Advocacy organizations representing migrants deported from the United States to Equatorial Guinea have filed a formal complaint with the African Union’s principal human rights body,
seeking to halt further removals and draw attention to the Trump administration’s expanding use of third-country deportations.
The complaint was submitted Friday to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, based in The Gambia, on behalf of 14 individuals from various African nations who were transferred from the United States to Equatorial Guinea beginning in November last year.
According to the rights groups, all 14 deportees had previously secured legal protections in the United States that prevented their return to their countries of origin. Critics argue that the use of third-country deportations is designed to bypass those safeguards, while the Trump administration maintains that the policy is lawful and necessary to strengthen border security and reduce illegal immigration.
The filing comes amid growing concern over the treatment of deportees in Equatorial Guinea. Human rights advocates say six individuals covered by the complaint were forcibly repatriated from the country within the past week despite expressing fears of persecution or torture if returned home.
Of those six, three were reportedly sent back to Equatorial Guinea after their home countries refused to accept them. Lawyers representing the deportees said they have lost contact with the remaining three individuals and are unable to verify their whereabouts.
The other eight deportees named in the complaint remain in detention in Equatorial Guinea, according to advocacy groups.
The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights is tasked with promoting and protecting human rights across member states and has the authority to issue urgent appeals and facilitate dispute resolution. The complaint requests immediate provisional measures, including a suspension of further repatriations and guaranteed access to legal representation for those affected.
The commission may choose to hear the case directly or refer it to the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights in Tanzania.
Equatorial Guinea’s government did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the complaint.
The case also highlights the financial dimension of the deportation program. A report released in February by Democratic members of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee stated that the overall cost of third-country deportations remains unclear. However, the report noted that more than $32 million had been provided directly to five countries participating in the program, including $7.5 million allocated to Equatorial Guinea. Photo by Ipisking at English Wikipedia.
