Rights Lawyers Sue Ghana Over Third-Country Deportation Deal With the US

An international coalition of human rights lawyers and advocates sued Ghana on Tuesday, accusing the government of forcing deportees from the U.S. back to the home countries they had fled in violation of their rights.

It’s the latest legal case targeting an African country over a deal it signed with the Trump administration to accept deportees who aren’t its own citizens.

The lawsuit was filed at a regional court, the Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States. The coalition includes the Global Strategic Litigation Council, a network of lawyers and advocates.

It’s the first case ever brought under a 1979 regional treaty that guarantees free movement across West Africa.

The case represents 27 people among the at least 60 the U.S. has deported to Ghana since September 2025 as part of an agreement between the governments. Ghana agreed to take in deportees, hold them and arrange their onward removal, despite most of them having received orders of protection by U.S. judges against being deported to their home countries, according to a statement by the coalition.

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The coalition accuses Ghana of violating non-refoulement, which is the international legal principle barring countries from sending people to places where they face persecution or torture.

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