US and Israel Turn Africa Into a Dumping Ground for Deportees and Displaced Palestinians

The United States and Israel are being criticised for trying to send refugees, displaced people and deportees to African nations, many of which are already struggling with fragile economies and internal instability. From Palestinians displaced from Gaza to deported migrants with no legal or cultural ties to the continent, Africa is increasingly being positioned as a destination of last resort. This trend is a dangerous form of geopolitical outsourcing, one that could destabilise host countries and violate international law.

In July 2025, Axios revealed that Israel had asked the U.S. to help persuade nations like Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Libya to accept Palestinians from Gaza. The move follows earlier, secretive outreach to countries such as Somalia and South Sudan, both of which later denied involvement. While Israeli officials insist any relocations would be voluntary, such transfers could constitute ethnic cleansing. Gaza’s displaced residents, many of whom remain in overcrowded camps or have fled to Rafah and Sinai, have voiced strong opposition to any permanent resettlement outside their homeland.

Simultaneously, the U.S. government has revived and expanded a controversial immigration policy under which African nations are being pressured to accept deported individuals, some of whom are not their citizens. Countries including Liberia, Senegal, Gabon, and Guinea-Bissau have reportedly been approached to receive deportees who are stateless, undocumented, or simply unwanted by their countries of origin. In one case, eight foreign nationals, including men from Vietnam, Yemen, and Cuba, were flown to South Sudan in early July. In another, five individuals were transferred to Eswatini, where they remain in solitary confinement in a maximum-security prison under opaque legal conditions.

Local reaction has been fierce. In Eswatini, opposition leaders and human rights advocates have accused the government of colluding in what they describe as “human dumping,” with activists labelling the deportations as “human trafficking disguised as policy.” Protests are mounting, and civil society groups have petitioned for transparency and the immediate release of the detainees, citing a lack of due process and violations of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

While U.S. and Israeli officials claim these policies are part of broader security and migration strategies, the consequences for African host countries are potentially severe. Many of the targeted nations lack the infrastructure or legal frameworks to integrate deportees or resettle large displaced populations. The arrival of disenfranchised individuals, often with criminal records or trauma histories, may spark xenophobia, strain local services, and deepen regional tensions.

African governments, for their part, are pushing back. Sudan has publicly rejected the Gaza relocation plan, and Somalia’s government stated it had no knowledge of any discussions. Nigeria recently rebuffed U.S. efforts to redirect Venezuelan migrants to West Africa, calling the proposal “offensive and destabilising.” Meanwhile, Indonesia, also mentioned as a possible destination, has long refused diplomatic ties with Israel and is unlikely to participate.

Human rights groups, international law experts, and civil society leaders argue that these developments reflect a dangerous precedent:

Wealthy nations offloading the human consequences of war, occupation, and border control onto the Global South.

As more African countries come under pressure to participate in these deals, the continent risks becoming a geopolitical buffer zone, absorbing crises it neither created nor has the capacity to resolve.

Unless the international community intervenes to enforce legal standards and ethical obligations, Africa could become “the world’s dumping ground.”

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