News & Reports
Reports and analysis on torture prevention, OPCAT ratifications, UN treaty body sessions, and human rights documentation, sourced from OHCHR, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the Coalition monitoring work.
UN Experts Urge Torture-Risk Assessment Before Any Transfer to a Third Country
Seven United Nations special procedures mandates issued a joint statement on 8 July 2025 urging that torture risks be assessed before any person is transferred to a country other than their own.
OHCHR, 'UN experts alarmed by resumption of US deportations to third countries, warn authorities to assess risks of torture', joint statement of seven special procedures mandates, 8 July 2025.
Law Societies in Uganda Challenge the Arrival of Twelve Men Transferred From the United States
Al Jazeera reported that twelve people transferred from the United States arrived at Entebbe on 2 April 2026, and that the Uganda Law Society and East Africa Law Society brought a court challenge.
Al Jazeera, 'Legal groups condemn arrival of a dozen deportees from US to Uganda', 2 April 2026.
Constructive Refoulement: When a Return Recorded as Voluntary Is Not a Free Choice
International law prohibits achieving by pressure what a state may not order directly. Where detention, destitution or indefinite limbo leave a protected person no real alternative to returning, the departure is not voluntary in law.
International Law Commission, Draft Articles on the Expulsion of Aliens (2014), art. 10(1); UNHCR, Voluntary Repatriation: International Protection; Committee against Torture, general comment on the implementation of article 3; EJIL:Talk!, 'Does international law prohibit constructive refoulement?'; International Journal of Refugee Law, vol. 35, no. 4, p. 419.
Ten Cases, Eleven Decisions: What Courts Have Said About Removal as Punishment
Between August 2025 and March 2026, federal courts answered the same question eleven times. Six held that third-country removal paired with imprisonment is intended as punishment and violates due process. Five declined. None rejected the principle, and what divides them is evidence about the destination.
Amnesty International Documents Continued Transfers to Eswatini Under US Removal Arrangement
Amnesty International has documented successive transfers of third-country nationals from the United States to Eswatini, where it reports the men are held at a maximum-security prison without ties to the country.
Amnesty International, 'Eswatini: Arrival of four more men under US unlawful removal deal', 11 March 2026; Amnesty International, 'Eswatini: Supreme Court ruling on legal access offers limited relief for US deportees', April 2026; Amnesty International, 'Eswatini: Fourth US third-country removal operation raises fresh human rights concerns', July 2026; Human Rights Watch, 'US/Africa: Expulsion Deals Flout Rights', 23 September 2025.
US Court Sets Aside Third-Country Removal Policy; Appeal Court Stays the Judgment
A US district court held in February 2026 that people facing removal to a third country are entitled to meaningful notice and an opportunity to raise a country-specific claim. The judgment was stayed on appeal in March 2026.
DHS v. D.V.D., No. 24A1153 (U.S. June 23, 2025); D.V.D. v. Department of Homeland Security, No. 25-cv-10676-BEM, 2026 WL 521557 (D. Mass. Feb. 25, 2026); First Circuit stay of 16 March 2026; DHS policy memorandum, 'Guidance Regarding Third Country Removals', 30 March 2025; ICE guidance of 9 July 2025.
Federal Filing Details How People Sent Through Ghana Were Returned to Countries Where Judges Found Risks of Torture
A sworn declaration filed in D.V.D. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security describes two U.S. deportation flights to Ghana and alleges that people with CAT protection and withholding of removal were subsequently sent to countries where U.S. immigration judges had already found they faced persecution or torture.
Monitoring Organisations Document Detention of Transferred People on Arrival
Human Rights Watch and the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants have documented what happens to people on arrival in receiving countries. Conditions on arrival bear directly on whether a transfer is consistent with Article 3.
Human Rights Watch, 'US/Africa: Expulsion Deals Flout Rights', 23 September 2025; U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, Third Country Deportations Tracker, figures as recorded to June 2026.
Eleven West Africans Challenge Detention in Ghana After Transfer From the United States
Eight reportedly received U.S. withholding of removal or Convention Against Torture protection before being deported to Ghana, raising questions about detention, third-country removal and non-refoulement.