US deportations to African countries unlawful and exploit suffering, rights group says

However, while announcing the recent departure of three migrants on Wednesday, Eswatini said that it was committed to ensuring that the "rights, dignity and well-being of third-country nationals were respected and protected".HRW said it interviewed 24 third-country nationals in six countries - Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini and South Sudan.Some described to the group "abusive treatment" during their Deportation flights, including being chained for about 18 hours and with no knowledge of their destination. They were also "denied access to essential medication, and often did not receive sufficient food or water"."The opaque deals that facilitate these transfers, some of which are still secret, are part of a US policy that violates international human rights law," HRW says.According to the report, at least a dozen people who identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) were sent to African states that criminalise same-sex relations.Among them were refugees granted protection in the US based on the likelihood they would be persecuted back home because of their orientation or gender identity.In November, a Nigerian man deported from the US initially to Ghana expressed his fears to the BBC after he and five others were secretly transferred to Togo.He spoke of his fears about returning to Nigeria, where his association with a separatist activist group could lead to his arrest and torture.