LAGOS: A civil society group has filed a lawsuit seeking to declare illegal the deportation deal between Ghana and the US government, and the way the west African deportees are being treated, court documents show.
Ghanaian leader John Mahama disclosed last month that his country had struck a deal with the United States to accept deportees from west Africa as part of US President Donald Trump’s vast, opaque deportation program.
At least 28 people have arrived in the west African nation so far, and Ghana has been sending some of them to their countries of origin or dumping them in third countries without documentation, lawyers and deportees have said.
On Monday a non-partisan civil society platform, Democracy Hub, lodged the suit in the Supreme Court against the Ghana government, according to court papers seen by AFP on Tuesday.
It argued that Mahama “acted unconstitutionally” by implementing the agreement with the US government with respect “to the reception, detention, and onward transfer of involuntarily repatriated West African nationals” into Ghana without a parliamentary resolution or ratification of the deal.
The lawsuit is also asking the court to declare the detention of civilian deportees in military custody as unlawful.
Democracy Hub’s suit argues that by “onward deportation” of people in need of international protection and holding them in “deplorable, inhumane and degrading conditions,” Ghana is violating the global convention against torture.
It seeks a declaration that the reception and detention in Ghana of the migrants be found to be “unlawful and unconstitutional, where such persons have not been charged with any offense, are held for prolonged periods without being presented before a court of competent jurisdiction and are denied access to legal counsel.”
The court is expected to hear arguments about whether to suspend the agreement on October 22.
Ghana’s foreign minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa last week admitted that his country was taking in expelled individuals in exchange for the lifting of US visa restrictions.
“They said okay you have come to us with what you want. You want us to reverse the visa restrictions, you want (a US trade deal) extended, you want us to relook at the 15 percent tariff. We are also now dealing with immigration challenges... So we want you to help us to deal with this issue,” he said on TV3 Ghana.
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Lawsuit filed to void Ghana-US migrants deportation deal
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Lawsuit filed to void Ghana-US migrants deportation deal
- Ghanaian leader John Mahama disclosed last month that his country had struck a deal with the United States to accept deportees from west Africa
Trump favorite reclaims narrow lead in Honduras presidential vote
TEGUCIGALPA: A right-wing Honduran presidential candidate backed by Donald Trump reclaimed a narrow lead over his rival Thursday on the fourth day of a plodding vote count.
With over 86 percent of the votes counted, the race was still too early to call.
Trump-backed businessman Nasry Asfura was leading with 40.24 percent compared to 39.41 percent for fellow right-winger and TV personality Salvador Nasralla, according to the National Electoral Council (CNE).
The CNE has come under fire from the US president after announcing Monday that a partial count showed the two men locked in a “technical tie.”
CNE chief Ana Paola Hall said Thursday that the electoral body was entering into the system records that could not be transmitted on election day.
“All of this will complete... the final count to 100 percent,” said Hall, who asked the candidates for patience as the count continues.
“Haste is sometimes the enemy of legitimacy,” she added.
The CNE has vowed that the end result will “scrupulously respect the popular will.”
Trump, who routinely casts doubt on the integrity of elections whose results he disapproves of, accused Honduran authorities of “trying to change” the results, and threatened there would be “hell to pay” if they did.
Late Thursday, US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau amplified Trump’s message, posting on X that “democracy is on trial” in the Honduran election and calling on all parties to “uphold the independence” of the CNE to ensure transparency.
“The world’s eyes, including ours, are on Honduras,” he added.
Honduras is one of Latin America’s most impoverished and violent countries, and many citizens have fled north to the United States to escape those hardships, including minors fearing forced recruitment by gangs.
On Tuesday, the CNE said ballots were still coming in from remote areas — some only accessible by donkey or boat — and the declaration of a winner may still be days away.
The CNE, which has frequently been accused by parties of political favoritism, legally has one month to announce a winner.
Honduran presidential elections are determined in one round, with a simple plurality needed to win.
- ‘Friend of freedom’ -
Trump supports 67-year-old businessman Asfura, whom he has called a “friend of freedom,” while accusing 72-year-old Nasralla of merely “pretending to be an anti-communist.”
Trump has become increasingly vocal in his support for allies in the region, having threatened to cut aid to Argentina and Honduras if his picks did not win.
Argentina’s President Javier Milei, a close Trump ally, was victorious in his country’s midterm elections.
Whatever the outcome in Honduras, Sunday’s vote was a clear defeat for ruling leftists.
Honduras’s swing to the right will likely boost US influence in a country that under the last government had increasingly looked to China.
Trump has also granted a pardon to Juan Orlando Hernandez, a former president from Asfura’s National Party who had been serving a 45-year sentence in the United States for drug trafficking.
The 57-year-old lawyer was released Monday in what was widely perceived as more interference.
With over 86 percent of the votes counted, the race was still too early to call.
Trump-backed businessman Nasry Asfura was leading with 40.24 percent compared to 39.41 percent for fellow right-winger and TV personality Salvador Nasralla, according to the National Electoral Council (CNE).
The CNE has come under fire from the US president after announcing Monday that a partial count showed the two men locked in a “technical tie.”
CNE chief Ana Paola Hall said Thursday that the electoral body was entering into the system records that could not be transmitted on election day.
“All of this will complete... the final count to 100 percent,” said Hall, who asked the candidates for patience as the count continues.
“Haste is sometimes the enemy of legitimacy,” she added.
The CNE has vowed that the end result will “scrupulously respect the popular will.”
Trump, who routinely casts doubt on the integrity of elections whose results he disapproves of, accused Honduran authorities of “trying to change” the results, and threatened there would be “hell to pay” if they did.
Late Thursday, US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau amplified Trump’s message, posting on X that “democracy is on trial” in the Honduran election and calling on all parties to “uphold the independence” of the CNE to ensure transparency.
“The world’s eyes, including ours, are on Honduras,” he added.
Honduras is one of Latin America’s most impoverished and violent countries, and many citizens have fled north to the United States to escape those hardships, including minors fearing forced recruitment by gangs.
On Tuesday, the CNE said ballots were still coming in from remote areas — some only accessible by donkey or boat — and the declaration of a winner may still be days away.
The CNE, which has frequently been accused by parties of political favoritism, legally has one month to announce a winner.
Honduran presidential elections are determined in one round, with a simple plurality needed to win.
- ‘Friend of freedom’ -
Trump supports 67-year-old businessman Asfura, whom he has called a “friend of freedom,” while accusing 72-year-old Nasralla of merely “pretending to be an anti-communist.”
Trump has become increasingly vocal in his support for allies in the region, having threatened to cut aid to Argentina and Honduras if his picks did not win.
Argentina’s President Javier Milei, a close Trump ally, was victorious in his country’s midterm elections.
Whatever the outcome in Honduras, Sunday’s vote was a clear defeat for ruling leftists.
Honduras’s swing to the right will likely boost US influence in a country that under the last government had increasingly looked to China.
Trump has also granted a pardon to Juan Orlando Hernandez, a former president from Asfura’s National Party who had been serving a 45-year sentence in the United States for drug trafficking.
The 57-year-old lawyer was released Monday in what was widely perceived as more interference.
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