equatorial Guinea had returned at least 17 other people to their countries, informing many that asylum was not available.

More broadly, the reports assert that the US has sent over 200 people to at least 10 African states under similar agreements, with "dozens of asylum seekers" among them. The UN human rights experts and the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights issued a call on May 13 for Equatorial Guinea to suspend deportations of individuals at risk, but the authorities reportedly ignored the appeal.

Another claim in the reports suggests that Ghana and Cameroon have also compelled or coerced returns of some asylum seekers they received from the US. Additionally, the Democratic Republic of the Congo accepted 15 Latin Americans deported by the US, of whom at least 11 have returned to their home countries, according to the reporting.

Perspectives

From the perspective of the affected asylum seekers, the transfers represent a betrayal of protections they had been granted, leaving them in fear of persecution upon return. For the US administration, third-country transfers are part of broader efforts to deter irregular migration and reduce asylum claims. African states, meanwhile, may see these agreements as opportunities for financial or diplomatic gain, but they also risk violating international legal obligations under the 1951 UN Refugee Convention and the 1969 African Refugee Convention, which prohibit refoulement—the forced return of refugees to territories where they face persecution.

The reports note that Equatorial Guinea has no national asylum system in place, raising serious questions about its capacity to uphold its treaty obligations. International human rights bodies have called for immediate suspension of deportations from Equatorial Guinea, but the government has not publicly responded to these appeals.

As the situation develops, the impact on US-Africa relations and the credibility of third-country transfer agreements may come under increasing scrutiny. For the two Cameroonian women, the immediate concern is their safety in a country they had been legally protected from returning to.