Legal challenge targets US deportation pact with Equatorial Guinea
A complaint filed on Friday challenges the Trump administration’s use of a third-country agreement to repatriate individuals to West Africa, citing credible human rights concerns and lost contact with deportees.
An international coalition of legal organisations has lodged a formal complaint with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, seeking to halt United States deportations to Equatorial Guinea under a controversial third-country agreement. The lawsuit, filed on Friday, argues that the practice exposes individuals to arbitrary detention and significant risks of torture, particularly given that many deportees have no familial or cultural ties to the West African nation.
The legal action was initiated on behalf of 14 individuals, alleging that the current repatriation framework violates fundamental human rights standards. The coalition is requesting provisional measures from the commission, which assesses rights compliance with the African Charter, including an immediate suspension of further repatriations and guaranteed access to legal representation for those facing removal. The commission holds the authority to hear the case directly or refer it to the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, based in Tanzania.
Urgency in the legal filing stems from recent developments involving the represented claimants. Six of the 14 individuals were forcibly repatriated to Equatorial Guinea within the last week, despite expressing fears of persecution. Three of those sent back had been expelled after their home countries refused to accept them. According to the human rights groups representing the claimants, lawyers have since lost contact with the remaining three deportees, raising further concerns about their safety and detention conditions.
The scope of the deportation programme remains partially obscured, though estimates suggest approximately 32 people have been sent to Equatorial Guinea since last year. The practice has drawn widespread condemnation for transferring individuals to countries where they often do not speak the language and have no established support networks. The legal coalition behind the complaint includes US-based entities Asian Americans Advancing Justice, Global Strategic Litigation Council, and EG Justice, alongside Gambia’s Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa and the Tanzania-based Pan African Lawyers Union.
Official US records provide a backdrop of concern regarding the destination country’s human rights record. The US State Department’s 2024 human rights report cited credible reports of torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment in Equatorial Guinea. Despite these findings and the ongoing legal challenge, the Trump administration has defended the policy as lawful, framing it as a necessary component of its strategy to end illegal immigration and bolster border security.
