UN Experts Warn US Third-Country Deportations May Fuel Rights Abuses
Independent UN experts have urged an immediate halt to US deportation arrangements with third countries, warning that migrants and refugees could face serious human rights violations.
More than 20 independent United Nations experts have warned that United States deportations to third countries are increasing the risk of serious human rights violations, including torture, ill-treatment, enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention, slavery and trafficking.
Table Of Content
The experts said the arrangements could expose migrants and refugees to abuses in countries other than those to which they can legally be returned. They called on all states and territories involved to immediately stop the deportation agreements.
Agreements with more than 35 countries
According to the experts, the United States had signed agreements with more than 35 countries to accept people deported from its territory. The countries named included Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Libya and South Sudan.
The arrangements began expanding after President Donald Trump took office in January 2025, with Washington signing deals with developing countries to receive migrants who cannot legally be sent back to their home countries.
The experts said the agreements affected asylum seekers and migrants at different stages of the immigration process. Some people were being sent to countries or territories with which they had no ties, while others could face further violence or discrimination linked to gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or human rights advocacy.
“At gravest risk are children, women, persons with disabilities, victims of trafficking, LGBT persons, human rights defenders, stateless persons and other people in extremely vulnerable situations,” the experts said.
Concerns over legal protections
The experts cautioned that the agreements could breach the customary-law principle of non-refoulement, which concerns the removal of people to places where they may face serious harm. They also warned that many of the countries involved lacked asylum-processing systems, protective holding facilities, adequate health and medical services, or sustainable options for reintegration.
Several countries involved were themselves facing conflict, while their populations were experiencing displacement, starvation and severe poverty, according to the experts.
They said at least 23,000 third-country nationals had been deported so far. Separately, an investigation by Forbidden Stories and a consortium of international journalists reported that the total had exceeded 25,000 by the end of August.
The experts said states that knowingly assist conduct violating non-refoulement or other human rights obligations could incur international responsibility. They also warned that cooperation among governments did not remove accountability, saying that “cooperation does not dilute responsibility.”
Warning to aid agencies
The independent experts said they had notified the United States and all other governments involved in the agreements. They also said they were in contact with United Nations agencies, including the International Organization for Migration.
The experts urged agencies assisting refugees and migrants not to legitimise arrangements that expose people to refoulement or other grave rights violations. Participation in measures that lead to such violations, they said, “may, in some situations, amount to complicity.”
The experts are mandated by the United Nations Human Rights Council but do not speak on behalf of the United Nations.
No Comment! Be the first one.