Human rights concerns are mounting in Sierra Leone following reports of an agreement with the United States (US) to receive deportees from across West Africa.

The Human Rights Defenders Network-Sierra Leone says the arrangement lacks transparency and may violate international human rights obligations.

The organisation is now calling on the government to disclose the full details of the agreement.

The Human Rights Defenders Network-Sierra Leone says the reported deportation arrangement between Sierra Leone and the US raises serious legal and humanitarian concerns.

The organisation says there has been little public information provided about the terms of the agreement, including the legal protections available to deportees once they arrive in Sierra Leone.

Executive Secretary of the Human Rights Defenders Network-Sierra Leone Alphonsus Gbanie says:  “Our primary concern is that this arrangement appears to have been negotiated without sufficient transparency, public scrutiny, or clarity about the legal protection that we apply to deportees once they arrive in Sierra Leone.

And secondly, total country deportation arrangement of this nature creates serious risk of arbitrary detention, unlawful removal, family separation, and in treatment, particularly for vulnerable individuals those with unresolved asylum or protection claims.”

The network also warns that the agreement could violate international legal obligations, particularly the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits the transfer of individuals to countries where they may face persecution, torture, or serious harm. Gbanie explains.

–Channel Africa–