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US-China relations
ChinaDiplomacy

US condemns Thailand’s deporting of 40 Uygurs to China

The 40 men were flown back after being detained in Thailand for over a decade

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A screen displayed at a news conference in Bangkok on Thursday shows images of Uygur men arriving at an airport in China. Photo: EPA-EFE
Bochen Hanin Washington
The US condemned “in the strongest possible terms” Thailand’s return of 40 Uygur men to China on Thursday and called for Beijing to provide regular access to verify their well-being.
“As Thailand’s long-standing ally, we are alarmed by this action, which risks running afoul of its international obligations under the UN Convention Against Torture and the International Convention on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.

Hours earlier, Chinese and Thai officials confirmed that a group of 40 Uygur men who had been detained for over a decade in Thailand had been deported to China. The men had gone on a hunger strike last month as part of a public plea to halt their deportation.

In January, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Alice Jill Edwards and eight other human rights-related UN officials cited their opposition to the deportation, urging instead that they be provided with “access to asylum procedures and other humanitarian assistance”.

“The treatment of the Uygur minority in China is well-documented,” the group said then in a statement. “We are concerned they are at risk of suffering irreparable harm.”

“As Thailand’s long-standing ally, we are alarmed by this action,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said. Photo: Reuters
“As Thailand’s long-standing ally, we are alarmed by this action,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said. Photo: Reuters

On Thursday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk called the deportation “deeply regrettable” and a clear violation of international human rights laws and standards.

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