Nyo Myint and Enrique Arias Hierro, who had been deported from the US as part of the United States government’s mass deportation campaign and held in a US military base in Djibouti since May 2025, arrived in Juba, South Sudan’s capital, on 4 July 2025, almost a year ago. They are arbitrarily detained in an undisclosed location with limited and monitored access to their lawyers. In October and November 2025, Nyo Myint reported suicidal thoughts in detention. The South Sudanese authorities must immediately disclose the whereabouts of the two men, grant them unmonitored and unfettered access to their legal representatives and immediately clarify the legal grounds of their detention. The South Sudanese authorities must also ensure that individuals’ wishes for a durable solution are facilitated including through access to UNHCR, IOM and the national human rights commission and other relevant bodies. If a fair and efficient assessment of protection needs has taken place and the principle of non-refoulement is not breached, the states of the men’s countries of origin must expedite their repatriation.
