After five men were deported from the US to the tiny kingdom of Eswatini, activists and human rights organizations have accused US President Donald Trump of using African nations as a “dumping ground” for criminals he wants to deport.
On July 16, a deportation flight carrying five men from Vietnam, Jamaica, Laos, Cuba and Yemen, all of whom have been convicted of crimes in the US, landed in Eswatini, the last African country governed by a monarch with absolute power. Trump’s “third country” plan to deport people whose own nations are unwilling to repatriate them was a result of the deportations.
The US deported criminals to Eswatini, which is the second African nation. Also this month, Washington said it had sent eight “uniquely barbaric monsters” to conflict-torn South Sudan.
The US Supreme Court granted foreign nationals’ deportations to unrelated third countries last month. Since then, human rights violations have been alarmingly common among international organizations and civil society organizations in Africa.
“The US government sees us as a criminal dumpsite and undermines Emaswati]the people of Eswatini]”, Wandile Dludlu, a pro-democracy activist and deputy president of the country’s largest opposition movement, the People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO), told Al Jazeera. PUDEMO is a political party that is not affiliated with Eswatini.
Does Trump intend to “dumping ground” detainees in African countries?
Who are the five men Trump deported to Eswatini?
The assistant secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security, Tricia McLaughlin, claimed this month that “individuals were so uniquely barbaric that their home countries refused to take them back.”
She wrote in a post on X that “These depraved monsters have been terrorizing American communities, but thanks to [Trump] they are off American soil.”
NEW: a safe third country deportation flight to Eswatini in Southern Africa has landed— This flight took individuals so uniquely barbaric that their home countries refused to take them back.
These evil monsters have been terrorizing American neighborhoods for years, but thanks to @POTUS… pic. twitter.com/TsanIX8H4T
McLaughlin confirmed that the five were Yemeni nationals and not from Vietnam, Jamaica, Laos, Cuba, or Vietnam.
She claimed that all of her convicted criminals had served prison sentences as long as 25 years and were all guilty of crimes including child rape, murder, robbery, gang ties, and homicides.
What kind of agreement has Eswatini and the Trump administration reached?
Trump won the presidential election last year with the help of a campaign that focused on mass deportations.
Since then, the Trump administration has been negotiating a third-country deportation agreement with several nations, including Eswatini, which will allow it to deport foreign nationals convicted of serious crimes who have been rejected by their home countries.
The agreement between Eswatini and the US reportedly came about after “months of robust high-level engagements,” according to the kingdom’s acting spokesperson Thabile Mdluli, whose details are still classified.
Additionally, Mdluli added that the kingdom would work with the White House and the IOM to “enable the transit of these prisoners to their countries of origin.”
However, “there are no timelines at present” for their repatriation, she told CNN in an interview.
Some African governments are accepting deported detainees as a “goodwill gesture, aimed at strengthening US ties and be in]Trump’s] good books,” according to Daniel Akech, a senior analyst for South Sudan at the International Crisis Group.
He added, however, that they “implicitly ignored concerns about human rights and the lack of transparency regarding the safety of third nationals.”
Akech said the African Union and the United Nations could partner with receiving countries to monitor the process of US deportations “to ensure that the deportees are protected and their living conditions are good”.
According to Akech, “the areas where these deportees remain could face conflicts,” and this would require plans to ensure their safety or safe transfer either domestically or internationally.
What do we know about Eswatini?
One of the few nations in the region still has absolute monarchies, including King Mswati III, who is currently King Mswati III, is the tiny landlocked nation bordering South Africa and Mozambique.
Swaziland was the name of the nation under British colonial rule, which ended in 1968. It was renamed by the king in 2018.
Mswati succeeded his father, Sobhuza II, who passed away in 1982, and he has been in charge of Eswatini since 1986 when he turned 18 years old.
Mswati, who is now 57, has been criticized for stifling political dissention. The World Bank said more than half of Eswatini’s 1.2 million people live on less than $4 a day.
According to an Associated Press report, the king is alleged to have 11 wives and be worth between $200 million and $500 million.
Agriculture, small-scale manufacturing, and the sugar industry, which make up the majority of Eswatini’s export revenues, are the mainstays of the country’s economy. The country is one of Africa’s largest sugar producers, exporting roughly $477m of sugar and sugar-related products in 2023 – about 23 percent of its total exports.
What are Eswatinis’ opinions of Trump’s deportation plan?
There is a lot of anger about it, according to regional leaders and activists.
Dludlu described the “dumping” of convicted criminals as “distasteful and fraudulent conduct by His Majesty and his government in the face of the unprecedented public healthcare crisis” in the country.
According to Dludlu, “This is attracting indignation from Emaswati for naked abuse of their sovereignty and territorial integrity as a nation and people.”
When other countries seek fair trade, high-quality education, and other meaningful exchanges, he argued that PUDEMO and its supporters want the government and the US to “reverse this absurd and illegal yet irrational decision to take criminals from the US.”
Dludlu further noted that the incoming deportees will only add to the “overcrowded prison facilities that are poorly run]in] dilapidated and outdated infrastructure”. Eswatini prisons are reportedly operating at more than 170 percent of their capacity, according to figures.
The Eswatini government has been accused of accepting the five convicted criminals, by civil society organizations like the Southern Africa Litigation Centre, the Swaziland Rural Women’s Assembly, and other regional NGOs.
They argued that the detentions violate Eswatini’s own Correctional Services Act and other domestic laws and said there is no lawful basis for imprisoning foreign nationals who lack legal ties to the country.
There are several questions lingering over the agreement reached with the Trump administration, according to Chris Ogunmodede, a foreign affairs analyst well-versed in African diplomatic circles. These range from the legal justification for the deportees’ transfers, whether they were informed and given consular access, how long their detentions lasted, and the terms of the US-based arrangement.
He added that Eswatini and South Sudan are “smaller economies with no geopolitical weight” on which White House officials could easily “impose their will”.
What is the government’s position on Eswatini?
The government assured the people of the kingdom that the arrival of five US deportees “poses no security threat to the Nation,” Mdluli said in a statement.
It stated that the five prisoners would be housed in correctional facilities within isolated units “where similar offenders are kept”.
She stated that the bilateral discussions with the White House “have taken into account every possible angle, including thorough risk assessments and careful consideration for the safety and security of citizens.”
With which other African countries will Trump try to reach deportation agreements?
In addition to Eswatini and South Sudan, Trump has discussed third-country deportation deals with the leaders of Liberia, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania and Gabon during a summit at the White House this month.
Trump reportedly discussed immigration, including whether or not nations should accept the deportation of citizens from third countries.
The Trump administration hoped to forge agreements with “many countries,” according to Tom Homan, the border tsar for the president.
“If there is a significant public threat or national security threat, there’s one thing for sure: They’re not walking the streets of this country. He said, “We’re going to find a third, safe nation to send them to,” and we’re doing it.
Nigeria and Rwanda both confirmed they are in talks to reach a similar deal, while Rwanda said it had rejected pressure to reach a deal.
Which other nations have enacted deportation laws for citizens of third countries?
United Kingdom
The UK has explored third-country deportation policies as part of its efforts to manage irregular migration and asylum claims. In 2022, the UK partnered with Rwanda and planned to relocate asylum seekers there for processing, with the UK agreeing to give the country 370 million pounds ($497 million) in development funding over the course of five years.
Given Rwanda’s inadequate asylum system and human rights concerns, the UK Supreme Court first rejected the plan in November 2023 for violating international human rights standards. In response, the government enacted the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024, which declared Rwanda a “safe country” and limited legal challenges to the policy.
The Rwanda scheme was quickly ended by Prime Minister Keir Starmer after the Labour Party won the election in July 2024.
Starmer, however, claimed in May that he was speaking with “a number of nations” about “return hubs” where undocumented immigrants could be sent.
Israel
Similarly, Israel implemented a third-country deportation arrangement targeting African asylum seekers by sending them to countries like Rwanda and Uganda from 2013 to 2018.
Those who agreed to leave received a $3,500 offer from the government.
However, Israel’s Supreme Court ultimately ended the policy, declaring it to be unlawful in part because the receiving nations had failed to uphold international standards set forth in the Refugee Convention.
Ogunmodede said the UK’s and Israel’s deals with African nations amounted to the “outsourcing of the migration problem”.
Source: Aljazeera
Leave a Reply