Keypoints:
- AU body slams US deportee deals
- Rwanda, Uganda already taking migrants
- Fears Africa as migrant dumping ground
THE African Union’s human rights body has blasted recent deportation agreements between the United States and several African countries, warning that Africa must not be turned into what it called a dumping ground for rejected migrants.
In a statement on Monday, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) urged Rwanda, Uganda and others to ensure full transparency in such deals and to protect the rights of deportees. It cautioned against policies that could transform the continent into a ‘drop-off zone’ for Washington’s asylum rejections.
Rights at risk
The ACHPR denounced the US-driven arrangements as part of a wider ‘externalisation of migration responsibilities’, exposing deportees to heightened risks of abuse.
The body highlighted potential breaches of binding regional and international rules, including the principle of non-refoulement, which bars returning people to danger, the prohibition on collective expulsions, and the rights to dignity and asylum under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
Uganda joins growing list
Uganda became the latest partner this month, agreeing to a so-called temporary deal to accept third-country nationals denied asylum in the US. It joins Rwanda, Eswatini and South Sudan, which had earlier signed similar agreements dating back to President Donald Trump’s tenure.
Rwanda confirmed last week that it had already received seven migrants from the US, weeks after announcing it would take up to 250 deportees.
US turns to Africa
Trump has intensified efforts to secure African cooperation on deportations. In July, he pressed the presidents of Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania and Senegal during a White House meeting to accept deportees from the US.
The push has yielded mixed results. While some governments agreed, others resisted. Nigeria, for example, flatly refused to take in Venezuelans deported by Washington.
A continent under pressure
The ACHPR warned that succumbing to US pressure risks undermining Africa’s own human rights commitments and setting a dangerous precedent where vulnerable migrants are shunted across borders without due process.
‘Africa is not America’s dumping ground,’ the commission stressed, urging states to place human dignity above external political demands.
