Kiri Rupiah
At least three African countries that have accepted people expelled by the United States are now facing pressure from lawyers and campaigners.
Ghana received 14 West African nationals – and sent most of them on to other countries. Eleven of the people deported, including Nigerians, Togolese, Malians, a Liberian, and a Gambian, had sued to stop Ghana from expelling them.
But they were removed before their case was heard – and without assessing whether they would be safe in the destination countries. Six were sent to Togo, though only three were Togolese; the others’ whereabouts are unknown.
The group’s lead counsel Oliver Barker-Vormawor told The Continent the legal team would continue to pursue the case in Ghana’s courts and the Ecowas Court of Justice. He said Ghana may have violated the principle in international law of non-refoulement, which forbids sending refugees and asylum seekers to places where they may face danger.
Last month, human rights defenders sued Eswatini for accepting five people from the US, saying it had participated in illegal deportations. Amnesty International is now calling on the public to write to the country’s justice minister asking to know the grounds on which they are being detained. The campaign also revealed their names: Roberto Mosquera Del Peral, Kassim Saleh Wasil, Dung Tien Nguyen, Phone Chomsavanh, and Orville Etoria.
A similar campaign is urging people to write to South Sudan’s foreign affairs ministry to ask where six deported men are and why they are being held. Jose Manuel Rodriguez-Quinones, Enrique Arias Hierro, Kyaw Mya, Nyo Myint, Thongxay Nilakout, and Tuan Thanh Phan were sent to South Sudan on 4 July. That was after a stop at the US base in Djibouti, where they were reportedly held in a converted shipping container.
Other African countries might find themselves in similar situations. Rwanda has received seven of an expected 250 migrants. Uganda has also agreed to a migrant deal with the US.