The United States has undertaken covert operations to transfer Guantanamo detainees to the Middle East, aiming to help them reintegrate and start anew. Between 2015 and 2017, the Obama administration transferred 28 Yemeni detainees from Guantanamo to Oman. The Omani monarchy provided them with housing, healthcare, jobs, and even helped them find wives and start families. For tese former detainees, such support was transformative, contrasting sharply with their years of abusive interrogations and detention at Guantanamo.
In 2023, the Biden administration planned further transfers to Oman, but these efforts were paused due to the outbreak of the war in Gaza.
Thus, it was a shock when, in 2023, Oman decided to abandon the 28 Yemenis it had promised to support. Omani officials summoned the men to meetings, informing them that they would be stripped of their benefits and legal residency and would have to leave the country, either voluntarily or forcibly. The United States indicated that these actions were due to the expiration of Oman’s obligation to the first group of ex-detainees, stating that “there is no requirement that the sultanate provide the men with permanent residency.”
While the nonrenewal of the former detainees’ residence permits does not violate any agreement with the United States, their expulsion on such short notice tarnishes Oman’s reputation as a model of rehabilitation and humane treatment. The situation is made worse by the current state of Yemen, which is experiencing renewed conflict, a humanitarian crisis, and persistent violence.This leaves the former detainees facing potential danger if they are forced to return to Yemen.
Since the United States has banned any former Guantanamo prisoner from entering the country, it falls to the receiving countries, primarily in the Middle East, to care for these men. However, the United States must ensure that detainees are not transferred to countries where they would face serious harm, in accordance with the international legal principle of non-refoulement. Since Oman’s decision to strip the former detainees of their benefits and send them back to their war-torn homeland, the transfer of ex-detainees to this country violates the principle of non-refoulement.
The United States must offer financial or political support to Oman to prevent the expulsion of the 28 Yemeni men and their families, which would place them in dangerous circumstances. Additionally, the U.S. should pressure the Omani government to continue providing humane treatment and care, regardless of the expiration of their obligations. As a wealthy monarchy, Oman has the possibility to support these former detainees until Yemen is safe enough for their return, as currently, Yemen is not a safe place for torture survivors to go.