Cameroonian authorities are arbitrarily detaining non-Cameroonian nationals deported from the United States and detaining and abusing journalists who tried to interview them. But US President Donald Trump’s administration doesn’t seem to care.
In January and February, under a secret agreement, the US government deported to Cameroon 17 men and women—including asylum seekers and a stateless person—from 9 African countries: Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Zimbabwe.
Cameroonian authorities immediately detained the deportees, despite having no legal basis for doing so. A lawyer assisting some of the deportees said representatives from United Nations agencies spoke to them about the possibility of seeking asylum in Cameroon. However, the deportees told the lawyer they felt pressured to return to their countries of origin.
Several deportees were ineligible for asylum in the US but had court-ordered protections against deportation to their countries of origin due to fears of persecution or torture. The Trump administration circumvented these protections by sending them to a third country – one that Human Rights Watch and others have consistently said is unsafe for deportations.
For years, parts of Cameroon have been wracked by violence and armed conflict, the government has cracked down on opposition and the media, and armed groups and government forces have committed widespread abuses, including torture in detention. In 2022, we documented how Cameroonian asylum seekers deported by the US experienced harms in Cameroon after their return.
Cameroon is party to the 1951 Refugee Convention and has national refugee legislation, yet two people the US sent to Cameroon have already returned to their country of origin. Fifteen remain in detention in the Cameroonian capital, Yaoundé. The forced or coerced return of anyone to a country where they face risks of persecution, torture, or other serious harm is refoulement, prohibited under international law.
The Cameroonian government should immediately release the remaining deportees, ensure protection from refoulement, and arrange their return to the US. It should also respect freedom of the press and hold relevant authorities accountable for abuses.
Given the risks of torture, refoulement, and other abuses in Cameroon, the US violated international law by deporting people there. US courts and Congress should press for the return of those deported to Cameroon and for an end to deportation agreements with third countries, which lack safeguards and have consistently resulted in abuses.
