UN Urges Equatorial Guinea to Halt Return of 28 US Deportees Facing Torture
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · May 14
UN Urges Equatorial Guinea to Halt Return of 28 US Deportees Facing Torture
1 articles · Updated · The Guardian · May 14
At least 28 migrants sent by the US to Equatorial Guinea are at risk of being expelled again to countries where they had already won protection from persecution or torture, prompting a rare public appeal from UN experts.
The experts said onward removals would violate the ban on refoulement, after deportees reported officials issued temporary travel documents to nine people and warned they would be deported imminently.
The US paid Equatorial Guinea $7.5 million to accept third-country nationals under Trump’s mass-deportation push, part of deals with at least 25 countries to receive migrants the US cannot directly return.
One deportee, identified as Esther, said she was arrested at an ICE check-in despite a withholding-of-removal order, flown in shackles to Malabo, and held in a guarded hotel without basic supplies or medical care.
The case adds to scrutiny of a broader US practice of sending protected migrants to third countries with weak safeguards, including some with repressive governments or active conflict.
What happens when a refugee, protected by one nation, is deported by another to the danger they fled?
When nations pay others to accept deportees, who is ultimately responsible for protecting human rights?
As countries outsource migration control, is the international principle of asylum becoming obsolete?
The 2026 US Third-Country Removal Policy: Human Rights Violations and Global Repercussions
Overview
This report highlights the urgent crisis faced by deportees, who endure severe human rights abuses and poor conditions both during detention and after being sent to countries like Equatorial Guinea. The situation has drawn strong international attention, including a visit from Pope Leo XIV, who brought hope to inmates and spotlighted long-standing issues of prison conditions and injustice. Campaigners have denounced these problems for years, and the Pope’s visit has amplified broader global concern for the welfare of detained and deported individuals. The report underscores the need for sustained international pressure to protect the rights and safety of deportees.