U.S. Announces a Protection Agreement with Liberia

by Melanie Nathan - March 06, 2026

The U.S. government has recently announced that it has entered into an agreement with Liberia under which certain individuals seeking asylum in the United States may be transferred there rather than having their claims fully adjudicated in the U.S. Such arrangements—often referred to as third-country transfer or asylum pretermission agreements—allow the United States to redirect asylum seekers to another country deemed responsible for processing or hosting them. These policies raise significant legal and humanitarian concerns, particularly where the receiving country lacks the capacity, legal framework, or human-rights protections necessary to provide meaningful and durable protection to those fleeing persecution. The Bilateral Agreement notes: "Under this Agreement, the Parties seek to ensure the dignified, safe, and timely transfer from the United States to Liberia of third-country nationals present in the United States who may seek protection against return to their home country or country of former habitual residence. The Government of the United States of America shall in its complete discretion propose to the Government of the Republic of Liberia the transfer of such third-country nationals, and the Government of the Republic of Liberia shall in its complete discretion consider accepting or declining such a proposal in whole or in part. Both Parties' actions under this Agreement shall be in accordance with their obligations under the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, done at Geneva on July 28, 1951; the Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, done at New York on January 31, 1967; the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, adopted in New York on December 10, 1984; and any other respective international obligations, national constitutions, laws, regulations, and immigration and visa policies of the Parties, including consideration by the Government of the Republic of Liberia of requests by these third-country nationals for asylum, refugee protection, or equivalent temporary protection." Here is the full text of Agreement:

64059-Liberia-Migration-and-Refugees.pdf

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Liberia presents a range of structural, legal, and protection-capacity limitations that are likely to prevent certain asylum seekers from receiving protection equivalent to that available in the United States. Individuals transferred there may be denied a fair and effective opportunity to seek protection or to obtain durable solutions. In such circumstances, individuals risk falling into irregular status, prolonged insecurity, and eventual onward removal, creating a substantial likelihood of chain refoulement in contravention of the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, potentially resulting in return to the very harms from which they originally fled.

Particularly at risk in Liberia are LGBTQI+ individuals:

Same-sex sexual activity remains criminalized under Liberian law and is punishable by up to three years’ imprisonment. LGBTQI+ persons face widespread societal discrimination, harassment, violence, and severe social stigmatization. Same-sex marriage is not legally recognized, and there are no legal protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. In practice, LGBTQI+ individuals frequently experience threats, abuse, and exclusion from housing, employment, and access to services. These conditions significantly undermine their ability to live safely and openly and create serious barriers to accessing state protection.

Given these legal and social conditions, LGBTQI+ asylum seekers transferred to Liberia would face a heightened risk of persecution, social exposure, and violence, and would be unlikely to receive effective state protection. Their presence in Liberia could therefore expose them to renewed harm and increase the risk of refoulement or chain refoulement to countries where they originally faced persecution. The General Human Rights Conditions, in summary for Liberia, are described by the U.S. State Department most recent reports as follows: (The 2025 Report is only due later this month) The U.S. State Department Annual Human Rights Report for 2023:

"There were no significant changes in the human rights situation in Liberia during the year.

Significant human rights issues included credible reports of: arbitrary or unlawful killings, including extrajudicial killings; torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by the government or on behalf of the government; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; serious problems with the independence of the judiciary; serious restrictions on freedom of expression and media freedom, including violence or threats of violence against journalists and censorship; serious government corruption; extensive gender-based violence, including domestic or intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and female genital mutilation/cutting; laws criminalizing consensual same-sex conduct between adults, which were enforced; crimes involving violence or threats of violence targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or intersex persons; and systematic restrictions on workers’ freedom of association.

The government did not take credible steps to identify and punish officials who may have committed human rights abuses." The U.S. State Department Annual Human Rights Report for 2024: "There were no significant changes in the human rights situation in Liberia during the year.

Significant human rights issues included credible reports of: arbitrary or unlawful killings; torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment; arbitrary arrest or detention; serious restrictions on freedom of expression and media freedom, including violence or threats of violence against journalists and censorship; trafficking in persons; and systematic restrictions on workers’ freedom of association."

While Liberia shows a cooperative record for refugee protection in general, its has denied status to LGBTI refugees - and still presents dangers for certain other refugees.

While The US Human Rights Report notes the following below , the treatment of refugees does not mitigate the general human rights conditions as afore stated. "The government cooperated with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations in providing protection and assistance to refugees, returning refugees, or asylum seekers, as well as other persons of concern.

Access to Asylum: The law provided for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government established a system for providing protection to refugees. The law forbade the forced return of refugees, their families, or other persons who could be subjected to persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group, and the government generally respected those rights for refugees.

Temporary Protection: The government provided temporary protection to individuals who might not qualify as refugees. Asylum seekers who presented themselves to UNHCR and the Liberian Refugee Repatriation Resettlement Commission were provided temporary protection while their cases were being adjudicated."

Liberia is not the only country with which the United States has pursued such third-country transfer arrangements. Similar agreements have reportedly been explored or implemented with Uganda, Ghana, and Eswatini—countries that also face significant limitations in asylum-processing capacity, protection frameworks, and human-rights safeguards for vulnerable populations. In several of these states, LGBTQI+ people face criminalization, severe social hostility, or both. Transferring asylum seekers to countries with such conditions raises serious concerns that individuals may be placed in environments where meaningful protection is unavailable, increasing the risk of detention, abuse, or eventual chain refoulement.