What these women are going through is not an isolated case. Since last January, at least 44 people have been deported to Cameroon. They have two options: first, apply for asylum and stay in the country, with the help of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the UNHCR. Second, return to their country of origin, assisted by the International Organization for Migration, the IOM. On paper, these are two clearly defined paths. However, when contacted by Forbidden Stories, the UNHCR sought to distance itself from the issue. “In Cameroon, asylum procedures are managed by national authorities, and the High Commissioner for Refugees supports the government’s initiatives aimed at strengthening the national asylum system,” it stated.The IOM, which assists people who have decided to go back to their home countries, has drawn heavy criticism. In reality, several of the women Forbidden Stories interviewed felt forced to leave Cameroon. Gisèle, unable to find the medical treatment she needed there, eventually agreed to return to the DRC. “I don’t know how they run their organization, but they deal with people in very vulnerable situations and clearly lack professionalism in the way they treat us,” she said of the IOM. After months in the dilapidated detention center, Gisèle was transferred to the Ngueye Hotel in Yaoundé while waiting for the DRC embassy to issue her travel documents. The IOM then arranged her return to the country.When contacted by Forbidden Stories, the agency echoed the UNHCR’s position, stating, “Migration policies fall under the jurisdiction of states, not the IOM. When host governments request the IOM’s assistance, its role is limited to addressing the needs of individuals after their arrival, with a focus on their health and well-being.”Officially, Cameroonian authorities have never mentioned the arrival of deportees, nor the creation of an agreement with the United States. The first suggestions of the arrangement’s existence came from a diplomatic note dated December 2025, published on the U.S. State Department’s website last June. In it, the Cameroonian government assures that it “would treat any third-country nationals transferred from the United States to Cameroon in a manner that is in accordance with its international legal obligations,” including the principle of non-refoulement. It adds that “the third-country nationals removed to the Republic of Cameroon would not be subjected to persecution … or torture” in Cameroon, nor in any country to which it might subsequently transfer them.