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US/Africa: Expulsion Deals Flout Rights
(Johannesburg) – The United States’ recent expulsions of third-country nationals to Eswatini, Ghana, Rwanda, and South Sudan have exposed several hundred people to a risk of arbitrary detention, ill-treatment, and refoulement, Human Rights Watch said today.
The opaque deals that facilitate these transfers, at least some of which include US financial assistance, are part of a US policy approach that violates international human rights law and is designed to instrumentalize human suffering as a deterrent to migration.
“These agreements make African governments partners in the Trump administration’s horrifying violations of immigrants’ human rights,” said Allan Ngari, Africa advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. “The African governments implementing these deals risk violating international law, including the prohibitions against refoulement and arbitrary detention.”
In August 2025, a Rwandan government spokesperson, Yolande Makolo, reportedly said that the country had agreed to accept up to 250 deportees, a much larger number than has been reported for Eswatini or South Sudan, under an agreement, which Human Rights Watch has seen, that includes roughly $7.5 million in US financial support.
Rwanda’s past role in similar arrangements with Israel, its now-abandoned negotiations for a comparable deal with the United Kingdom, and its own well-documented record of repression raise serious doubts about whether it will provide effective protection for the affected people.
Human Rights Watch has viewed the written agreement between the United States and Eswatini, under which the US will provide $5.1 million to “build [Eswatini’s] border and migration management capacity” and Eswatini will accept up to 160 deportees from the US. So far, Eswatini has received at least five people from Cuba, Jamaica, Laos, Vietnam, and Yemen and is reportedly holding them in the Matsapha Correctional Complex under harsh conditions. An Eswatini official told Human Rights Watch that the country is preparing to receive another 150 people. Lawyers and civil society groups have challenged the legality of detaining these people.
South Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation confirmed on September 4 that it was holding seven foreign nationals deported from the United States in July, while an eighth person, a South Sudanese national, was released to his family. A government spokesperson said that their status is still under consideration. On September 6, the authorities formally announced the repatriation of one Mexican national to Mexico but did not clarify where the remaining six men are being held and under what conditions, nor did it explain the legal basis for holding them.
The South Sudanese authorities’ statements underscore the lack of transparency and due process protections surrounding these transfers, Human Rights Watch said.
In Uganda, the Foreign Affairs Ministry confirmed in a statement that a temporary bilateral cooperation agreement has been reached with the United States. Under its terms, Uganda will receive third-country deportees from the United States, but “individual[s] with criminal records and unaccompanied minors will not be accepted” and preference will be given to individuals of African origin.
Ghanaian president John Mahama confirmed that his government has agreed to accept third-party nationals who were being removed from the United States. This agreement is limited to West African nationals. So far, five citizens of Nigeria and The Gambia have been expelled to Ghana under the agreement. Prior to their expulsion, US immigration judges had granted all of them fear-based immigration relief, either withholding their removal under the US Immigration and Naturality Act or deferring their removal under the Convention against Torture.
One of the five, a bisexual man from The Gambia, said in a sworn declaration filed in US federal court that Ghanaian authorities had returned him to his country of origin after their expulsion by the United States. This case underscores the danger that expulsion agreements will lead to the return of people to countries where US courts had determined they face a serious risk of persecution or torture.
Given the abusive US immigration policies that underpin them, Human Rights Watch urges African governments to refuse to enter into agreements to accept third-country deportees from the United States and to terminate those that are already in effect. In the interim, countries that are party to such agreements should disclose their terms, allow access to independent monitors, refrain from detaining any deportees absent a clear legal basis, and ensure that no deportee is returned to their home country if there is credible evidence that they would face the risk of persecution, enforced disappearance, torture, or other serious harm.
“As the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights special rapporteur on refugees has said, these agreements cannot override governments’ human rights obligations,” Ngari said. “The African Union should reiterate that deportations that do not afford people an opportunity to seek protection from persecution or torture are unlawful, abusive and unacceptable.”
Syria: March Atrocities Demand Senior Level Accountability
(Beirut) – The Syrian transitional government has promised accountability for violence in three governates in March 2025, but it has provided little transparency on whether its investigation has examined the role of senior military or civilian leaders, or what steps it will take to hold those with command authority to account, Human Rights Watch, Syrians for Truth and Justice, and Syrian Archive said in a report released today.
September 23, 2025 “Are you Alawi?”The 51-page report, “‘Are you Alawi?’ Identity-Based Killings During Syria’s Transition,” documents widespread abuses by government forces, government-aligned armed groups, and armed volunteers, including summary executions, deliberate destruction of property, and abuse of detainees. The findings show that these crimes unfolded within the framework of a centrally coordinated military operation directed by the Defense Ministry, whose officials continued to coordinate deployments even after the mass killings became public.
“The government’s acknowledgment of atrocities is a step forward, but it falls short of ensuring justice for higher-level officials who enabled or failed to stop them,” said Hiba Zayadin, senior Syria researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Failing to hold accountable commanders and officials responsible for deploying and directing abusive forces leaves the door open to further reprisals and atrocities in Syria.”
The violence in March was triggered by a coordinated wave of attacks beginning on March 6 by armed men the government described as loyalists of the former government of Bashar al-Assad. These attacks killed at least 200 government personnel. Government forces responded with security sweep operations throughout the region during which widespread identity-based abuses and atrocities were carried out, primarily targeting Alawis, perceived to be loyal to the previous government of Bashar al-Assad.
Drawing on more than 100 interviews with victims, witnesses, fighters, and journalists, and verified audiovisual material and satellite imagery, the groups documented widespread abuses across more than 24 towns, villages, and neighborhoods between March 6 and at least March 10. These included summary executions, house raids, looting, arson, and identity-based abuse.
While the groups found no direct orders to commit atrocities, it confirmed that the new government’s Defense Ministry played a central role in mobilizing units and coordinating their deployments. The authorities mobilized tens of thousands of fighters from across the country and assigned them shared operational zones. Fighters described receiving orders via ministry-linked channels, including to hand over responsibility for areas they had “secured” to General Security (police) forces.
Fighters told Human Rights Watch that military leadership continued to coordinate and deploy forces well after authorities knew or should have known about killings and atrocities.
“You do not need a signed order to hold senior officials and faction commanders accountable,” said Bassam al-Ahmed, co-founder and executive director at Syrians for Truth and Justice. “Ministry of Defense officials had the power to mobilize tens of thousands of fighters, assign and share geographic deployments, and keep operations running across dozens of towns for days. The question is not just who gave the orders, or if they did, it is why no one in charge could curb the widespread killings and looting. That is a failure of leadership and a failure of will.”
The Syrian National Committee for Investigation and Fact-Finding into the Events on the Coast presented a summary of its final report at a news conference in Damascus on July 22, stating that at least 1,426 people were killed, and authorities referred 298 suspects to prosecutors. The inquiry’s findings confirming mass atrocities against civilians mark a departure from the climate of denial and impunity under the Assad government, but it stopped short of confronting deeper institutional failures, including the role of senior officials in enabling or failing to prevent widespread abuses.
The committee framed the attacks as acts of personal revenge, but its own findings, and those of the joint investigation reveal a broader campaign of collective punishment targeting Alawi communities. Numerous videos and witness evidence reviewed and verified by researchers reveal that victims were often interrogated about their identity before being killed, and armed groups used anti-Alawi slurs during raids.
One resident of Brabshbo, a village in southern Latakia, said that she and her husband remained at home with their three children on March 8 after being assured by local officials and General Security forces that civilians who stayed indoors would not be harmed. That evening, armed men entered their home, asked whether they were Alawi, and upon learning they were, took her husband outside and shot him at the doorstep. “They didn’t ask about his work or anything, they just shot him,” she said.
Some ministry-affiliated fighters admitted that people were executed solely for their perceived identity. One member of a former Syrian National Army faction said that in house-to-house raids, “People were killed just because they were Alawi.”
Human Rights Watch, Syrians for Truth and Justice, and Syrian Archive also noted the committee’s own acknowledgment that security forces committed violations prior to March. The joint investigation found that patterns of arbitrary detention, home raids, and identity-based targeting in Alawi communities had begun weeks earlier in Homs and rural Hama. Abuses have since continued, including in the southern province of Sweida in July, where local Druze residents have reported summary executions, looting, and destructing of property during recent security operations by units from the Defense and Interior Ministries.
The committee’s engagement with civil society and international actors as well as its stated commitment to justice, is a positive development, the groups said. Its recommendations for institutional reform, transitional justice measures, reparations, and the consolidation of armed groups under transparent and accountable structures are constructive proposals that require urgent follow-through.
However, the credibility of these efforts depends on next steps, including public transparency and meaningful accountability at all levels.
Syrian authorities should release their full investigative report, protect witnesses’ identities, and ensure due process for those accused, the groups said. They should ensure that judicial proceedings examine not just individual crimes but institutional responsibility.
The authorities should also allow access to international accountability mechanisms, including from the United Nations and they should carry out security reforms including vetting fighters, removing abusive fighters, and enforce clear command structures and codes of conduct.
“This is not about a single week in March,” said Jelnar Ahmad, program manager at Syrian Archive. “It is an indicator of a broader pattern that needs to be addressed structurally and transparently.”
China: Free Student Advocate for Tibetan Rights
Chinese authorities should immediately and unconditionally release Zhang Yadi, an advocate for Tibetan rights who had been an international student in France, Human Rights Watch said today. If convicted under article 103(2) of China’s Criminal Law, which prohibits “inciting others to split the country and undermine national unity,” she faces up to 5 years in prison, or up to 15 if found to be a ringleader.
Click to expand Image Zhang Yadi. © ChineseYouthStand4TibetWhile studying in France, Zhang Yadi (张雅笛, also known as Tara), 22, edited a Chinese language digital platform promoting Tibetan rights and interethnic dialogue. She had returned to China during the summer holidays when authorities arrested her on July 31, 2025, in Shangri-La, a city in Yunnan province, China. She is believed to be held in a detention center in her hometown in Changsha City, Hunan province.
“The Chinese authorities are threatening to imprison 22-year-old student-activist Zhang Yadi for years for speaking out against racial injustice and peacefully exercising her rights like many young people around the world,” said Yalkun Uluyol, China researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The authorities seem fearful of people building bridges across ethnic lines that deviate from the official Chinese Communist Party line.”
The authorities should drop all charges against Zhang and ensure that her rights to the legal counsel of her choosing are respected, Human Rights Watch said. On September 16, the prominent Chinese human rights lawyer Jiang Tianyong was briefly detained when he traveled to Changsha to provide legal assistance to Zhang’s family. He was later released, but his phone was reportedly confiscated.
Zhang is part of Chinese Youth Stand for Tibet (华语青年挺藏会), which emerged after the November 2022 White Paper Protests, when protesters held up blank sheets of paper to oppose Beijing’s draconian Zero-Covid policy. The group publishes articles on Substack that aim to “foster a deeper understanding of Tibetan culture within Chinese-speaking communities, challenge and deconstruct Han chauvinism, and address ethnic conflicts and prejudice.” Recent posts include profiles of a Tibetan musician and a female entrepreneur, a letter from a mainland Chinese reader, and writings in Chinese that provide Tibetan perspectives on Tibet.
Zhang, who is fluent in Chinese, French, Tibetan, and English, was studying at the École Supérieure de Commerce de Paris (ESPC Business School) in Paris. She had obtained a scholarship to begin graduate studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London in September.
Some Chinese international students have become concerned about severe repression in Tibet and Xinjiang after experiencing racism in their host countries during the Covid-19 pandemic, and were inspired by racial and social justice movements such as Black Lives Matter in the United States. However, Beijing subjects these students to surveillance, harassment, and other forms of transnational repression. They face the risk of arbitrary detention and prosecution when they return home.
The Chinese government has long persecuted those who have acted to improve the situation of ethnic minorities in China, Human Rights Watch said. These include Ilham Tohti, the Uyghur economics professor and Sakharov Prize winner, who was imprisoned for life in 2014 for “separatism,” including creating a website that aimed to “provide Uyghurs and Han Chinese with a platform for discussion and exchange.” Seven of his students and volunteers for the platform were also imprisoned. The late Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo and the activist Hu Jia also repeatedly spoke out for Tibetan rights.
Concerned governments should publicly raise Zhang Yadi’s case with the Chinese government and press for her immediate and unconditional release. The French government should raise Zhang’s prosecution as interfering in the rights to freedom of expression and association of Chinese students who are studying in France. The British government should seek Zhang’s immediate release so that she can begin her studies in England.
“Zhang Yadi should be starting graduate school in London, not starting jail,” Uluyol said. “France, the UK, and other governments should press Beijing to free her and return her to her studies.”
Trump Administration Seeks to Rewrite Global Refugee Rules
The US government is inviting government delegations to a high-level meeting on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly in what looks like the first step in a bid to tear down the global refugee system. A US State Department “concept note” for the event outlines an approach that seems determined to run roughshod over the rights of refugees.
This is happening parallel to an executive order that requires a national-interests review of all conventions and treaties the United States has joined.
Alarmingly, the US State Department’s list of the “core principles” in its concept note fails to include the principle of nonrefoulement, which holds that refugees cannot be returned to places where they would likely be persecuted, the foundation of the global refugee system.
The note asserts that “every nation has the absolute right to control its borders.” While international law is highly deferential to states in controlling their borders, the principle of nonrefoulement maintains that states don’t have unfettered discretion to push people away.
Everyone’s right “to seek and enjoy asylum in other countries from persecution” is the flip side of nonrefoulement. If countries are prohibited from sending someone to a place where they would be tortured or persecuted, they need to afford them a way to secure protection.
The US concept note contends that “asylum is a temporary, not permanent, status, and that asylees should ultimately return home.” But in reality, that depends on the home country situation. If the threats and harm that caused someone to flee their country are unchanged, or get worse, sending them back is not an option.
The note also asserts that “sovereign states, not transnational bodies, make the determination whether conditions in a country of origin permit return.” True, but in making refugee determinations in good faith, states should respect assessments by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, whose determinations are guided by its mandate, whereas states often have conflicting interests.
States gathering for the General Assembly opening should reject the US invitation to trash the post-World War II global refugee system. Instead, they should renew their commitment to the core principles of the 1951 Refugee Convention and to a global order based on the solidarity of states to help each other to provide safety to the persecuted.
Cycling Event Can’t Override Rwanda’s Abuses
The roads of Kigali are hosting the International Cycling Union Road World Championships, a proof of Rwanda’s “remarkable journey of transformation” and “warm hospitality” according to the sporting body. But the celebration of international cycling’s flagship event cannot cover up Rwanda’s abusive human rights record.
Rwanda has invested heavily in global sports sponsorships and events as part of its development strategy. The country hosted major sporting events, including a FIFA Congress and the NBA Basketball Africa League, and has contracted with renowned European football clubs Arsenal and Bayern Munich. “Visit Rwanda” is increasingly seen on athletes’ jerseys as the country tries to position itself as a thriving hub for tourists, fans, and investors.
But it’s not enough for Rwanda to promote a positive image; it must silence criticism. Human Rights Watch has documented government suppression of criticism both within and outside of its borders, with critics having become victims of a wide range of tactics including killings and disappearances. Years of harassment of real or perceived critics have all but shut down the space for independent media, opposition parties, and civil society.
The last remaining outspoken opposition leader, Victoire Ingabire, was arrested in June and faces serious criminal charges alongside 14 party members in a politically motivated trial. Five members of Ingabire’s parties have died or disappeared under suspicious circumstances since 2017.
A few hundred kilometers from the race, the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group has committed war crimes in eastern Congo, including the summary executions of over 140 civilians in July, some of the worst abuses since the group’s resurgence in 2021.
The cycling event risks being linked to abuses itself. Human Rights Watch has documented that Rwandan authorities round up and arbitrarily detain sex workers, street children, and others deemed “undesirable” before high-profile international events. The event could also contribute to sportswashing, using athletic events and partnerships to overshadow human rights violations. Sports federations have an obligation to conduct human rights due diligence before major events, ensuring that they don’t contribute to or cover up violations.
Rwanda should stop targeting critics and put an end to abusive operations abroad. For its part, the Cycling Union shouldn’t be providing Rwanda such easy cover for its poor human rights record.
Egypt: Presidential Pardon for Activist Alaa Abdel Fattah
(Beirut) – Egyptian media reported on September 22, 2025, that President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi had issued a presidential pardon for the imprisoned Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abdel Fattah. Abdel Fattah is set to be released once Sisi’s decision is published in the Official Gazette. He rose to prominence during Egypt’s 2011 Arab uprisings and has been imprisoned more or less continuously since 2014.
The following quote can be attributed to Amr Magdi, senior Middle East and North Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch:
“President Sisi’s pardon of the imprisoned Egyptian activist Alaa Abdel Fattah is long overdue good news. Though we celebrate his pardon, thousands of people like Alaa are still languishing in Egyptian jails simply for exercising their rights to freedom of speech. Hopefully his release will act as a watershed moment and provide an opportunity for Sisi’s government to end the wrongful detention of thousands of peaceful critics.”