Human Rights Watch (HRW) has issued a strong condemnation of Cameroon, stating that the country is not a safe destination for individuals deported from the United States. The human rights organization denounces the arbitrary detention of non-Cameroonian nationals expelled by the U.S., as well as the mistreatment of journalists attempting to interview them.
According to HRW, the U.S. administration under President Donald Trump appears to be turning a blind eye to these violations. In January and February 2026, a secret agreement allowed the U.S. to deport 17 men and women to Cameroon from nine African countries, including asylum seekers and a stateless person. These countries include Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Zimbabwe.
Upon arrival, Cameroonian authorities immediately detained the deportees without providing any legal basis for the action. A lawyer assisting some of these individuals reported that United Nations representatives informed them of the possibility of seeking asylum in Cameroon, but the deportees expressed fears of being forced to return to their countries of origin. HRW emphasizes that several of these individuals had court-ordered protection against deportation to their home countries due to fears of persecution or torture.
The organization believes that the U.S. circumvented these protections by sending them to a third country deemed unsafe.
HRW recalls that certain regions of Cameroon have been plagued by violence and armed conflict for years, with government repression of the opposition and the media, as well as widespread abuses committed by armed groups and government forces, including acts of torture. The organization urges the Cameroonian government to immediately release the deportees, guarantee their protection against refoulement, and arrange for their return to the United States. HRW also calls on U.S.
courts and Congress to press for the return of those deported to Cameroon and to end deportation agreements with third countries that lack safeguards and have systematically resulted in abuses.
